Great software but a resource hog on computers

My experience with Zoom has been positive and nearly all users are able to use the software for our meetings. This has not always been the case with competitors where you have to fiddle around for 5-10 minutes trying to get your local software to work.

Pros

We use both Zoom for meetings and Zoom for phones. The meetings software has been fantastic for years now, but in the last couple of years it has become heavier and heavier on our computers. My MacBook Pro with 16gb RAM will start spinning fans during nearly every meeting. If you don’t use an external mic then you will hear the fans spinning in your meeting! The phone system integration is good and we use it everyday

Cons

Support has been an issue, especially on the phone side. We had one person who was moving phones and they removed a user and accidentally removed a phone number. The big problem is they deleted the phone number and released the phone into the general pool. This is a big problem that any admin can do this. Fortunately we were able to get our main number back but we did loose other numbers in the system.

Excellent product!

We started using this product about two years before the pandemic, as a replacement to GotoWebinar. The advancement in features and accessibility over the last year has been phenomenal. We have been able to stay connected as a team through the chat, which does not appear to have a limit on the number of channels we can create to navigate teams and collaborative projects. The meeting feature is used by our team for everything from actual meetings, to webinars and a statewide conference. Our colleagues used this platform for their national conference and it was great.

Pros

The zoom platform is very easy to start using. The vast improvements over the last year are excellent! The ease of setting up breakout rooms, navigating all the features is great. The live transcript is quite accurate and can keep up with fairly rapid speech. We have also used the interpretation feature many times with great success. It's incredibly helpful we can also live broadcast to our social media platforms, YouTube, etc.

Cons

If your computer lacks RAM, or your internet is anyway lacking bandwidth the features will bog down. I have been kicked out of meetings due to the number of users on Zoom a few times. The IT team was quick to correct that. Some of the features are not available on older devices more which is disappointing. I have heard that the features are tricky on Mac products. I have used it on my iPad and iPhone, also on Android without issues though.

Zoom Meetings and Chat Review

We've used many different software programs to deliver our monthly webinar content and Zoom has proven to be the best program yet. It's ease of use and interactive functions are far beyond what we've used in the past and it allows us to successfully connect to our management teams monthly to deliver timely updates.

Pros

Zoom has been a great resource for our team when delivering our monthly webinars to our management teams. With over 50 people on each call, Zoom allows us to manage the groups audio and video components, display polls and whiteboards for interaction and monitor the chat box when questions arise. It's intuitive when new employees access webinars or other calls and usually they have no problem connecting and interacting during the sessions. It's been better than other meeting softwares we've used in the past and the interaction functionality has proved to increase audience engagement.

Cons

There are times that the connectivity lags but we never know if it's the software or our own connectivity issues. We do find that it does freeze resulting in some content being shared to be missed or audience members are behind.

Solid product for online meetings, events and training. Poor customer service

The UI and functions are right on the mark for use. Adoption rate was high over all, with the exception of very young users and ones over 60.

Pros

Functions, server speed, adoption rate was hight and required less technical support for users. It's popularity aided in the decision to use it. Already had experence with it pre-pandemic.

Cons

Custoemr service is often non existant. I submitted two technical questions. After 6 months there was still no answer. When there finally was, it was a 'sorry it's been hectice,' and a 'we're going to close this ticket' reply. Keeping people up to date with release is an issue, but most keep up.

Easy to use, full of useful features

Zoom is easy to use and you can tailor its features to your specific needs. The weak whiteboard is but a minor annoyance for a product that offers so much in terms of features and possible customizations.

Pros

The wide spectrum of features, functionality and settings you can tweak to fit your needs. With Zoom you can create sub groups using the breakout room features, create polls, share screens with or without sound, write or scribble in a whiteboard and much more. In terms of security, Zoom has evolved tremendously since the days the term "zoombombing" was made infamously popular: Now you can add a number of security features that allow for safer meetings, like waiting rooms, password protected meetings, and other measures. Zoom is also bandwidth friendly. The generated recordings are also small in size, another welcome feature.

Cons

The whiteboard can be a bit more user friendly and pack more features. Most of the time I end up using OneNote or Miro instead due to the limitations of Zoom's own whiteboard and how cumbersome it is to share that limited board in collaborations with large groups.

The software that replaced the office during the pandemic

Zoom was our main communication tool during the pandemic. During the past year we held important board meetings, celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and many other occasions. It made the distances shorter by offering an affordable and very easy to use communication platform

Pros

Zoom is very easy to use even by non-tech savvy people. You receive an invitation, you click and you're in. The interface is very simple. Calls over zoom are smooth and don't require a very high speed connection. You can use Zoom for free or you can upgrade it for longer meetings

Cons

The software can be enhanced by adding new features / integrations similar to Microsoft Teams, to integrate project management tools or other applications that can be useful for collaborating teams.

Great connection!

I recommend Zoom meetings, it works and it's continually being improved!

Pros

There are many benefits that Zoom has over its competitors, which I only started appreciating after adopting it as my primary video conferencing program. I found that Zoom connects well even when my connection is not that strong. If the connection is bad, I normally get a pop-up message letting me know that my connection is unstable. This is very helpful because I do not have to try troubleshoot while busy in a meeting. If my connection completely dies and I am booted out of a meeting, when my connection comes back I am seamlessly let back into the meeting without having to restart the session.

Cons

I feel setting up the mic and speaker could be improved, maybe by adding a quick guide within Zoom or a link to one. It would also be nice if Zoom could be able to pick up only speakers and mics that work? I have three speaker options and only one works but Zoom picks all three up, meaning I have to test my speaker each time I start it. The nice part is more often than not it remembers the speaker option I used the last time. It would also be nice if there could be a Zoom call? not have all communication as meetings to be joined.

Best video conferencing service

Zoom helps my colleagues and I easily communicate via video with clients, prospects and colleagues. I also use it for personal use with friends and family which is nice. Zoom has made video conferencing much easier and more enjoybale.

Pros

Zoom is very easy to use and much more reliable than some of the other services available. I've never had it crash or freeze on me. Anyone can join via the web option. It integrates easily with email clients such as Outlook.

Cons

Customizing your experience can be somewhat confusing for some people which is disappointing. But just straight up using Zoom for its primary purpose is easy and the best available.

Zoom Meetings Review

I have gone through training on zoom, held meetings on zoom, and even had my boyfriend and I meet on zoom. With the paradigm shift to the virtual world brought forth by the pandemic, I smoothly shifted to a virtual office at the comfort of my bedroom.

Pros

I use zoom meetings almost every day to see through meetings for my team. Zoom is very effective because it works for both android and windows users, therefore team members without access to laptops or desktops can easily join. Futhermore, zoom, unlike other virtual platforms works with lower connectivity which is a plus because most people work from homes with different connectivity. Lastly, zoom allows us to record meetings for transcription and future review

Cons

I am uncomfortable with the fact that the platform does not have a timer. A timer keeps one alert especially when one has more than one meeting to see through.

