Meetings have always been a crucial component of the workplace. However, as trends like hybrid and remote working have begun to take over in recent years, the way we connect and collaborate has changed. Today’s companies are investing more heavily in agile, flexible conferencing solutions designed to transform every landscape into a potential meeting space.
Meeting platforms provide organisations with all of the functionality they need to connect employees through file sharing, whiteboard, video, audio, and even messaging capabilities. Many of these tools work seamlessly with existing hardware in the business landscape and can adapt to suit different requirements. The question is, which platforms are the best?
Today, we’re listing some of the top meeting platform vendors on the market today, capable of offering a host of solutions to modern business leaders.
Microsoft Teams
Now boasting over 280 million users and an ever-evolving collection of in-built tools, Microsoft Teams offers a comprehensive meeting platform for all kinds of companies. Alongside solutions for everyday businesses, Microsoft Teams also has dedicated systems for governments and educational brands, with capabilities for enhanced security and content management.
Microsoft’s flexible platform works cohesively with the rest of the Microsoft 360 portfolio of productivity tools. What’s more, users can bring their own communication vendor into the platform through direct routing and Operator Connect. Microsoft even has a robust partner network for integrations and add-ons, and recently the brand added new AI capabilities to its roster with Open AI.
Slack
Now part of the Salesforce ecosystem, Slack is a collaboration tool focused mainly on instant messaging and chat functionality. The platform enables team interactions through private and group messaging channels, as well as video and audio conferencing. Users can share content and screens during conversations and access Slack on the move via mobile applications.
The integration with Salesforce also empowers users to leverage the sales tools and CRM equipment they already access within their workforce during collaborative sessions. Slack’s technology can work alongside a variety of hardware tools and endpoints and also integrates with numerous existing platforms for productivity and task management.
Zoom
Best known for its video conferencing capabilities, Zoom’s meeting platform is now a comprehensive, collaborative environment, supporting voice, messaging, and video meetings. The platform comes with access to a range of tools for file sharing, screen sharing, and hosting webinars or events. It also integrates with leading tools across the UC environment through a simple app market.
Zoom’s technology is constantly updating with new features and functionality, from real-time translation and transcription capabilities to recording tools. The solution also allows users to connect their own phone carriers to the service through a BYOC solution. Zoom also has its own virtual agent and virtual events experience.
RingCentral
Offering a variety of UC and CCaaS solutions to modern business leaders, RingCentral’s portfolio covers a range of communication needs. The company’s MVP (Messaging Phone and Video) platform is designed to enable meetings with file sharing, audio, and visual content. The technology is accessible on any device and interoperable with various hardware and endpoint solutions.
RingCentral allows users to access meetings, regardless of whether they have a RingCentral account, through WebRTC technology. The cloud-based platform can integrate with existing phone systems and comes with security and privacy tools built-in. Users can also create and share agendas prior to meetings and schedule conferences with calendaring tools.
Mitel
Mitel provides various products and solutions to companies in search of UC and contact centre technology. The company’s portfolio includes endpoints, UC solutions, and the MiCollab + MiTeam Meetings service for collaboration. Companies can also access Mitel One for end-to-end business telephony and collaboration capabilities.
Mitel’s team meeting solution includes access to audio and video conferencing, document, application and video sharing, as well as security and privacy tools. Users can hold scheduled and ad hoc meetings with calendars, plus the technology can integrate with email, CRM, and single sign-on tools. There’s even a Mitel link for Microsoft Teams.
Cisco Webex
The Webex portfolio from Cisco includes everything from collaboration and communication tools to event hosting, devices, and endpoints. The Webex Teams environment offers support for video and audio conferencing, as well as the option for companies to connect their own telephony services from their preferred carrier. There’s also access to whiteboarding tools for digital brainstorming sessions, AI enhancements, and recording tools.
Cisco’s Webex Meetings environment includes several disruptive features, such as captions and highlights automatically generated from each meeting, gesture recognition, and automatic transcription. Plus, users can customise and adapt their meeting rooms to suit specific requirements, adding extra security features and adjusting video layouts.
Pexip
Focused mainly on the emerging video conferencing landscape, Pexip offers secure and flexible conferencing technology. The Pexip platform prioritizes secure spaces, offering privacy and compliance features to accommodate the needs of regulated industries. Users can create custom meeting rooms which connect with existing hardware and tools. Plus, companies can also build and develop customer engagement platforms.
