During the pandemic, the popularity of video conferencing has skyrocketed. Now this type of communication is used not only for work, but also in education and medicine. RBC Trends found out what videoconferencing programs are and how to choose the best

Video conferencing: how it works and which program to choose

Videoconferencing (VC) is an online technology that allows two or more users in different locations to meet face-to-face without having to gather in the same place. The solutions are used for business meetings, business deals, and job interviews. And if the video conference is held for informal purposes, then it is usually called a video call or video chat. The most famous video conferencing solutions are Zoom and Skype.

The video conferencing market began to explode in the spring of 2020 due to the massive shift to remote work around the world due to the pandemic. Skype had 25 million users per month in the fall of 2019, and by April 2020 this figure had reached 100 million. Zoom had only 10 million users until the beginning of 2020, and in March 2020 there were 200 million. Google Meet in In 2019, there were 100 million visits per month, and a year later there were already more than 1.25 billion.

In the past few years, the field of video conferencing has received more and more intelligent functions that are based on machine learning algorithms:

• speech-to-text technologytranslates speech into text to create subtitles. Such, for example, is used in Microsoft Teams.
• Recognition and translation of gestures into text. Evalk from the Netherlands developed such a service in 2018. All you have to do is place your phone or tablet in front of you during a video call.
• Elements of virtual and augmented reality. In November 2021, Meta (formerly Facebook) and Microsoft announced the mutual integration of the features of Workplace and Teams enterprise communications services. Thus, in addition to the video conferencing capabilities, customers will have access to the content of the workplace inside the Teams application. At the beginning of November, 2021 Microsoft provided the Mesh for Teams service which will allow to work and hold meetings in the mixed reality. Prior to that, in August, Meta began testing its remote work app on Horizon Workrooms, a virtual reality service where users can meet as avatars. The company promises to introduce improved low-latency surround sound technology that will bring realism to conversations. Users are already gradually moving into VR, creating virtual desktops there.
• More "entertainment" function – background replacement, which allows you to place any image behind the speaker. There is a similar option in Zoom. And Microsoft introduced Intelligent Capture to Teams in 2019, which makes the presenter translucent if they obstruct the whiteboard.

Scope of video conferencing

Videoconferencing is widely used in many important areas:

• The medicine. During the pandemic, the direction of telemedicine received an impetus to development. Through video conferencing, doctors can consult patients remotely, which saves their working time and makes access to medical services safer, since there is no need to visit hospitals. And for residents of small settlements who do not have the opportunity to receive qualified medical care in their hometown, HQS allows you to quickly get a consultation. For example, the Medsi clinic chain uses a telemedicine service based on the VideoMost solution for remote interaction between medical workers, as well as doctors and patients. The service allows you to make diagnoses, discuss the patient's treatment regimen, monitor his health status and make decisions on face-to-face appointments.
• Education. Many schoolchildren and students switched to distance learning during the pandemic, and videoconferencing made it possible to organize a full-fledged educational process. Via videoconferencing, teachers from other cities and countries that do not have the opportunity to conduct classes offline can be involved in lectures. For example, the Astrosoft company offers solutions for schools that allow you to maintain the usual format of a distance learning lesson. In the Mind online school, the teacher sees all the students and can communicate with any of them, and the entire class hears the student's answers. However, students can't see their classmates and can't initiate video or chat conversations themselves until the teacher gives them permission.
• Public sector. It is often cheaper for departments to maintain roaming communications via videoconferencing, and it is also a convenient way to hold meetings. In judicial practice, video conferencing is usually organized with those who are already in places of deprivation of liberty, but must speak at a meeting.
• Industry. Each enterprise can communicate with the main office, as well as suppliers and customers. An example is the German company BJB, a world leader in the production of components for lamps and household sockets. BJB chose a video conferencing solution that allows documents and images to be transferred from a computer in parallel with the video stream so that 3D models can be modified during the video conference itself. At the same time, video systems are connected to ordinary personal computers, and all employees of the company can exchange 3D files with their interlocutors.
• Trade. Videoconferencing systems provide quick interaction with partners, accounting, warehouses, and also allow you to present goods to wholesale customers. Merlion, a trading and distribution company for office furniture and household appliances, uses the Huawei IdeaHub communication panel to communicate with employees, partners and contractors. The IdeaHub is an interactive panel with a built-in video conferencing hardware codec and a 4K display.It includes the functions of intelligent recognition of handwritten text and wireless data exchange. Session VKS passes in a virtual room, where participants can see, hear each other and draw or write on an interactive panel.
• IT. Video communication in real time allows technical support to solve problems remotely, and also reduces troubleshooting time. In addition, in a pandemic, most companies switched to hybrid work using the VCS systems when discussing and developing new products. So, Microsoft Teams has become an important tool for communicating programmers through its integration with the Azure Devops platform. Commands can connect directly to the repositories with a specific project code.
• Recruitment. VKS saves the time of HR managers and candidates, allows you to conduct interviews with a large number of applicants, including from other regions. Also, video excursions are a good means of adapting and learning a new employee.

How the video conferencing is arranged

Video conferencing exists in four main formats.

Hardware

Companies specializing in corporate solutions usually create systems for connecting conference rooms, where connections are carried out through the local network. The manufacturer's protocols handle traffic flows, while the codecs encode audio and video images into digital data for transmission, and then decode them back. Such solutions require the installation of special equipment of the manufacturer's special equipment and work with special applications, and selected servers are needed for the operation of the VKS system.

Software

Such solutions use TCP / IP as the main network protocol and a small list of standardized codecs for data conversion. In addition, their hardware support is usually open, which means that you can use any webcam or microphone. Such solutions fully support the work based on a web browser without the need to install any application, although sometimes develop their own applications. As a rule, such systems cost cheaper hardware.