Zoom has transformed education!

Overall, our experience with Zoom has been extremely positive. We will continue to use Zoom moving into the future.

Pros

Zoom was relatively easy to implement and has allowed for distance learning to become a reality during the pandemic. The simplicity of the interface and the reliability of connection has made Zoom our go-to for daily interaction with colleagues and students.

Cons

One disadvantage of Zoom is the inability to turn off the "self-view" as a default. We have discovered through feedback sessions and research that viewing oneself regularly (through conferencing software) is challenging for some; this causes anxiety and forces users to turn off their webcam. If this "view" could be turned off by default, it may help to lessen the anxiety and engage more with turning on their webcam.

Work from home in a team with the right tool

Zoom offers us the ability to be flexible in today's modern lifestyle. It has a variety of features and integrations packed in - surveys, webinars, chat, private chat, connecting to the conference using the phone number (something a lot of competitors don't offer but is handy sometimes). Because of its friendliness to the average user and overall quality of video and sound, Zoom is the only choice that has all of the features that we are looking for.

Pros

As said in the title, Zoom is a must-have if you work from home in a team. In the time of epidemics, the noun Zoom has become as popular as the noun Google is nowadays - everyone is using it one way or another. And Zoom deserved this right way. With Zoom everything is simple and easy to use with a nice and simple user interface. Zoom allows you to communicate with your team like a champ. You can create breakout rooms where you split teams to do the job in pairs for example or you can even organize a public webinar that can attend multiple thousand people with no problem or lag. I remember times when we tried another video conferencing tool and it was an awful experience a few years ago. Everybody could hear echo and the quality was not so great. With Zoom and smart algorithms, we never experienced that and the only person speaking can be heard every time even if not all participants are using dedicated headphones. One feature I especially like is virtual backgrounds. My room is a real mess when we work from home and I am frightened that if my coworkers see what it looks like that I might have some problems. With Zoom I just click one button and immediately I can be on a beach or even in space. It works well most of the time.

Cons

Pricing is somewhat in my opinion overrated if you are planning to use Zoom professionally. It features a free plan but you can have conferences of only 40 mins and with a limited number of participants. Also, sometimes recorded sessions take a long to encode on a local computer but maybe is that because of a little older hardware in my current PC I use Zoom with. I miss the feature to trim cloud recording. Sometimes I or my colleagues start recording a little too early and if they chose cloud recording there is no cloud trim function and then we have to download the replay and trim it manually and then upload it to some other service. Not a big deal but it would be a lot easier with few clicks.

Best video conferencing available

Overall, really good! Connectivity can get wonky sometimes, but that's probably more to do with internet connections than anything. Like I mentioned, starting a meeting as a host is also a little less intuitive (or I'm just missing something obvious). But other than those things, I find Zoom pleasurable to use and easy.

Pros

Zoom has, by far, been the best video conferencing software I've ever used. It's not perfect, but it's far and away the best in terms of video quality, connectivity, ease of setup, and fun features. What I like most is the intuitive nature of setting up video and audio settings. It's simple to make changes to things like brightness or microphone volume, whereas with other video software I've used, I feel that I usually have to guess and search for those settings.

Cons

Zoom can be wonky in terms of starting a call specifically. For example, for almost every scheduled Zoom meeting that I make, if I try to start the meeting through the app, I somehow always end up in a different room than the one that my invitees are in. So, I usually end up just using the same link that I send to my invitees, which means our meeting usually has no host, but it works so *shrug*. Not ideal, but it's a workaround that hasn't proven to have any cons, so I'll take it.

Gets the job done!

Very positive! I use Zoom for 4–5 meetings daily, both hosted and attended, and find that it works quite well for the majority.

Pros

At this point, Zoom is universal enough that it's invaluable to be able to suggest a Zoom meeting with a client or even a stranger and know that all parties will easily be able to set up and communicate via the software. That alone is a huge strength! Thank you, Zoom, for normalizing video chat. The desktop interface is also very intuitive, which is a great plus. Setting up, joining, and leaving meetings is very straightforward, as is chatting nonverbally in the sidebar. Since these are the features most of my clients use most often, that's a win in my book! On a personal note, I also greatly appreciate the new reactions feature. It's a great way for a larger group to participate and weigh in on a conversation without verbally distracting from what's being discussed.

Cons

Additional mute controls would be wonderful—the ability for a host to mute all if desired would help avoid the need for an additional admit moderating big calls. More importantly, though, I feel the phone interface leaves a lot to be desired. Flipping screen to screen to access features is confusing, and often this leads to clients who have joined a call via mobile feeling frustrated or embarrassed by tech snafus. Along those lines, I feel that the decision to switch the ability to offer a dial-in number to paid-only plans was a mistake. Until the Zoom app is accessible and easy to use, dialing in is by far the most straightforward way for mobile users to join a Zoom meeting.

Great Solution with Excellent Features

Overall I have been able to build stronger relationships with customers which has been crucial during the pandemic. The ability to still be connected with each other allows me to continue growing my business and moving towards success. I would highly recommend utilizing Zoom Meetings.

Pros

The features I find most impactful is the ability to share screens. The option to select which window or multiple windows I want to share makes this software the best choice for me. The ability to have a free account is amazing to leverage for quick meetings with customers and is simple for customers to get started with.

Cons

The feature I feel this software is lacking is the ability to share a file while in a meeting. Sometimes I'll be working with a customer and need to just transfer a small file for the customer to utilize during the session. I'm not able to do this and therefore I need to send the file separately via email.

The Best Software for Online Meetings and Chat

This app is particularly helpful during the Covid 19 pandemic. Making business calls, setting up sessions, and attending meetings are all things I can do from home. This software has assisted me in saving a significant amount of time and resources. I'm overjoyed that it allowed me to have some fantastic meetings with no video or audio issues, and I'm overjoyed that I made the right choice by purchasing this fantastic service.

Pros

One of Zoom's best features is how easy it is to connect with others through video conferencing. It's perfect for seminars, online learning, and socializing. I like the feature that allows users to share their screen with others, particularly during meetings. This is essential for e-learning so students will be able to see what the teacher sees on his end. Not only that, but I really enjoy using the feature known as break-out rooms. This feature is essential for post-meeting conversations so individuals will communicate with one another unlike in a group, allowing for privacy.

Cons

The problem I discovered with the application is with the chat function. If a user disconnects and then reconnects, the message history is no longer available to them.

Zoom Zooms Past the Competition

I use Zoom daily as my primary online business video communication tool. I sometimes find myself using it five or six hours a day while working from home during the coronavirus pandemic. I also use Zoom casually in the evenings or on weekends to communicate with family and friends around the world.