Pexip offers dedicated solutions to companies in various industries, from healthcare to government and financial environments. The company also partners with various technology vendors like Microsoft, NVIDIA, Google, and Oracle.
Part of the Google Workspace collection, Google Meet is a straightforward conferencing and meeting platform which users can access for free. Depending on the plan chosen by each business, the Meet environment can include access to premium video calling with live streaming and large group sessions. There’s also built-in cloud storage available on some plans.
Google’s technology integrates with calendar and booking tools to assist teams with scheduling more lucrative meetings. The technology also works alongside the Gmail platform for personalised meeting reminder emails and messages. Users can access the Meet environment on any device with a couple of clicks or a unique meeting link.
GoTo
Offering various cloud-based tools for contact centres, connectivity, webinars, conference rooms and training, the GoTo portfolio of products is built for the new age of work. GoTo Meeting, the flagship meeting platform solution from GoTo can be accessed anywhere in the world from any device and comes with a streamlined admin interface for hosting and monitoring conversations.
Built-in enterprise-grade security in GoTo protects conversational data from being accessed by third parties. Plus, the company offers a 99.999% service uptime for business leaders. Users can access a range of in-session chat, video, and audio tools, as well as screen sharing and drawing tools and built-in VoIP accessibility.
Avaya
Alongside a variety of communication and contact centre tools, Avaya also has its own meeting platform, Avaya Spaces. The mobile-friendly application comes with all the tools companies need to connect employees, including video, file-sharing, messaging, and audio technology. Plus, there are features for managing projects and tasks too.
Within Avaya Spaces, users can find a GDPR environment which works well with existing tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google, and Salesforce. The plans come with unlimited rich calling powered by Avaya, as well as event spaces capable of hosting up to 61 participants in one view.
8×8
8×8 supports businesses with an all-in-one platform for contact centres, unified communications, and collaboration tools. The modular ecosystem allows businesses to build the technology they need step-by-step, with access to a business phone, video meetings, and team chat in one place. There are also communication APIs available for adding real-time conversational tools to existing apps.
The meeting solutions from 8×8 offer everything from file sharing and messaging capabilities to HD audio and video conversations, with built-in security and access controls. Users can also align 8×8 with their existing Microsoft Teams environment, through a partnership integration. There are also integrations available for Google Workspace, Salesforce, Zendesk, and many other tools.
Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
Also known as ALE, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise has a broad portfolio of communication products and services available. The company’s toolkit includes systems for contact centres, communication, and collaboration, CPaaS, and more. Rainbow by Alcatel Lucent and Rainbow Office powered by RingCentral offer support for a range of meeting needs.
Users can transfer and manage conferencing sessions and calls in a unified environment and enable video and messaging capabilities with a couple of clicks. The company offers built-in security and privacy solutions, as well as the option to add business telephony capabilities from an existing provider. ALE also supports data sovereignty.
Meta
Built to provide companies with a social-media-style environment for collaboration and meeting sessions, Meta Workplace is an all-in-one environment for business communications. Alongside messaging and social media news feeds, users can access ad-hoc and scheduled meeting sessions via audio and video. The solution also integrates with a variety of existing communication tools.
Meta’s solution comes with easy-to-use features for employees on the go, including push-to-talk buttons for meetings attended by front-line workers. The company has also been heavily investing in its XR and metaverse environments, delivering new functionality to companies hoping to enhance meeting involvement through immersive experiences.
Amazon Web Services
AWS, or Amazon Web Services, provides various cloud-based tools for communication, collaboration, and contact center management. The Amazon Chime platform is a meeting and communications service that enables businesses to bring teams together for scheduled and ad-hoc meetings using video, audio, and chat tools.
Amazon Chime works across all devices and includes dial-in numbers, video conferencing support, screen sharing, and various administrative tools. Users can even set up SSO and manage security policies within the platform. Additionally, AWS has its own SDK solution for companies looking at adding real-time communications to their own applications.
ATOS
Circuit, managed by both ATOS and Unify, is a cloud-based and enterprise-grade platform for secure meetings and collaboration. The all-in-one tool provides business users with a natural environment where they can share video, audio, text, and screens in seconds. Users can leverage the platform across any device, and the open system works with existing tools and services. Users can even add their own SIP-enabled telephony infrastructure.
With HD meeting capabilities, recording, and digital whiteboarding built-in, ATOS offers users various ways to bring teams together for more lucrative conversations. The resilient and scalable SaaS platform also adheres to the highest security standards and integrates with solutions from Google and Microsoft for calendaring and productivity.
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