Enterprise Communications

The Top 7 Virtual Meeting Solutions For Business

Compare the top virtual meeting solutions for business. Key features include video conferencing, collaboration features, and security features facilitating communication in remote and hybrid work environments.

The Top 7 Virtual Meeting Solutions include:
  • 1. Adobe Connect
  • 2. Google Meet
  • 3. GoTo Meeting
  • 4. Microsoft Teams
  • 5. Webex Meetings
  • 6. Zoho Meet
  • 7. Zoom

Virtual Meeting Solutions for business enable hybrid and remote teams to video and audio conference seamlessly over the internet. They allow users to quickly make and schedule virtual meetings, with any number of users to support company ‘all-hands’ or one-to-one catch ups.

Virtual Meeting Solutions support a range of functionalities from video conferencing, screen sharing, to instant messaging, and agenda scheduling. Implementing a virtual meeting solution is essential in the modern workspace, particularly in a remote working environment, to build connection and ensure effective communication among team members. They are also critical tools for business development and sales teams, enabling instant connectivity with customers and partners all over the world.

The virtual meeting solutions market is highly competitive, with the market set to reach USD 78.62 billion by 2030. There are numerous service providers, including market leading dedicated virtual meeting providers, to offerings built-in to wider enterprise productivity and cloud services. These solutions are often integrated with calendar and scheduling application platforms to enhance task coordination and reporting. Each service also has its own eco-system of add-on applications and services to support a wide range of use-cases, from sales meeting notes and clips to quizzes and games for use in schools.  

This article will explore the top virtual meeting solutions and their wider platforms, based on our own usage and testing of each application featured on this article. We’ll compare their features, such as user-friendliness, collaboration tools, security, and customer support based on our own technical evaluation and recommend each service for the right audience.

Adobe Connect Logo

Adobe Connect is a virtual meeting solution that provides more capabilities than standard video conferencing, also extending to seminars and online lessons, and webinars. Adobe Connect focuses on hosting meetings, user personalization and tracking engagement, enabling users to conduct virtual sales pitches, demos, and interviews that mimic the effectiveness of in-person meetings. It offers custom-branded digital meeting environments with interactive content, breakout discussions, and allows asynchronous document reviews.

The Adobe Connect provides secure, scalable virtual meeting environments. Users can create persistent rooms suitable for their use cases such as online meetings, seminars or customer support with Dashboard Views, File Share, and Chat Pods. Users can then drop in and out as required. Adobe Connect enables frictionless access for both internal and external participants without compromising security.

Additionally, Adobe Connect uses ‘Pods’ to enhance virtual experience design and interactive content creation using authoring tools such as Adobe Captivate and Adobe Presenter. It supports brand customizations, breakouts, moderated live chat asynchronous browsing and persistent rooms for host, presenters, and other participants. Adobe Connect also provides remote desktop access for screenshare and training.

A unique aspect of Adobe Connect is the Host & Presenter Area, a virtual backstage that enables collaboration and preparation before events. The software also enables hosts to set up various layouts and content without affecting the live session. Adobe Connect includes a comprehensive eLearning suite for modern learners and instructors and features comprehensive security protocols, making it a robust platform for a range of virtual communication needs.

The platform provides a comprehensive analytics system for administrators to monitor attendance and system usage, with event analytics, campaign, and lead source tracking, as well as engagement monitoring based on attention metrics. The platform is accessible, with a focus on ensuring shared video, documents and live chats are accessible to all users.

Adobe Connect Logo
Google Meet Logo

Google Meet is a video conference and virtual meeting app, delivered for business under the Google Workspace productivity suite. It allows users to easily start and schedule virtual meetings via the web browser (we have found the service works best on Google Chrome), and share meeting invites via Google Mail and Google Calendar, as well as other email and calendar applications. Google Meet is also available as an Android and IOS app for conferencing in on smartphone devices.

