Sometimes a phone call just doesn’t cut the mustard when it comes to communicating with colleagues and customers. If you want to look someone in the eye you only really have two options... either you go and meet face to face or you invest in some conferencing technology. Here, we take a look at the latter option, these mobile conferencing apps for the modern day worker is all you need to stay in touch when you are on the move.
Skype for Business
From the juggernaut Microsoft, Skype for Business (S4B) is very quickly capturing market share. Resellers seem to like it, according to a recent report from Larato, and businesses find it easy to use. Microsoft has now announced its integration with Office applications which enables a higher level of collaboration between users on specific documents. If your business is already making extensive use of 365 and you like the Microsoft brand then S4B is an obvious leap. It really is a great tool but on a mobile device some may argue there are slicker experiences to be had elsewhere.
Fuze Meeting Pro
I tested this a few years ago when it was relatively new on the market. For a young business its product is actually really slick. For $69/ month workers can participate in meetings from every popular platform. It works particularly well for international businesses or businesses where a key members of staff travel. Fuze offers a basic but useful set of sharing tools. You can add content to the cloud at any point during the meeting to share on the screen or via a link. This virtual-meeting service can handle up to 12 video streams at once and has a visual chat feature for one-on-one side conversations. The video tool can display a variety of video file types, including HD video.
Adobe Connect
Connect is a feature rich conferencing app which has been steadily developing for the last ten years. For $45 per month you and 99 colleagues can video conference, share and annotate files, videos and desktop screens making it ideal for just about any business. Some businesses may even find this a bit too overwhelming as its features set is one of the most comprehensive on the market. It has a cross platform desktop client and can be used across iOS, Android and Blackberry operating systems.
Citrix GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is one of the easiest conferencing apps to make it to market. With GoToMeeting, starting a meeting is a one-click prospect, invitations can be distributed on the fly, and users can audio conference via VoIP or a toll-free call-in number. GoToMeeting is free for up to three attendees, £30/ month for up to 25 attendees. It’s cheaper than many of its rivals and does just as well as its nearest competition from Cisco’s WebEx.
ooVoo Premium
Another Web conferencing solution ooVoo Pro allows up to six people to dial in via phones and another half dozen by webcam. The major selling point of ooVoo is its simplicity; even the most tech adverse people can use it. It only cost $29.99 for a year subscription which will enable you to use it across your devices and desktop. If you aren’t sure there is a consumer version which is free so you can happily give it a whirl.