Reflecting a score of 10 on the Zoom scoreboard for performance, availability, implementation rating, and product scalability is amazing. Scoring more than 8.5 for performance and compatibility of online events & meetings and screen sharing is what Zoom is. A cloud-based great web-conferencing solution that is easy, reliable with excellent audio and video quality. It is the best way to do your business remotely because it provides many services to fulfill the business needs.
It has gained popularity in the world of business in a short time. A nominal subscription helps to conduct a Zoom meeting with a hundred attendees. There are Zoom rooms for the larger audience, which support five hundred participants. The app supports mobile users and social media integration — Zoom live on Facebook. Head and tail are the two faces of a coin, and so are the faces of the Zoom app. The advantages and disadvantages of the app walk together hand in hand. Let us first discuss the advantages.
Advantages of Zoom
Zoom provides an array of useful features to facilitate users’ video calling/conferencing requirements. Here are some of the advantages of Zoom.
1. User-friendly
Zoom app installation is an easy three-step process — download, install & open. Besides laptop and desktop, it supports mobile also because it has a cross-platform conferencing tool. So it runs on Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, and Linux. Mainly intended for business purposes, it envelops all the necessary features like virtual meetings and conferences, webinars, online training, and many more. This app provides easy access to all customers and colleagues. The app features like the Zoom room, easy screen sharing, remarkable experience in any room fascinates the user. No other app conducts video conferences in such a simple way.
2. Budget-friendly
Forty-minutes meeting is free of charge on Zoom, and this duration is pretty enough for small businesses and personal use. It offers a subscription-based service for big companies, which is less when compared to the expenses of business tours. That is the best option of cost-cutting with a bag full of multiple options.
3. Conference-friendly
The main feature and the purpose of Zoom is virtual conferences. No other service provides a platform where up to ten thousand attendees together sign up for a meeting. It is also the best way to host events of business associations or connect to investors for future trade. Zoom has yet another feature to stream any webinar or meeting on Facebook to facilitate the attendees to join the meeting. It works only with Facebook because it is the most popular social media, in which most of us have an account. While attending a meeting, attendees can also chat with each other using a chat tool, put a query or share their personal opinion. That means it is a unified base for two-way communication.
4. Google Calendar friendly
Tech people use Google calendar for keeping a record of everyday activities. Integration of Zoom with this service intimates the employees for the next online meeting. As working in the office, employees keep reminding of a meeting but, for any online meet, everyone needs to remember it, that is what Zoom does. A reminder before a Zoom meet helps the person to prepare before time.
5. Livestreaming
Although Zoom has been hailed as a conferencing app, it can equally get used for live-streaming. As a media platform, creators can benefit from this feature to promote their work live before a larger audience while having an alternative in the form of Zoom. This live-streaming feature also allows users to host much more efficient one-sided communication, such as a speech or company address. But Zoom Livestreaming is not free. One needs the following requirements to be met before custom live-streaming or hosting a webinar:
- Having a Pro, Business, Education, or Enterprise account.
- At least having a licensed host.
- And enabling Group HD or Full HD for higher video quality.
Disadvantages of Zoom
Like any other service out there, Zoom also has some issues with it. Not just the application, but the usage in general. Here are the disadvantages of Zoom.
1. Zoom bombing
Covid-19 turned the offline mode of working to online, which resulted in a hike of virtual meetings and conferences because all were working from home. The negligence of some participants allows Zoom invaders to interrupt the conference call. Hackers are smart enough to get the same done, thereby causing Zoom bombing. If not taken care of, this drawback may reduce the number of users. In other words, Zoom lacks end-to-end encryption, putting security at stake. The misbehavior of someone unwanted in the conference disturbs the whole event. Some hackers also recorded Zoom calls with sensitive business details.
2. No control on comments
Zoom app also features live chatbot options like other platforms. A meeting of a small business company with a handful of employees can control the comments. But if it is a public event, the service is not able to delete the unworthy chats. This issue aroused long back but is still unsolved.
3. Non-flexible subscription
This subscription-based service is cheaper for the starter and personal level. When the number of attendees increases, one needs to purchase a plan with low costs at the initial level but eventually, it becomes costlier. There is no such add-on plan that allows the inclusion of too many participants for meetings only once or twice a year. Paying a huge amount for the whole year for just a few conferences is not worth it. It needs to be flexible.
4. Internet Dependent
Zoom requires 600 MB to 1.7 GB of data per hour. Therefore, an internet connection with limited data does not support the service. For the meeting to run flawlessly, it requires an unlimited internet connection with 500 Mbps download and upload speed. You can also face delays in screen sharing. It has high power consumption because the multiple features demand high processing capabilities. That leads to low battery in longer video conferences.
5. App dependent
Zoom is a great app for video calling. Here, “app” is the keyword. Apps are coded applications that are exclusive to a particular platform. Hence, it presents an entry barrier. This barrier can prevent several users from availing of the feature of this app. Most video conferencing platforms work as SaaS or web services. But with Zoom, one has to download the application and register as a subscriber. Now, we have to keep in mind that having an entry barrier in the form of an app is not the worst disadvantage out there. But it can still invite human error at the most crucial of times. Especially if the user is a first-time user and forgets to download the app before a crucial meeting, it can result in some gnashing results.
Conclusion
Covid-19 pandemic gave new phenomenons like work from home, distant learning programs for students and scholars, virtual meetings for business, and henceforth. That gave popularity to then less known Zoom, which backed 477 million users in the year 2020. Allegedly, Zoom comes with lots of features for personal as well as business purposes. It is an amazing platform for video conferencing for small and large businesses.
Free 40-minute video call for small enterprises is cost-saving. I don’t say it is flawless, but I feel it was created to help us fight the current situations, and it succeeded. By solving the few issues discussed above, and improving the security and privacy feature, it will be the most appropriate app to be used for all means of communication.