Google Meet enables video communication through both planned and spontaneous meetings, live calls, or video message exchanges. Google Meet ensures high-quality video experiences, offering up to 4K video quality. It also provides features like studio lighting and customizable backgrounds. The software integrates intelligent noise cancellation features to minimize disruptions. Google Meet supports real-time live captions, enhancing accessibility and understanding for all participants. Additional interaction features, such as polls, breakout rooms, moderation controls, and Q&A, encourage participant engagement during meetings.

Google Meet provides comprehensive collaboration tools, integrating seamlessly with Google Workspace. Users can conduct meetings directly from Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides, facilitating efficient collaboration for Google apps. Meetings can be easily scheduled, and users can manage meeting agendas, attachments, and participant RSVPs in one place.

Google Meet enforces data security, encrypting user data by default. The solution includes multiple safety measures, such as advanced encryption and anti-abuse policies, ensuring the private data of users remains secure. Premium features of Google Meet allow users to extend meeting duration up to 24 hours, record and transcribe meetings, or host larger meetings with up to 1,000 participants.

Google Meet Logo
GoTo Logo

GoTo Meeting is a web conferencing platform with a focus on providing enterprise use cases, including facilitating education, healthcare, and sales meetings. It’s designed the demands of hybrid work environments, with features designed to make virtual meetings straightforward and efficient for teams in the office and at home. No downloads are required to join a meeting, making access quick and easy.

The platform has a unified administration feature that simplifies hosting, managing, and supporting users. It also offers superior audio quality, with background noise suppression and built-in audio for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and toll services. The platform is loaded with features designed to enhance the web conferencing experience, including HD video capabilities, enhanced audio, screen sharing, and drawing tools. The platform also offers productivity features such as automatic meeting recording and transcription.

GoTo Meeting has a focus on virtual meeting security, with enterprise grade security features such as single sign-on, encrypted sessions, meeting lock, and user meeting removal. The platform will soon offer end-to-end encryption for video messages. It holds an industry-leading 99.999% service uptime.

The platform is accessible in over 190 countries and accommodates up to 250 attendees. GoTo Meeting is utilized across various sectors, from education and healthcare to professional client meetings and sales presentations. It is a strong choice in particular for the healthcare sector, with HIPAA-compliant features that sufficiently address privacy and security requirements in the healthcare space.

GoTo Logo
Microsoft Teams Logo

Microsoft Teams is the second most popular virtual meeting solution available today by market share. It’s very popular with businesses, the education, and healthcare sectors. Microsoft Teams is directly integrated in the Microsoft 365 eco-system, enabling users to easily share Microsoft files and manage folders and teams.

Microsoft Teams also offers a full live chat service with instant messaging, user activity alerts, and direct dial. This means Teams is a strong choice for teams looking for an all-in-one communication app for business. Teams is available in all browsers and as a mobile application, available on both MacOS, IOS, and Windows devices.

Microsoft Teams provides a comprehensive suite of virtual meeting features, enabling a flexible and hybrid work environment. The software lets users host video conferences, virtual events, and audio conferences with a capacity ranging from a small team to large-scale broadcasts for 10,000 attendees. Teams also supports call recordings and automated note taking, among other productivity features.  Teams is integrated with Microsoft 365 as well as other Microsoft and partner applications. It provides file and data collaboration as well as extensibility features.

Microsoft Teams has a focus on admin management and security controls. The platform is constructed on the Microsoft 365 groups, maintaining enterprise-level security, compliance, and manageability. It supports the customization and extension of Teams through third-party apps and the inclusion of external guests. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can be used to scan Teams content, helping to determine if content is malicious and blocking it from user access.

Microsoft Teams is easy-to-use and is a strong platform for organizations using Microsoft 365. It’s easy to start and schedule calls for any number of invitees, and a host of features for improving meeting quality, including meeting transcripts, captions, and filters. It’s a strong solution for admins who can easily manage permissions, users, and teams, whilst enforcing security controls.