Pros

I have found Zoom to be the most stable and the highest quality of all of the online video communication platforms. Zoom brings people together by putting video, voice, web, and chat all in one place. In addition, Zoom makes it easy to share a window, a browser tab, or the entire screen with others. Files can also be uploaded and shared. Virtual backgrounds make hiding a messy room easy and filters (Anyone care for a bunny nose and ears?) are fun for casual or online social-distance drinking.

Cons

My biggest complaint would be that if someone gets cut off in a meeting due to an Internet connection problem and reenters, then the chat history from before they got cut off will no longer be visible to them. There are also many options so, in the beginning, it might be difficult for a new user to find some of them.

Reliable cross-platform tool for video conferences and meetings.

Zoom has been very useful for online teaching of both one-to-one classes and for group classes. It allows me to share my screen with a student, or see their screen and work on the same document at the same time. The "virtual background" feature is useful for times when we don't want other participants to see the room we are in. This helps maintain a sense of privacy as well. Zoom's virtual background is particularly effective and quite natural-looking.

Pros

Zoom offers a stable platform for online meetings . Over the course of hundreds of meetings attended by 5-20 participants, video connection and sound quality has been outstanding. Only minor lags have occurred. Multi-platform. Zoom runs perfectly on our member's Linux systems and, of course, on Windows and Mac systems as well. I particularly like the fact Zoom goes out of its way to support a wide range of Linux distros including Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, OpenSUSE, Oracle, RedHat, Fedora, Arch and Manjaro. Outstanding! Offers advanced settings that allow the use of co-hosts, automatic naming of video files, accessibility of recorded videos. The ability to save each person's audio track to a separate file is particularly useful when editing a meeting video into presentations.

Cons

Zoom has been caught up in controversy over routing data through servers in China, but Zoom management states that this has been addressed. Much of the R&D and development is done in China which may be of concern. A problem we found was that unless the correct time zone and time is specifically set in the Admin profile, Zoom might save recordings with the incorrect date and time. Be sure to check this otherwise you'll end up with a folder full of incorrectly dated meeting files that will require hours of time to sort out and rename. (This happened to us).

Best quality platform for lectures and courses

Zoom Webinars has made it possible for us to continue working during the Covid 19 Pandemic, and we are overall positively surprised how reliable it is even when we have more than 300 participants. We send out the invitation to hundreds of participants and almost a 100% of them log in to the webinar without any trouble.

Pros

The quality of the image is significantly better than other widely used platforms like Google Meet, Skype and Teams. For hosting lectures, Zoom has all the important features needed: screen sharing, sound sharing, the possibility to see the chat even during screen sharing (which is not the case of many other well-known platforms). When we first started using Zoom, it was because of the "break-out room" feature, which we used for discussion groups. Another key point was the facility to invite participants to the meeting, and login is easy even for participants who are not too familiar with computers.

Cons

Initially, several company servers wouldn't allow their computers to download the Zoom app, so many participants could not join the meeting. We had to send out special invitations asking them to join through their browsers instead - which fortunately was an existing alternative. However, most companies nowadays recognize the Zoom app as reliable, so it hasn't really been an issue lately. The automatic Green Screen function (that is, with any colored background instead of a real green screen) does not yet produce a convincing background. It works with a real green screen though. Also, the camera filters available are all very childish. It would be great to have filters for business as well, such as the possibility to modify the warmth of the colors in the camera picture or similiar. We mostly use the Webinar function, and it automatically keeps the participants´ cameras off and microphones muted - which is great! However, when we have tried to unmute a participants mic it has never really worked. However, this is not an essential function for our lectures since we use the chat function for discussions.

Better balance between audio and video quality and ease of use.

I use Zoom every week for business meetings and to teach. I use the co-host role a lot so I can dedicate myself to my class while someone else runs the room. It also helps me to record the classes to evaluate them later or upload the material to the internet.

Pros

The best thing about this software is that it is suitable for both small meetings and large presentations. It is easy to use for those who do not usually master computer tools, who will meet their needs. But it also has a variety of advanced configuration and management capabilities that allow you to teach or make professional presentations. Another great point is its audio and video quality, its possibilities to divide the meeting into small groups, use co-hosts who help to manage the room, etc ...

Cons

The price can be limiting. The free version allows meetings of up to 40 ', and can be useful. And the $ 15 version has unlimited time and up to 100 people in the room. It is usually the most appropriate. But when it comes to needing superior support, or to make a webinar or other types of presentations, it tends to be quite expensive.

Let's Zoom!

Remember the time when everyone was saying "Go google this"? Well, there is a new word in English these days - let's Zoom )) An incredible alternative to Skype, this software allows you to easily connect with others across the globe via your phone or PC. The others don't even need to have Zoom installed - they just need the invitation link!

Pros

Firstly, you can have quite a few participants - and if you are the meeting leader, you can turn off all their cameras and mics. Very useful for those colleagues who are not very self-aware. Secondly, the amazing screen sharing feature - where I can also give control to another participant over one of my open programs or my whole desktop, while conversing all the time. Talking about TeamViewer on steroids! Another massive plus is that in the free version you get your own free meeting with a unique link and you can reuse it again and again. In this way, people eventually know your "zoom address" )) and can contact you easier! Or they can just add you to their chat/contact list and zoom you whenever they need your assistance.

Cons

The one thing that is very annoying is the Waiting room... Often I would invite people to my Zoom call, only to find them stuck in the waiting room and unable to join. I myself had often been stuck in others' waiting rooms as well. Trying to turn off the feature in the account settings has no effect - apparently this is mandatory. If Zoom devs would reconsider this and allow us to turn off waiting rooms, Zoom would be much better.

Great seamless features (but missing a few)

Zoom has been a game changer and has elevated the classroom expereince.

Pros

Zoom has a lot of great videos conferencing features. Reactions, virtual backgrounds, chats, recording co-hosting, breakout rooms. Whats even better, is the administrator of the calls has a lot of freedom for how to set up calls. You can have participants hidden to one another (like a webinar), you can have the chat disabled between participants or entirely. Even their post call features are useful. You can see who attended, you can password protect the recording, and you can have a transcription of the recording. I especially like that participants can call in with a phone, laptop, tablet, or any device.

Cons

While the features are all great, there are a few missing that would really make it the top conferencing option. One would be built-in meeting notes (like mircosoft teams). Another would be live captions for audio-impaired participants. And finally, I wish there was an option to reduce the quality of your video, because with higher HD devices, Zoom sucks all the bandwith of internet and makes it impossible for other devices to browse or stream. However for many meetings video is required so participants cannot turn off their video.

Assessible, Simple & SUPER Customer Support

Overall, I would say I love everything about ZOOM and I should say thanks to this software that our shift from our offline course to online can be so easy.

