Microsoft Teams, a good alternative to Zoom

Schools are reluctant to use video calling service Zoom, according to a tour of NU.nl along 997 Dutch primary and secondary schools. A third of the schools surveyed prohibit teachers from using video calling service Zoom. A good alternative to Zoom is Microsoft Teams!

Microsoft Teams

If you’re already using Microsoft Office 365 at work, you already have access to Microsoft Teams, a platform for instant messaging, video conferencing, and audio calls. As you may know, Microsoft Teams can be fully integrated with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. But also with other Office apps for seamless presentation and file sharing. Teams is reminiscent of another well-known program called Slack, you can talk to team members privately or through specific channels and you can draw attention to the whole group or just a person with the so-called ‘mention’ function.

You can video chat with up to 250 people at a time with Teams, or present live to up to 10,000 people. Share meeting agendas prior to a conference, invite external guests to join a meeting, and access previous recordings and notes from meetings. Meetings can be scheduled in the Teams app or through Outlook.

Due to working from home on a large scale, security also became increasingly important. Microsoft is transparent about this. User data is not stored or used to display advertisements. In addition, all data will be deleted after your subscription has been cancelled.

Zoom

The Zoom app works on Android, iOS, PC and Mac. The app is free up to 100 users but it is also possible to use the app for a fee. Signing up to Zoom is free, you can manually create an account with an email, or you can sign in with Google or Facebook.

If you’re using Zoom, it’s important to consider the security issues. These have come to light during the rapid increase in use due to the coronavirus. Privacy experts have raised concerns about the privacy risks and hacking vulnerabilities of the video conferencing software. This also applies to zoombombing (where uninvited participants break in and disrupt meetings). Many companies are therefore advised to stop using Zoom.

Security experts recommend Microsoft Teams as an alternative to Zoom. As a company, you can’t afford to cause leaks or hacks.