Microsoft Teams Logo
Webex Logo

Webex Meetings is a video conferencing solution that offers a range of functionalities geared towards improving the ease and quality of virtual meetings for teams. The platform is enterprise focused and provides several advanced features, including accessibility features. It supports real-time translations in over 100 languages and uses gesture recognition to enable users to communicate non-verbally. In addition, the solution has been designed to remove background noise, enhancing the clarity of meetings regardless of the users’ location.

The Webex suite is comprised of eight digital collaboration tools housed on a secure and trusted platform. These tools include video conferencing, enterprise phone systems, live messaging and video messaging, a cloud contact center, and polling.

A standout feature is the Webex Assistant, an in-built meeting assistant powered by AI. This tool enables users to issue voice commands, access real-time and recorded transcripts, and enjoy automatic notetaking and highlight capturing.

Webex is a trusted, secure platform, owned by Cisco. The meeting solution is a strong unified platform that provides premier, enterprise-grade features. It supports the highest quality video and audio to boost real-time engagement. It also deploys AI to automate collaboration, improve productivity, and foster inclusivity and innovation. All functionalities are easily accessible, allowing users to enjoy seamless communication from any location.

Webex Logo
Zoho Logo

Zoho Meeting is a robust online platform that enables efficient remote collaboration. It offers reliable solutions for webinars and online meetings. The platform provides round-the-clock support and offers high-standard security measures to protect your data and privacy.

Key features include video and audio conferencing. Users can easily share screens to present documents or presentations, creating a more interactive meeting experience. For meetings that can’t be attended, Zoho Meeting offers the feature to record, replay, and share recordings, ensuring no information is missed.

In addition to online meetings, Zoho Meeting also provides a comprehensive webinar solution. Users can broadcast live video webinars, sharing multiple video feeds with their audience. Customization is central to the platform, with options for personalized registration forms and webinar emails. Interactive features allow audience engagement through polls and Q&A sessions. Additionally, comprehensive reports on various webinar aspects are provided and can be downloaded in XLS and CSV formats.

Zoho Meeting provides a clear pricing structure and integrates with other Zoho apps and third-party services. This platform provides an enterprise-level experience for all users, while remaining easy to navigate and use. The platform offers a secure web meeting experience, encrypting audio, video, and screen sharing, enhancing the safety of your business communications.

Zoho Logo
Zoom Logo

Zoom is the most popular virtual meeting solution and video conferencing app, with a 57.24% share of the market. Zoom offers a comprehensive video and audio conferencing platform with a dedicated marketplace of add-on applications. Zoom integrates with major enterprise cloud platforms including Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for scheduling meetings and sending invites. It also offers a ZoIP solution for phone calls and supports virtual events and webinars.

With Zoom, users can initiate a call or meeting from a chat and collaborate on a whiteboard from any device. Zoom offers a full-featured mobile app, enabling users to take phone calls and video meetings on the go.  Zoom integrates with existing tools through its app marketplace, APIs, and out-of-the-box integrations. It’s compatible with third-party devices and room configurations for smooth discussions and sharing.

Zoom offers video conferencing, team chat, digital whiteboard, a cloud-based phone system, and a scheduler. For larger events and webinars, Zoom allows advanced branding, with a built-in marketing and registration page, along with robust analytics for meeting attendance.

For teams, Zoom provides a web-based admin portal for user and system management, along with analytics to track performance and usage. To ensure data security, Zoom adheres to high industry standards for security and privacy and includes encryption features as well as redundancy measures to keep data safe and solutions reliable.

Zoom is very easy to use, manage, and provides multiple pricing options, starting with a free plan. The platform is a strong choice for teams, facilitating internal communication, external virtual meetings, and webinars and events in a single, modern and user friendly platform.

Zoom Logo
The Top 7 Virtual Meeting Solutions For Business