Pros

I like how easy it is to access Zoom app. My targeted customers are mostly housewives who are fairly new to technology and apps. Zoom comes in as an easy access for them as all they need is just a click on their unique link which could easily land them to the Meeting room. Simple Register Page I also like that I could create a simple lead page for my registrants. Although my company is not using that feature, knowing that there is such function which you can also personalize it with your own logo is pretty good as anyone who is trying to hold a zoom meeting with some own personality can easily do it themselves. Smooth Streaming The streaming of zoom is also ne of the applaudable factors of this software. So far, with a steady Mbps on our side, the resolution and sound are just things you don't complain about at all. Flexibility in Muting and Turning on Camera As the host, we can easily mute our guests and turn off their webcam through the Zoom settings. And when it comes to the time to interact with our guests, we can easily unmute them to speak! Awesome Customer Support!! And I should say Zoom has great customer support as well. They are always on a standby mode ! There was once I was trying to look for my registration page but I failed so I quickly contacted the support team and straight away they came to the rescue and pin pointed my problem and assisted me that I had mistakenly unticked the registration box. Very helpful indeed!

Cons

I have to hesitate here for a few seconds to actually think of the downsides. But they do have a couple of things that I would like to see that could be improved by Zoom. The ability to save the CHAT HISTORY. As we are trying to close sales through our webinar, and since there's no way to take down the potential clients who have responded in the chat, we have to manually write their names down to contact them once again without ending the meeting first. If only we could save the chat history, perhaps that would really help us a lot in following up with our potential clients. A short clip on how to turn on the camera and connecct the audio. Every time before we start our webinar course, we have to educate/inform our students on how to connect their audio. I will always be the one to teach the steps in utilizing the tools in zoom which would take up a good 10minutes. If only we had a short professional clip by Zoom to send to our participants, that would save up so much time!

Virtual Learning

Overall this has been a good option as our schools have moved to virtual learning. It is easiest used among adults and is very simple to use.

Pros

Zoom is a great way to connect with others when video and audio are necessary. It is great for meetings, e-learning, and social connections. I really like that you can share your screen. This is especially helpful for e-learning. It allows the students to see what you are seeing (and allows you to see what they are having problems with). I also like that you can split up into break-out rooms. This gives diversity of discussion. The administrator also has the ability to hop in and out of different rooms. As a teacher, this is a great way to get students talking while also supervising the conversations.

Cons

There are some difficulties with this software and e-learning. For example, the leader can mute all participants; however, participants can unmute themselves. This makes it difficult if you have a student who wants to interrupt the lesson. They can simply unmute themselves at any time. Also, while you can share your screen, every participant can also share their screen. If too many people try to share their screen at one time, it creates a bit of chaos and oftentimes glitches out the system.

Zoom make social distancing easier

I knew about zoom before this pandemic. However, I became a frequent user since the pandemic and the lock down. Apart from the few issues I had which most of them minor the software was quite useful and I benefited alot from using it.

Pros

Being that our new normal at work is to work from home most days it made meeting much easier. I really love the fact that all we had to do is send a link for everyone to be joined without an hassle. Zoom can be used for multiple purposes and not just for meetings. It is used for online learning, preventing students to have to be face to face with their peers and their teachers. It is very user friendly. Another pro is that you can share multiple screens and it allows virtual background which is top tier. The virtual feature of hand raising is amazing Especially in schools and meetings.

Cons

Even though this software is on it's way to top tier there is still some areas that could be improved upon and they are: 1) it should be clear on how you turn on your mike 2) you have to upgrade to a paid plan to use customer support and when you do (at least when I do) there is no customer support 3)there should be an option for you to share and communicate with persons you are waiting. 4)the virtual backgrounds could be a bit clearer or look a bit more realistic

Getting Together With Zoom

Before 2020, I never expected to need a virtual meeting program. I was able to conduct much of my business with customers or clientele over the phone or in person. Now I feel like I can't live without Zoom. From virtual conferences to discussing illustrations with colleagues, it has become a necessity when we couldn't get together.

Pros

Some of the better features of Zoom are the ease of connecting with others via video conferencing. The company keeps its software updated, and they do care about security. You can use the program for free and still get many options, such as unlimited one to one meetings, 40-minute meetings, and hosting meetings with up to 100 participants. There are nice video options such as screen sharing, virtual backgrounds, spotlight multiple people, etc. With a pro plan ($149.90 /year/license), you can have the ability to offer longer meetings (I encourage question and answer periods), streaming, and reporting functionality.

Cons

I recently found out that there are many people who still don't have access to a computer. Those that want to join the meetings can do it by phone, but it is cumbersome to connect. I had to snail mail the meeting information to a few folks so that they could connect to a meeting of mine, and I had a difficult time walking them through the steps. The program doesn't let you sign in with more than one device. I wanted to troubleshoot the phone call issue and others myself but needed someone else's account to verify the solutions. I also wish Zoom offered a simple blurred background option for their virtual session like Skype offers. I don't necessarily need anything fancy for a background. I just want to make my background less distracting, especially when my cat starts bathing behind me.

A Lifesaver During Covid

Prior to covid I'd utilized zoom occasionally but not on the paid level. I had to upgrade our usage to allow for more people to be included in meetings and my staff to utilize it as well for online library program offerings. It's been great. I can easily schedule a meeting, sent out notice to my attendees and even send it to Facebook Live so that I can still make my meeting accessible for public viewing. (We're subject to open records laws)

Pros

Eight months ago Video Conferencing seemed like something that I'd never have to truly look into beyond an occasional use, more for fun, not really work. The Covid 19 Crisis made me rethink that. I'm the director of a small public library in Kentucky. We are required legally to host monthly trustees meetings to keep tabs on/make the community aware of the utilization of tax dollars and services offered. But what do you do when you can't allow those trustees to be in the same room together for the sake of their health? Zoom really saved us.

Cons

I've not encountered any real issue with our use of Zoom thus far. It's been easy to use for myself and the library trustees.

ZOOM for team discussions, learning and more!

Overall, I had a good experience with ZOOM. Through the application we are able to have team discussions, discuss ongoing project, presentation and more. I am able to join live meetings in anytime and anywhere. With the remote desktop connections, we are able to access the office PC(virtually), and do works as specified. So, its been easier for us to 'Work From Home' in this pandemic.

Pros

Zoom is great app for online video conferencing. It Supports multiple devices, file sharing, video calls, texts(chats), screen hosting, remote access and much more within the single app. The interface seems smooth and navigation within the app is handy. Zoom has its own in-built screen recording feature, and users don't need to install any external softwares for screen recording.

Cons

For most of the times, I am experiencing the repetition of audio as I speak. It's quiet disturbing when I heard my own voice repeling back. Also, sometimes, the calls ends out unexpectedly, and I am likely to miss important announcement and team discussions.

