ProServeIT has recently released a blog and hosted a webinar on Skype for Business Conferencing, and how it can assist your organization in saving up to 90% of your current conferencing costs. But is Skype for Business Conferencing truly the best conference call service for your organization?
Did you know you can save up to 90% of your current conferencing costs by switching to Skype For Business Conferencing?
To help you answer this question, this blog provides you a straightforward comparison of four leading conference call services: Microsoft’s Skype for Business, Citrix’s GoToMeeting, Cisco’s WebEx, and OpenVoice’s join.me.
Let’s begin with the common features provided by these four best conference call services. Each of the conference call solutions we mention in today’s blog will provide you with:
- Online video and audio communication between two or more parties
- Screen sharing and chat features within your conference
- The ability to record your conference for future reference
- The opportunity to invite guests to meetings
- The chance to modify your meeting specifications.
But each of these four conference call services providers has other features and benefits, and each of them come with varying price tags. In the next section, we’ll show you a straightforward comparison:
A Straightforward Comparison of The 4 Best Conference Call Services
This section will go over the price, the pros, and the cons of each of these four best conference call services that you can choose from.
Skype for Business
Price (monthly subscription): Available with many Office 365 subscriptions for an additional $5 per user, per month (plus applicable long-distance charges and toll fees).
Pros:
- Skype communications are encrypted, so your conferences are secure.
- You can use Skype for Business Conferencing on any device.
- Integrates seamlessly with Outlook, so meetings can be scheduled with a few simple clicks.
- Offers more features than other conference call services.
- Simplified management & invoicing.
- Have online meetings with up to 250 people or webinars with up to 10,000 people.
Cons:
- Group calls have the potential for a lower quality, depending on the user’s bandwidth.
- Background noises can be picked up, depending on equipment being used.
- Although there is a help and support page, there’s no support hotline that you can call if you have a problem.
GoToMeeting
Price (monthly subscription): Starter plan (up to 10 participants) for $26 CAD/month. Pro Plan (up to 150 participants) for $39 CAD/month. Plus Plan (up to 250 participants) for $64 CAD/month.
Pros:
- GoToMeeting attendees can participate for free without having to spend additional money.
- You can share selected applications within GoToMeeting.
- Integrates seamlessly with Outlook, so meetings can be scheduled with a few simple clicks.
- Hold meetings over VoIP, call-in and call-out services, or traditional phone lines, toll networks, or toll-free networks.
- Have up to 250 participants involved in your conferences.
Cons:
- The interface is not as user-friendly as people would like.
- Recording compatibility with media players can be spotty and sometimes additional conversion is required.
- Compatibility with Mac is not ideal, with reports of freezing, hanging, or complete crashes being reported.
WebEx
Price (monthly subscription): Premium 8 (up to 8 participants) for $24/month. Premium 25 (up to 25 participants) for $49/month. Premium 100 (up to 100 participants) for $89/month.
Pros:
- WebEx allows for the ability to switch presenter controls easily within the call.
- WebEx is an intuitive, user-friendly system.
- You can share files with those who are on the conference call.
- Whiteboard features.
- There are many interactive features to make your calls more collaborative.
- Email, phone and live chat customer support capabilities.
- Have up to 100 participants involved in your conferences.
Cons:
- No operator assistance available.
- It’s reported that file transfer can be limited, with only certain file types allowed.
- WebEx uses its own proprietary file format for meeting recordings, which makes it difficult to convert videos to a more common .mp4 or .wmv format.
Join.me
Price (monthly subscription): Free Plan. Lite Plan for $13 CAD/month. Pro Plan for $24 CAD/month. Business Plan for $36 CAD/month.
Pros:
- Join.me allows international conference lines.
- You can connect from anywhere – join.me lets you join a meeting by phone or internet.
- You can use join.me on any device.
- Users have said it provides clear and glitch-free conversations.
- Guests can share their screens, even if they don’t pay for join.me, simply by downloading the app).
- Have online meetings with up to 250 participants.
Cons:
- Group calls have some audio issues, especially when there are multiple people on the call.
- The interface is not as user-friendly as people would like.
- Although you can use join.me on any device, users have found that you can only join meetings from your mobile device – you can’t start/host a meeting.
See a straightforward comparison of four of the leading #ConferenceCall services: #SkypeforBusiness Conferencing, GoToMeeting, WebEx, and join.me. Which one is right for your organization?
So, What’s the Best Conference Call Service for You?
Only you can understand what your organization is looking for in a conference call solution. As these four leading conference call services shows, there are plenty of options out there. It’s just a matter of figuring out which one is right for you. Need some help with that? Contact our conference call solution experts today! We can help you explore your options.
Or, if you want more information on Skype for Business Conferencing, why not check out our recent on-demand webinar to learn more about what Skype for Business Conferencing can do for you?
