What Are Free Video Calls?

Over the years, businesses have experienced a complete transformation in the types of mediums they use to communicate with each other across their enterprise. In modern times, free video calls have become one of the most used communication mediums within any organization. According to Trust Radius, the video conferencing industry saw a 500% increase in 2020 alone. And as we look into the future, the video conferencing market will be worth more than $26 million.

A free video call is a communication method that allows two or more people to talk to each other over the internet using a video camera and Microsoft typically completed over a web application in a browser or download format. It’s a real-time conversation that lets participants see and hear each other as if they were in the same room.

If you are a business owner on the fence about whether it’s worth your company’s time and effort to install and operate free video conferencing services or if you have recently installed video conferencing software and want more information, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog post, we’ll review everything you need to know about free video calls and how your business can reap its full benefits.

What Are The Main Features Of Free Video Calls?

1. Screen Sharing: Free video call platforms allow users to share their computer screen with other call participants, enabling them to view documents, presentations, or videos.
2. Recording:  One of the most useful benefits of free video is the ability to record video calls for future playback or sharing with other team members.
3. Instant Messaging: In group discussions where many participants are involved, a handy feature of free video calls is the ability to communicate to other participants using a text-based chat feature. This feature ensures participants can state their comments and concerns without interrupting the main speaker.
4. Virtual Backgrounds: Some free video platforms give users the power to use pre-made or customized virtual backgrounds to hide the user’s physical environment during a call.
5. Whiteboarding: For brainstorming sessions, many free video call software allows participants to use a virtual whiteboard to draw or write notes.
6. Multi-Device Support: Nearly all video call platforms are compatible to be downloaded and used on multiple types of devices. This includes desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets.
7. Group Calling: Platforms like Zoom can allow up to 100 participants per call, enabling remote team meetings or virtual social gatherings.
8. End-to-End Encryption: No one should underestimate the importance of data protection and privacy. That’s why when searching for a video call platform, one should use encryption to secure any data transmitted during your meeting.
9. Integration with Other Apps:  When finding the best video call platform, many reach for one that can be integrated with other apps or software, such as Google Calendar or Microsoft Teams, for a more streamlined experience.

How Are People Tuning In?

When implementing free video conferencing calls into your business operation, it’s essential to consider the various mediums that employees and even customers may use to tune in. Compared to desktops, mobile devices or tablets may have less processing power and, thus, slower performance than those who use a desktop. According to an article by TMCnet:

• 77%, of employees utilize their laptops or desktop computers to access video calls.
• 34% of employees access video calls from dedicated conference room equipment.
• 31% of employees login into free video conferencing equipment from mobile devices.
• 13% of employees opt into joining free video calls from their smartphones.

With this in mind, let’s look at some of the top free video call software compatible with the devices listed above:

Best Free Video Call Platforms For 2023

Zoom: Zoom is a popular video conferencing software that offers free and paid plans. Its free plans include the following features below:

• Virtual meetings can run up to 40 minutes in length.
• Zoom’s “Gallery View” feature lets you see up to 49% of the participants in the meeting on a single screen.
• Fun, customizable backgrounds and “breakout” room functionality.

Google Meet: Google Meet is another free video conferencing software that integrates with Google Workspace (formerly G Suite). Its plan includes:

•  Video conferencing for up to 100 participants and up to 60 minutes.
• Screen sharing
• Customizable backgrounds
• Voting polls
• “Hand raising” feature so that user’s can participate in discussions without interrupting the main speaker

Skype: Skype offers video conferencing for up to 50 participants. Similar to Zoom and Google Meet, Skype’s free plan provides features such as:

•  Screen sharing
• Built-in chat functionality
•  Integration with other platforms like Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint).

Cisco Webex: Cisco Webex offers video conferencing for up to 100 participants with no time limit. The platform also has the capability to:

•  Enable background noise canceling features
•  Breakout Room sessions
• The creation of transcripts from meeting recordings

Microsoft Teams:  Microsoft Teams is the ultimate collaboration platform that goes beyond enabling video meetings to allow users to share files, chat with one another, and work on documents together in real-time. Some video conferencing features include

• Group meetings for up to 100 people with a 60 minutes time limit
• 5GB of cloud storage for users.
• File sharing
• Secure data encryption

What Are The Benefits Of Free Video Calls?

About 80% of employees state that working from home using free video call platforms has boosted their work satisfaction. Let’s explore how the use of video call platforms in the work force can lead to happier employees and a more successful work environment.

Productivity

According to Kung Group, 76% of surveyed startup founders said their company became more productive while working online.

Video conferencing software can boost productivity at work in many ways. Video conferencing enables easy collaboration across various departments in an organization. With a click of a button, multiple departments in a company can meet with one another online instead of having the tedious task of scheduling a time and place where everyone can physically meet in a exact location. That’s why almost 9 out of 10 employees say video conferences help expedite work tasks.