A very complete conferencing application that suffers from usability issues

Overall I have found Zoom to be a stable and valuable tool. The pricing structure is reasonable and the features very complete. I like that the company is continuing on improving security which is imperative to it's continued use. I often recommend and use Zoom because of this.

Pros

One of the things I appreciate the most is that only the host of a meeting is required to have a membership to take advantage of long conference calls. This has opened up the ability to use Zoom with a wide array of customers and use cases, such as adding family members. Zoom is also frequently updating their application to make it more user friendly and add compelling features which has made this conferencing tool a goto for nearly everyone. The fact it is completely cross platform makes it accessible for anyone I need to conference call with.

Cons

The inconstancies and the seemingly constant adjustment of features is a blessing and a curse. When working with others they often can't find how to do something that they "saw yesterday." While this isn't a major issue for professionals, it can be crippling and frustrating to non-technical users. Also, there is a level of inconsistency between desktop and mobile applications on the location of buttons and features that can make it very difficult to assist someone when providing them support. One other issues is the confusion of "New Meeting," "schedule," and "meetings". These names as well as their button locations (meetings) make it frustrating to schedule, or find a scheduled meeting. It seems "New Meeting" could easily make it optional on the dialog to make this a quick meeting vs. scheduled meeting. Even though I am aware of what these mean I am forever clicking the wrong button.

Zoom- The best video and audio calling application for Business.

My overall experience with zoom has been really great since the software is very easy to understand as well as use and the speed with which is operates is really recommendable. Also, the screen sharing feature on this application is fastest when compared to its peers. Having said that, I would again like to reiterate that it is one of the best internet calling applications available in the market right now .

Pros

Zoom is one of the best and fastest audio and video calling software available in the market today. As per my understanding, the best USP of zoom is the simplicity with which this software is created and moreover the speed of manuovering in moving from one functionality to another within the software. I would also specifically like to mention the fact that while working on slow internet speeds, I have experinced zoom calls to be the most seamless and thus they provided a wonderful experience even in low internet badwidth conditions.

Cons

The only thing that I didn't like much about this software is the limited number of functions it provides to the end user. To elaborate, zoom is primarily used only for calls and chats. I wish i could have seen more features in this application like file sharing and editing on cloud, intergration and preparation of different types of office products etc. within zoom, that way we would not have to switch to other applications for these kind of tasks .

Decent solution for online meetings

We are using Zoom for our daily meetings for website development. We use the screen share features to discuss on the project and to work on the source code together. We share our ideas with whiteboard feature. Zoom handles weak internet connection very well - which makes it our on-the-go app for online meetings.

Pros

Zoom can be used both on PC and smartphone. The app is quite easy to navigate. Connecting to meetings is easy using meeting links. It has the options to chat, share screen, documents and whiteboard - everything needed for team meetings. The Driving Mode is quite handy when only voice communication is needed.

Cons

The meeting interface is kind of old-ish. Lags quite a lot sometimes. Disconnects and reconnects again and agin on weak network. It doesn’t have advanced features like auto-connecting to meetings according to the schedule.

School's Solution During a Pandemic

Overall Zoom is an amazing software and I'm glad that most teachers use it. I do think there are some improvements and some added features to be made. Zoom's a strong option for anyone needing to teach a class through the internet or host online meetings with international people and I believe it will become a better feature as time moves on.

Pros

Zoom has been a great software for online meetings since 2013. Although only a couple of people had used Zoom pre-2020, it started to emerge during the time Covid-19 started affecting schools. Due to people having social distance, having school in-person was essentially impossible without getting sick. Zoom was a strong solution to this problem and is still being used more than ever today. Like most students, I have been only using Zoom as a way to attend school during this pandemic but I do not mind having online school especially since I know doing it may save my peers from contracting the virus. Zoom has provided a way for us students to attend school without having the risk of exposing or being exposed to Covid-19. Zoom's software is easily manageable as most people in my family could use it without issue. It's video chat software allows for the option to quickly turn on or off both your mic and camera in an instant. You can also message people through a chat during a meeting so there's no need to turn on your mic to ask a question. The quick command menu allows you to ask your teacher multiple things without having to get their attention while they're teaching. Accessing a Zoom meeting is also very simple as you can send or receive a link that will instantly put you into the meeting or enter the room code. Zoom has a feature where the host can send you into separate groups privately which is very effective when doing group projects.

Cons

Zoom has some flaws that other softwares already have integrated into their system. One example is Discord which allows the user to turn up the mic volume of anyone in a meeting while allowing you to simultaneously turn down the mic of someone else. Zoom does have to ability to allow you to add contacts but personally I don't use this feature because there's not a quicker way to do other than adding their email address. I think this takes too long and so, therefore, don't use this feature as much. Zoom seems to be strictly a video, call, and message application when many of its users are students and teachers. Integrating a feature that allows teachers to hand out assignments in an organized way would seem more beneficial. Also, it does seem like Zoom could add more features to make it seems like an software that's used more for than just school and work. It could add a social media feature, although this is a hypothetical situation, similar to Snapchat's ability to send pictures to anyone in an instant. Or add a stories feature where teachers can remind students that an assignment may be due while making it look more interesting than just an email notification on your phone.

Meetings during a pandemic? No problem with Zoom.

During the pandemic we needed a solution to hold our meetings for our offficers, general membership, and committees. We needed a perfect solution, and we needed it quickly. As the project manager on implementing and researching a viable solution, we looked at what we had, and what we wanted. We had GoToMeeting. I found that this product was clunky, not user friendly, and overall a hassle to implement and utilize for a wide demographic of members. Zoom to the rescue! When we priced our and made the switch, I went forward with looking for a solution that would appeal to those who know nothing about technology and computers. We found Zoom to be extremely user friendly for those people, and we were able to implement quickly, easily, and accurately. The feedback from our membership has been nothing but positive and excited to finally find a user-friendly platform that just works during this changing and uncertain time!

Pros

Zoom was super easy to implement for our department of 200 plus members. This was by far the easiest aspect of the program. Zoom was extremely easy to price, and to roll out to our membership. We have a wide demographic of members, some who are computer-literate, and those who are not. What I like the most was being able to on-board those members who are technophobes. Generating and setting up a meeting was very straightforward, and incredibly easy. I can send a meeting to multiple people quickly and easily, with it being easy and simple on their end. The feedback has been nothing but positive. Secondly, I love the stable connection zoom provides, with crystal-clear audio and video when we run a meeting with over 200 people at once. This was spot on for what we were looking for.

Cons

My only issue with Zoom is during rapid discussion. Sometimes the software has an issue keeping up, audio will cut out, and it is sometimes difficult to follow when multiple people are talking at once. This occurs only a few times and seems to be inconsistent. Sometimes it goes ahead with no issues, and there is no difficulty hearing, but sometimes it is burdensome to ask someone to repeat what they were saying and it slows down overall productivity and user happiness.