Cloud

Some companies offer video conferencing in the "cloud", and customers need to pay only resources used. Also for the operation of such systems, VKS is not required special equipment – communication is carried out through conventional PCs or smartphones. Most well-known services (Google Meet, Gotometing, Skype) are cloud.

Hybrid

Such video conferencing systems in parallel use cloud and local solutions. The company can work both in the internal network and via the Internet. For example, it can use local VKS for internal communications, and cloudy – to communicate with external users and customers.

TrueConf Development Director Dmitry Odintsov explains that videoconferencing server systems, unlike cloud ones, are installed on the customer's computer equipment, and he fully controls access to communication tools and protects his data. Public cloud systems, he said, store information in the provider's data centers, most often abroad, which carries certain security risks. There is also a risk that such a service may “fall” or the provider will refuse to work with customers from Russia, as was the case with Zoom and Russian state-owned companies, Odintsov notes.

The expert says that hardware video conferencing solutions are now being replaced by software ones. The main reason is that the number of subscribers of the latter can be quickly increased, and the installation and maintenance of software systems is much easier and cheaper.

Overview of popular video conferencing software

Offers for video conferencing can be both paid and free.

The service works on PCs and smartphones. In Zoom, you can share your screens and edit notes together. The team chat feature allows you to share files, search through history, and archive recordings. Each participant can choose their own background and use the built-in noise reduction option.

Video conference recordings can be saved locally or in the cloud, along with transcripts that have a word search feature. After privacy scandals in 2020, Zoom introduced end-to-end encryption, which means that third parties and the company itself cannot access the transmitted data.

As part of the free use, you can organize communication sessions with up to 100 participants and a duration of up to 40 minutes. The Pro plan costs $149.90 per year. It allows you to organize unlimited video conferences with the same number of participants, broadcast them on social networks and get 1 GB of your cloud storage for recordings. The Business plan costs $199.90 per year. It can hold meetings with up to 300 people. The Enterprise plan costs $240 per year, expands the number of video call participants to 500 people, and gives you access to additional administrative features.

Thanks to its free plan, Zoom is ideal for small and medium businesses, as well as for organizing hybrid work and conducting trainings and trainings online.

Skype

Microsoft's video chat tool supports group video calls with up to 50 people. Skype can also be used in a browser to invite people who don't have the app installed to a meeting.

Skype has the option to share the screen, blur the background, the ability to record chats and turn on subtitles.

There is both a free version and a paid business version. It allows you to invite up to 250 people to a call, integrate with Office, and use stronger security settings.

However, Microsoft itself encourages companies to use its other application, Teams. It allows you to organize webinars and large meetings with up to 10,000 participants. Full integration with Microsoft 365 makes Teams an ideal service for businesses that already use Microsoft services. The base plan will cost ₽360 per user per month (after the first month of the trial period). It allows you to hold meetings with up to 300 participants and use 1 TB of cloud storage.

Google Meet

This service (formerly Google Hangouts) is part of the Google Workspace office platform (formerly known as G Suite). Meet is designed specifically for business needs, can serve a large number of users at the same time, and also uses smart features and shortcut buttons so that meeting participants do not have to wait for a connection.

Meet has a mobile and web app. The service can work with any equipment for conferencing.

The free Meet plan is available to anyone with a personal Google account. It allows you to gather up to 100 participants for meetings lasting up to one hour. There are also Business Standard ($10 per user per month, meetings up to 150 people, 2TB storage per person), Business Plus ($18, video calls up to 250 people, 5TB storage per user) and Enterprise ( Price on request).

GoToMeeting

This is LogMeIn's standalone web conferencing service that allows audio and video conferencing and screen sharing. In the free version, up to 150 people can connect to the video conference, in the tariff for business – up to 250. Suitable for online lectures, telemedicine consultations, retail. There is also an Enterprise plan that expands the number of participants to 3,000 people, which is convenient for online conferences. A professional subscription to the service costs $12 per month per user, and a business plan will cost $16.

GoToMeeting has a number of security features, including the ability to add a password to enter meetings. There is integration with Outlook, Google Calendar, Salesforce and Slack.

TrueConf

Russian TrueConf offers a free version of the videoconferencing system with up to 10 participants. For communication, you can use any device – smartphones, laptops, computers, regular browsers, as well as specialized video communication terminals. The latest version of TrueConf is adapted to work with the Russian Baikal-M processor, Astra Linux OS, and the domestic Graviton PC.

The company also offers its own video conferencing hardware terminal costing from ₽89 thousand. The flagship solution is TrueConf Server, a software platform for video communication and remote work that works both using the Internet and in a closed company network without access to it. The solution supports 4K UltraHD resolution and up to 1,000 participants, and is compatible with other video conferencing systems and services.

In addition to videoconferencing, TrueConf Server has a corporate messenger and a built-in platform for webinars and broadcasts. There is support for conferences on multiple monitors and the function of controlling the microphones of participants (simultaneously turning on and off).

How to choose the perfect video conferencing software

TrueConf Development Director Dmitry Odintsov notes that when choosing a video conferencing system, you must first determine the tasks that it will perform. This should take into account how many users will participate in online meetings and how long the conferences will last. The meeting schedule is also important – not all video conferencing solutions will allow you to adhere to it (for example, the mode for distance education assumes that the lecturer sees and hears all students, and each student only the lecturer).

According to Odintsov, you should also determine the degree of risk for the team in case employees suddenly lose access to the chosen solution. If such a risk is detrimental to workflows, then you need to look at installing your own video communication system instead of using public services.

“How often will you call video? Zoom, for example, requires you to send a link to your interlocutors. It may be more convenient for you to call colleagues in a couple of clicks from the address book – this should also be taken into account when choosing a video conferencing system or service, ”the expert concludes.