Comparison Guide Teams vs. vs.

Discover what web conferencing platform is the best for your educational organization D a t a l

In 2020, a spotlight was placed on video conferencing and collaboration i Introduction n k

software. Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and sudden shift to N e t remote learning, the video conferencing market size is expected to top w o r 10.92 billion dollars by 2027. k s

Skyrocketing demand for video conferencing platforms has created an extremely competitive field with large technology investments coming from a plethora of technology giants.

This guide compares three of the largest competitors in the video conferencing space (Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet) across three main categories; pricing, features, and functionality. D a t a

Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet offer multiple versions of their software l i Microsoft Teams n k

based on usage requirements. This includes free versions that are great for light N e for Education t uses, short conference calls, and light file sharing. w o r k Microsoft Teams s

Microsoft Teams comes with all Academic licenses and includes important features like School Data Sync (SDS). School Data Sync allows Student Information Systems to integrate with Microsoft Teams, automating the build of class rosters and student changes within the classes. The Microsoft Teams platform also integrates with LMS systems to further enrich the learning experience.

These educational features include:

Assignments - Assign, track and grade assignments Immersive Reader - Easily read conversations and chat in a personalized format Whiteboard - Collaborate in a freeform, infinite digital canvas Raise Your Hand - Be heard without disrupting other students Together Mode - See the whole class in a new way Accessibility - ASL visibility features and live closed captions LMS Integrations - Custom educational experiences and LMS integrations D a t Zoom for Zoom a l i n k

Education N Zoom offers two separate plans for education. Both plans start at $90 per e t w o

year per user but are differentiated by certain features and software design. r k s

Zoom for Higher Education is used by 96% of top US universities (US News and World Report), while Zoom for K-12 is steadily carving out a market share among schools and districts.

Like Microsoft Teams, Zoom for education boasts additional features to improve classroom and learning performance.

These educational features include:

Session Recording - Record lessons for playback Student Engagement Tracking - Track student engagement LMS Integration - Integrate with existing Learning Management Systems Accessibility - Captioning and keyboard shortcuts Hybrid Learning - Teach in-person and remote lessons simultaneously Enhanced Collaboration - One-click content sharing, real-time co- annotation, and digital whiteboarding D a t a l i Google Meet for n

Google Meet k

N e

Education t G Suite does not have any features specifically for education that differ w o r

from their enterprise solution, however, the G Suite platform is built for k s collaboration and offers a great medium for online learning and teaching.

Google Meet is a fantastic conferencing platform and offers a chatting/collaboration/file sharing tool for added collaborating ability.

Using Google Classroom, Google Assignment and Google Forms, educators can create class curriculums, assign projects and grade with ease.

Advantages of Google Suite (Meet) include:

Collaboration - Google's entire product suite was built with collaboration in mind Products - Google Suite has a product for every task Ease-of-use - If you use Gmail, you are familiar with at least a handful of Google products Open Source - Google offers limitless open source templates for any task D a t a l i n k

N e t w o r k s D a t a l

For this comparison guide only the video conferencing features have i n

Features k

been compared for Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet. N e t

Comparison w o r k

Microsoft Teams s These are the top positive reviews across 18,828 reviews available online. Highly customizable Tightly integrated with other apps Plentiful integration options Included with Office 365 business accounts

Zoom Google Meet

These are the top positive reviews These are the top positive reviews across 53,774 reviews available online. across 33,457 reviews available online. Stellar performance Highly customizable Rich features for hosts and Tightly integrated with other participants Microsoft Office apps Easy to use Plentiful integration options Company addresses problems Included with Office 365 business candidly and quickly accounts D a t a l i n k

N e t w o r k s D a t a l i n

Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet offer great solutions to any video conferencing k

Conclusion N

need. However, when it comes to the overall best value for students and faculty, it is hard to e t w

beat Microsoft's 365 educational pricing plan and Microsoft Teams features. Not only will your o r k organization receive a collaboration and web conferencing platform but will also be able to s access all M365 apps.

Contact Datalink Networks to discover how you can receive software licensing for your educational organization for either Microsoft Office 365, Zoom, or Google Suite.

Contact Us Datalink Networks is a managed service provider and a Microsoft gold partner based in Los Angeles, California. With 30 years of experience serving educational organizations, Datalink Networks can help your organization fulfill any IT needs including web conferencing solutions, software licensing, and devices. Please contact us for more information

WEBSITE EMAIL CONTACT NUMBER

www.datalinknetworks.net [email protected] 1-877-IT-SERVE