Zoom Makes It Possible

Overall, Zoom has provided that easy & seamless transition from 100% in-person work to now 100% virtual work in a matter of 2 days. Also, Zoom has been crucial to our “office bonding” since it has now been approximately 5 months of both seeing these coworkers.

Pros

Back in March, like the rest of the country, I was sent to work from home due to coronavirus. Since Zoom was already integrated into our GSuite & used sporadically, it made it a seamless transition, most importantly our meetings that had already been scheduled prior to being sent home. Part of my job is recruitment & onboarding, and with Zoom, I have been able to successfully hire & onboard several new employees, specifically during this COVID time. When I have had to hire en mass, I like to utilize the breakout room feature when I have to virtually verify our employees’ I-9 documents. The breakout rooms allow for there to be privacy when showing these documents on camera, reducing the stress & anxiety of showing these documents with strangers present. We have also created a biweekly talk show presented through Zoom for all of our employees to watch. Topics include, but are not limited to, features in Zoom itself, Google Form creations, Google Drive, etc. Thankfully Zoom has made virtual HR as easy as possible.

Cons

My biggest complaint about the software is that when connected via phone, people can sometimes hear themselves via feedback on their end - more so than on the computer mic. It is extremely important to ensure you are muted if you are not actively speaking while using the phone audio method.

Avis sur Zoom

J'ai découvert Zoom au démarrage du projet et il a bien évolué! Installation et enregistrement rapide! Prise en mais intuitive. Effectivité et besoin de peu de ressources de bande passante et utilisable sur tout les systèmes d'exploitation avec peu de ressource mémoire.

Pros

Zoom est un programme de visioconférence simple à mettre en place et à utiliser qui permet de réalisé des rendez-vous "tête à tête" ou des réunions de groupe de qualité et rapidement sans grande connaissance informatique. Il permet aussi de faire des présentation et d'animer des Webinaires avec un partage d'écran simple et propre qui va bien mettre en valeurs votre produits! La qualité d'image et incroyable même avec une webcam de PC portable et il n'y a quasiment jamais de lag d'images même avec une petite connexion. Bref c'est in logiciel indispensable a mettre dans votre top 5!

Cons

L'interface est un peu trop minimaliste. il pourra encore s’améliorer sur la charte graphique. Il y a eu des failles de sécurité dû a un emploie pas assez sécurisé des utilisateurs. Quelques soucis pour fonctionner avec Firefox.....

Someone recommended Zoom

Given the current climate everyone is trying to find solutions for running classrooms from home. I was led to using Zoom by recommendation from other lecturers. In the scramble to find a universal solution that could work for everyone Zoom became the most popular solution. Having use the software for the past three months I can say that it does its job competently. Sadly I haven't upgraded to the pro version but that might change given the unstable times we are in now. Overall i like all the extra feature the software has. Its made having online tutorials a breeze.

Pros

Well like many conference software it allows video chat and it comes with screen sharing which is essential when working with students. I also like the features that allows you to see who is muted as well as being able to mute them yourself. When doing screen sharing, I like the top bar that shows information about the current call and also the pop-up notification when someone is attempting to join the chat. Above all I enjoy the fact that I don’t have to worry about what devices my students have as they can join using either PC or Cellphone. Especially cellphones as most of my student are more likely to have a cellphone or tablet than a laptop or desktop computer.

Cons

My only issue is that there are other conferencing software that are free to use and because Zoom's free version is limited to 40 mins per session it can become annoying re-establishing meetings every time you run out of minutes. This leaves you with the only option of purchasing the pro version which can cost you either $15 per month or an annual fee of $150. At that cost you better be committed to using this software the whole year and not as a temporary solution to the current crisis. In the end you'll have to decide if the cost is worth the features it provides.

Zoom Review

The overall experience is really great for me because I have come to zoom from skype for business and its way better compared to that product.

Pros

Zoom is one of the best meeting app I have ever used. The interface is so simple and minimalist. Its fast to connect and its very much stable. The video and audio quality is really good compared to other products in its category. Here the chats stay for 7 days while in other similar products (e.g. skype) all the chats got deleted once we close the session. Sharing file over chats and in-built screenshot taking features make it awesome. Another cool feature is if you chat with people while you are sharing your screen, that chat window wont be shared through screen sharing. Its really a super cool features for privacy.

Cons

I don't have many complaint against zoom but there are few. In the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, when so many people started using zoom, I had lots of stability issues. But it got fixed through an update. A big shout-out for the zoom team. I feel like the chat staying time can be improved from 7 days to 30 days or more. Because a history is always better. Another problem I have faced is like whenever I am scheduling a meeting I can't invite people and share the meeting information from the zoom window. It redirects me to my outlook calendar and from there the rest can be done. Also my zoom doesn't sync other meeting from my calendar. It shows only those meeting which are created from zoom.

Standard for large group meetings

Zoom continues to be our go-to solution for Large group meetings (over 9 participants) and nearly all meetings with external participants. We often will use MS Teams for smaller meetings but we allows our users to chose based on personal preference.

Pros

I have used all of the video conferencing options on the Market and Zoom is the easiest to use while providing a consistent and stable experience for all.

Cons

The only feature that I see lacking in Zoom is the same tight integration with the Microsoft Stack that Teams has. With that said, it still integrates nicely with Outlook so it's easy to schedule meetings.

Zoom is still good but has become a little bit more difficult to execute on task

There is not much to say. I simply say this - a few years ago people used to "skype" today it is only "Zoom"

Pros

Secured calling via zoom, password is set and has to be shared to guest. Participants will need to be allowed into meeting. This has raised the bar for this long standing winner. The app is simple to use - my staff gets it within minutes! It is a clear winner for video conferencing going forward. Having zoom on premise is ideal for my organization, this is one point that I see as a big plus for my organization with employees throughout many location. We are not bothered much by Internet bandwidth because of our local enterprise implementation.

Cons

As security concerns grows, the developers responded and administration and hosting functionalities became a bit more involved, sometime a bit annoying when you are looking for a function that once exist, but disappeared over the last few weeks because a security update.

Robust and dependable conferencing platform for remote working

I usually conduct site inspections by going to the site, but due to the limitations arisen as a result of the pandemic I have to conduct these meetings and inspections virtually. The picture quality is top-notch and there is no lag especially in video. With a good internet connection, there is literally nothing we can't do as a remote team. Previously we were deploying Zoom as a conferencing tool for only international conferencing, or limited requirements, however now we are utilizing it for all of our meetings, video conferences and audio calls on a daily basis.

Pros

Zoom is one of the many software available for video conferencing, audio meetings as well as remote seminars. However one aspect where Zoom clearly is better than its counterparts is 'quality'. The connectivity for meetings initiated through Zoom is amazing, and so is the audio-video quality. I have tried several other applications including Teams and Meet, but Zoom provides a better experience. It is easy to share the screen, and present slides etc. seamlessly whilst delivering to a wide audience. There is also an option to record- that is quite useful if team members are unavailable to attend.

