With your way of working having most likely relocated to your own home for the time being, you may have found that using video technology to communicate with your colleagues has become the norm in recent days and weeks. So, what different kinds of video technology are available and how should you be using them to their best advantage when working remotely?
More or less universally used by everyone in order to communicate with colleagues and friends, WhatsApp is a free app that can be used for instant messaging, one-on-one video calls and group calls. To use, all users must have WhatsApp downloaded onto their phone.
Skype
Skype is a free service that allows you to instant message, audio or video call, screen share or group call. You can have up to 50 people per Skype group, just add contacts to ‘Groups’ for a group call. This is one of the best video technologies out there for big virtual work meetings.
Skype For Business
If you feel, as a business, that you use Skype regularly then Skype for Business which is a subscription based service that lets you communicate with your colleagues using the messaging function, audio calls, screen share and video chat, may just be for you.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a subscription based service that is perfect for instant messaging, conference calls, group video chats and transferring of files. This makes it a lot easier to communicate with your colleagues and is one of the most used video technologies used in UK business.
Zoom
Zoom is a video conferencing service, similar to Skype, which is perfect for remote communications amongst large groups – allows up to 100 participants with a free account subscription – making it perfect for companies and universities. Its basic functions include the ability to chat and call individual contacts as well as schedule meetings for future events.
FaceTime
If you’re looking for something a little less formal, but still professional, then FaceTime is ideal for those with iPhones to communicate with friends and colleagues. It can be used for audio and video calls and is only available for Apple iPhones on iOS or later. On FaceTime, you can have up to 32 people on a call, and can search and add people to contact from the FaceTime icon.