Some More Reasons Why Video Conferencing Platforms Boost Productivity Can Be Seen Below:

• Flexibility: Employees may find themselves more productive when choosing a more flexible schedule for completing work. Working remotely, employees can have the freedom to finish work when it’s most convenient for them. This flexibility suits employees with multiple priorities, such as working parents and caregivers.
• Fewer distractions: The office can be distracting for employees. Whether you are in an environment with noisy coworkers or nearby business meetings, an open office space can offer many opportunities for your work to get sidetracked. By being able to take your work and meetings to a quiet area using video conferencing applications, employees can achieve better focus in their team meetings.
• Reduced Commuting Time: According to TechRepublic, 33% of workers say video call services reduce personal travel costs. This reduced commute time may increase employee retention rates for companies that use video call platforms to telecommute to the office. This is because employees can spend less time and gas money on their way to work.

Optimize the Hiring Process

According to Gartner, 86% of companies now conduct interviews online.

Conducting video interviews instead of in-person interviews can save companies big on time and costs. Some company’s offer to pay for travel reimbursement for potential hires, so conducting video interviews can save on this expenditure. Video interviews can be completed from anywhere, meaning companies can interview candidates living in other cities or countries without paying for travel expenses.

Video interviews also allow companies to interview more candidates in less time, thus speeding up the hiring process. Additionally, recordings can be taken of these video interviews and shared them with other members of the hiring team members for review. This can help ensure that everyone involved in the hiring process has a chance to evaluate each candidate.

Reduce Carbon Emissions

Free video conferencing software can reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the need for company and employee travel. According to a study by Cornell University, moving a professional conference online reduces its carbon footprint by 94%.

In these modern times, consumers strive to give business to companies with a reputation for being ethical and environmentally conscious.

That’s why reducing your company’s carbon emissions through video conferencing is a great way to earn and keep customers’ trust and support.

Reduce Operational Costs

One of the most significant benefits of incorporating more video call services into your business model is how much operational costs businesses can save. These operating costs include rent/property purchase, utility tax, property tax, and more. If employees were to work from home using video conferencing software, companies wouldn’t have to pay for the price of operating a physical building. This could result in savings of nearly $11,000 for every part-time remote employee.

What Are Some Ways That Free Video Calls Are Used In Businesses?

According to Finances Online, 58% of companies use video conferencing daily. Below are the most common busines communication types were video conference applications were used.

In-House Meetings

One of the primary uses of video conferencing software is for internal company meetings. According to TMCnet:

• 80% of employees use video conferencing for one-on-one meetings.
• 78% of employees employ video conferencing for team meetings.
• 77% of employees reach for video conferencing software for large group meetings that are bigger than a single team.

Annual Conferences and Events

It’s common for companies and industries to host annual conferences for those in the same industry to network and learn about the latest news in their field of expertise. Unfortunately, some companies may opt out of attending these events because they can’t afford the transportation and living expenses of flying their employees across states or countries where conventions may be held. When businesses switch to stream their annual events online through video conference applications, they can allow everyone to feel included.

Online Training

Businesses in constantly changing fields like IT often need to host training events for their employees to keep up with their industry’s latest news and innovations. Despite this importance, it can be difficult for companies to get all of their employees in the same area simultaneously.

 While companies can opt-in to give their employees self-learning guides, some training may require an instructor-led walk-through. That’s why using a video call platform for employee training can save businesses time trying to schedule a time, day, and place where employees can come together. Instead, these demonstrations and walk-throughs can be done virtually with invitations sent with a quick email.

B2C and B2B Product Demo

Product demos are vital to any business’s sales process when showing investors, vendors, and external customers the true value of their busines’s product or service. These essential people are much more likely to agree to meet with your company when these meetings can be done on a virtual call. There’s also less risk of travel time and money wasted if an investor is not interested in your company’s product and no deals are made when meetings are held online. According to a report from legal technology company Clio, clients are 25% more likely (35% compared to 28%) to prefer virtual meetings over in-person meetings.

What Does The Future Of Free Video Calls Look Like?

As we see the next generation of adults enter the workforce, there will be a bigger expectation for companies to integrate more virtual meeting platforms and calls into their everyday operations. Within 2022 alone, as much as 90% of businesses are planning to spend more on video conferencing software services.

As we advance into the future, expect to see great improvements to video conferencing applications that include:

• Browser-Based Video Conferencing Solutions: Browser-based conferencing platforms allow teams to dial into video calls without installing downloads or external plugins.
• Cloud-Based Platforms: Moving your video call applications to a cloud environment can allow your business’s data to be stored and accessed from remote servers, making it easier to scale and manage video calls. This approach also eliminates the need for local servers, reducing costs and maintenance requirements.
• Smart Content Search: With smart content search, teams can quickly search for and access specific information from recorded video calls. This feature can help team members review notes, documents, and other information related to a video call discussion.

Conclusion

As we move into the future, video calls and conferencing platforms are critical to any business’s success. From improving employee job satisfaction and retention through flexible communication mediums to reducing business costs and time spent scheduling meetings, it’s no wonder why free video calling platforms have become one of the most preferred enterprise communication methods for any corporate environment.

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