Cons

Integration was fairly quick and simple. However I feel that the app could be improved, as it is not as robust as using the software on the computer. Also, I would like the option of just joining through the web and not have to download the app. I tried this the first time, but couldn't join the meeting as a result of this confusion.

Great Online Meetings, Great Price

The Chatbox provides a valuable written transcript of the comments. We also use the chatbox for Board voting so we know if there are differences of opinion that need to be discussed. Recording is easy, so we can review the discussion or allow people who missed the meeting to view it. We love the new Breakout Rooms, and Polls are great for maintaining interest.

Pros

We just pay for a simple "Pro" plan, but it allows our association to do what we need to do. Our webinars never have over 100 present, so the low-level plan is fine for us. All of our meetings are international, and we are really impressed with the global performance. We recently used a technician in Azerbaijan to display slides for presenters in India, Australia, and Canada and the presentation was seamless. We use "Gallery Mode" when meetings are small enough not to exceed bandwidth. But for more than 8, we need to turn off videos and use Speaker View. We are delighted that attendees can share their screen if they want to, and the delay is minimal. Controlling the videos and microphones of attendees is easy.

Cons

It takes time to learn to navigate the new features. It is time well-invested, because the new features are very helpful.

Zoom has allowed us to continue holding our meetings

I've been utilizing Zoom to talk and meet with my collaborators while we're isolated gathering. With the current pandemic, Zoom has become a practically day by day program that I abuse for both work gatherings and virtual meetups with companions. I truly like how you'll have various clients on straightforwardly. I'm prepared to speak with various video calls. I abuse them for chapel meeting week by week and that they are incredible.

Pros

I am exceptionally happy with this product so far. I abuse it for a course that I'm taking, additionally on meeting with clients. The experience is magnificent. I'm hearing impeded and that I am marking to everyone on Zoom video meetings. With Zoom, we will video visit with them likewise as screen share, it's helped us continue pushing ahead through the franticness.

Cons

It can get mistaking for some clients legitimately with talking and commotion. Regularly need to have clients quiet for better solid quality. fixing a substitution meeting on the iPad took a touch you-tubing, yet after we made sense of it, it had been simple.

Do You Zoom?

The software has been essential to our business. We use the video and audio connection, the screen sharing, the white board, and the chat functions.

Pros

Who does not Zoom these days? Since COVID-19 quarantining and social distancing has kicked in, Zoom has been indispensable. I like the ease of use, the screen share functions, the quality, and the recent upgrade. UPGRADE: Being able to hold a zoom meeting or class for more that 40 minutes is essential for flow and productivity.

Cons

I have been less than impressed with the customer service. I know they must be overloaded since COVID-19 entered the scene, but I am frustrated with the loose ends of the customer service department. The wait time for a service rep to get back to you is upwards of two to three days. As a paying customer who has NO access to her zoom room, I believe I am being beyond patient with Zoom. I presently use my business partner's Zoom room unless she is in there first. Then I use a "free room" and deal with the 40 minute time limit for 3 or more students in my classroom.

Doesn't deserve the bad press

Our organization is able to work around the world, thanks to Zoom. We couldn't do our jobs without it. Videoconferencing isn't a perfect replacement for in-person communication, but it's a lot better than just email or text. And lots of people are using it for non-business purposes these days and experiencing the benefits of video calls to replace social engagements, or just to facilitate conversations with people who are far away. The negative press is really unfortunate, because it's not the platform's fault - but the fault of malicious people using it in unintended ways. If Zoom wasn't so successful, it wouldn't be getting attention from people with evil intentions. We'll still use Zoom long after this has blown over, and are thankful for how it enables us to work efficiently even with a distributed team.

Pros

Zoom has gotten a lot of negative press lately, but it's only a victim of its own success. The platform is deserving of its reputation as the go-to videoconferencing software for business, and even personal use these days. It does exactly what its supposed to: handle great video meetings, with a simple built-in chat feature to enable communication between those on the call. It's no-frills approach makes it easy to focus on what you're there for - the other people on the call and facilitating information exchange between them.

Cons

The chat feature could be better in ways, for example you can't transfer files or react to messages, and when you have a lot of people on a call using the chat heavily, it can get overwhelming. But it works for what it is. You're supposed to be talking to people on video, not typing to them. Some features could be expanded, like more offerings for virtual backgrounds, but these aren't essential features. Zoom gets it right where it counts - handling video and audio super well even on calls with hundreds of people on them.

Modern Meetings Made Easy!

Overall, Zoom Meetings & Chat has become a great way to get work done in a simple manner. Everyone is online now, and in person conferences are outdated. Whether you're working from home, remotely, or need several members in different states to jump on a conference, and watch your screen for training purposes, I would recommend it. Overall it is pretty easy to use, but I would definitely RUN A TEST MEETING FIRST with at least one other person so you can guide colleagues accessing it for the first time. I have used other video meetings, and Zoom has worked seamlessly for me. Of course you don't need to use it just for business, my son's classroom uses it, as well as you can chat with family members, change backgrounds for fun interaction too. I will likely continue to use Zoom Meetings & Chat for a long while.

Pros

This is a great time to use modern software like Zoom Meetings & Chat for video conference and meetings. I will try to go over all the features which I believe makes this software customizable. You can use it either through a desktop, ipad or tablet, as well as your cell phone. The cellphone or other tablets may have limited features though. The thing I like the most about Zoom is being able to schedule several meeting, invite individual members to the meeting, either through a meeting ID number and password (optional) or a specific URL as an easy access link. I believe all invited need to have the software downloaded AND create a login. For training purposes, you can easily show your screen to your meeting members, so if they have a hard time accessing or understanding the information given to them, you can show them step by step. The host can also screen record the meeting to share with someone that wasn't available to attend the meeting. The host is the only one who can all members at once and individually mute/unmute. Everyone has the option of seeing a gallery of members on one screen or one person at a time (generally whoever is speaking). Lastly, there is a chat option included, but if you're on a tablet or phone you can't access the chat and see members at the same time. The chat is good to share links or information shared that you want members to access. Sorry about the list but they really have SO MANY OPTIONS.

Cons

The host MUST have a strong internet capability otherwise there may be some lagging so keep that in mind. Also, members that are accessing the meeting over a phone or tablet may have a limited amount of features, so I highly recommend a desktop (with camera) and hard internet wired for a more professional approach. I do believe they have currently waived the 40 minute max for meetings, but generally, I think you have to pay extra to have meetings longer than 40 minutes. This is not usually a problem, unless you have a very long meeting. Meeting Security/Safety is another issue. I would HIGHLY suggest not sharing URL links online. ONLY SHARE URLS OR MEETING IDS DIRECTLY WITH WHO YOU WANT TO ATTEND, AND HAVE IT PASSWORD PROTECTED. If your meeting isn't password protected, it may be likely that anyone could access your meeting. The last thing you want is a stranger jumping into your meeting and roaming free on what they say or show. There are people like that out there, so save yourself the trouble.

Surprisingly Good For Distance Learning

Right now, my company is moving all language classes to Zoom for the foreseeable future until further notice, in order to commit to social distancing during the coronavirus crisis within the Washington, D.C., and New York City metropolitan regions. Although we are still within the first two weeks of transition, it has been a smooth one overall and both teachers and students (as well as company administrators) seem pleased enough in spite of the vast differences between virtual learning and in-person classes.

Pros

There are *so* many features that are amazingly effective for language learning in a virtual classroom. Besides the expected (and helpful) virtual whiteboard and screen sharing available to both me as the teacher and other users as students, there are also Breakout Rooms. This is essential for learning any foreign language; the Breakout Rooms simulate partnered or smaller group activities that are necessary for practicing the target language in context with another learner. These allow students to speak one-on-one (or in small groups) with each other for a brief exercise before returning to the Main Room of the video chat. The teacher can also check in on each of the private Breakout Rooms to make sure everything is running smoothly, and if a student requires immediate help, there is another button within a Breakout Room to let the teacher know. Lastly, one feature that I have not found in other video chat software such as Skype or Google Hangouts is the virtual hand-raising button. This prevents users from speaking over each other, and the host/teacher can immediately tell which student would like to ask a question.

Cons

I think almost everything could potentially be improved... It is always harder to conduct a meeting virtually than in real life, especially when that meeting is a *language lesson.* It is the first stages, however, so I and my students will have to adapt over the next few weeks. That said, I am a little frustrated that the host/teacher cannot share a screen view or a whiteboard during the Breakout Rooms. This forces students to share their own screens with each other, and/or have other apps open at the same time. I would like for them to be able to access my lesson slides during their small group/partnered activities, but this doesn't seem to be possible yet with Zoom.

Our efficiency increased with Zoom

We use Zoom daily for meetings with many participants. The recording feature is very helpful and, provide us with an opportunity to replicate knowledge and to record important meetings.

Pros

Ease of use and quality of video / audio transmission. There is integration available in Zapier, which is very useful to integrate the booking of meetings with, for example, Google Calendar.

Cons

Smartphone version interface. Lack of integration to deliver video recordings directly to, for example, Youtube.

Zoom beats rivals with better video quality and individual preferences

We have remote team members all over the World and we have a standup everyday. Using good video really does make the personal connection stronger and the team works better with a stronger human bond. The Slack integration is great. On a whim, we can go from chatting to Zoom by using "/zoom" in the Slack channel. This takes an issue from email, tickets, and chatting to a shared video conference where we can share screens and see what people are looking at and get resolutions faster.

Pros

This software is so easy to setup and use. Everything seems really well thought-out. The scheduled meetings give you easy calendar integrations for invitees. It provides a direct link to the meeting URL and all the phone numbers for dial-in. The preferences are easy to understand and provide way more than GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx and BlueJeans. Meeting recordings locally or to the cloud are super helpful for group tutorials that you want to save or share. Multiple people can share their screen at the same time and you can request control of the remote shared screen. Very helpful with troubleshooting. You can change sound and video outputs straight from the software. Zoom is the best video conference software I have ever used.

Cons

In sharing mode, the controls are stripped down and do not have text on the icons, so it can be difficult to know what they do. This goes away when you use the software every day and learn what the icons do, but this learning curve is steeper than it needs to be. The chat design it decent and doesn't cover the shared screen, like bluejeans does. However, it is just a simple chat and there could be more integrations here. We just resort to using Slack during the meeting to share links, etc. The chat is a bit hidden and not well integrated into the design.

Great for collaborative meetings where participants are in different locations, easy to use

For a period of time, I solely worked from home because I had young children. Zoom was a game changer for me! I was able to be present for staff meetings, have regular meetings with my boss(es) to discuss tasks & meet with other staff when needed to coordinate projects or train others. It was instrumental in allowing me to work from home and still stay connected to the team and on the right path with my tasks!

Pros

This is an amazing tool that allows you to collaborate and connect with others easily, and you have the convenience of being able to do so from all different locations. In terms of features, one of my personal favorites is to be able to share a screen with the other participants. It's been a great support to be able to use a visual in meetings in addition to the verbal discussion. I also love that I can hit the downsize button on the Zoom screen and it will become a small icon on the screen that still streams the video and allows me to see who is talking, but it frees up my screen to multitask. Zoom is also flexible - meetings can be scheduled in advance or on the fly and shared with others. It's easy to share the meeting with others, and the program itself is easy to use! There is minimal set-up required to get Zoom functioning on your computer and that only needs to be done once. most impactful features, easy to use? integration w business easy?

Cons

Missing features or improvement needed? Difficult to use? As mentioned in the Pros, one of my favorite functions is to be able to share my screen with other participants. However, it's not a true screen share - you're only sharing one item (an open file, document, or website, etc). If you move to a different item on your computer it does update the screen for the other participants. Only the file/website/doc that you originally picked will show to the other users. At times that set up is perfect and allows you to look at other things on your computer without disrupting the meeting. However, I wish there were an option to have the screen share update based on what the sharer is looking at. At times I have a number of things I need to show the other participants, and it becomes tedious to have to close the screen share and re-open it whenever I want to change what I'm showing the participants.

It Works

Not great. It connects and works, as long as you're not using AirPods.

Pros

It generally connects and stays connected despite the network quality. The software is agile enough to know when you're using a sub-par ISP with low bandwidth and tells you to disable features that will drag down the performance. Aside from that, it just works.

Cons

You can not use Apple AirPods with this software. It's a known issue and Zoom has done nothing to fix it. What happens is you will connect your AirPods to the machine you're using via Bluetooth and then when -- which has to happen in that order if you want any slim possibility of it working -- then you connect to Zoom. Once you're in Zoom it "Detects a change to your audio settings" and makes you punch in your computer password to "authorize" the change to your AirPods. Once that's complete, Zoom doesn't like it and disconnects your AirPods from the machine completely and automatically switches to another audio source.

Best audio and video conferencing we've used easily

We needed a reliable audio and video conferencing platform to use for small meetings, all hands meetings, and training, among other things. Zoom has always fit those needs perfectly. Meetings are easy to setup, record and the quality is always top notch.

Pros

Zoom is incredibly easy to implement, use, and administrate. We've used all the major audio and video conferencing platforms out there, and Zoom is by far the best. The biggest thing is it just works and works in a repeatable manner. We used to always have issues with other software of changes we made not sticking, such as audio sources. Zoom just works.

Cons

I honestly can't think of any issues we've had with Zoom or anything that I don't like about it. It's always been rock solid.