There are few things more important in the modern world than being able to collaborate effectively with your team. Unfortunately, as the workplace continues to evolve, bringing team members together isn’t always easy. In an age of remote work and globalisation, businesses need a way of connecting employees on a virtual level.
Video collaboration tools like Workplace from Facebook Rooms and Zoom solve this problem. These video-first solutions provide an easy way for employees to connect, mimicking face-to-face interactions. These tools also come with bonus features that can make the team experience even better, like hand-raising features, file sharing, and screen sharing.
So, how do you make a choice between Zoom and Workplace Rooms?
Workplace Rooms Features
Workplace from Facebook Rooms is one of the latest video collaboration solutions to appear on the market. Designed to help people communicate in a way that feels natural and seamless, Workplace Rooms delivers a comprehensive virtual meeting space.
Users can invite colleagues to Workplace Rooms in Workplace Chat, Groups, or the Facebook Workplace news feed. You can create meetings with specific members of your team, or live stream content to everyone available online. Users can even enjoy things like automatic transcription and translation tools.
Features include:
- Easy access on any device
- Facebook Portal support
- Support for 50 people per room
- Guest access for those without a Workplace account
- Live video broadcasting
- Screensharing (full screen or window)
- Member permission management
- Auto-generated captions with translations and editing
- Q&A features
Workplace from Facebook wants to make the collaboration experience accessible for everyone. With Workplace Rooms, you can easily connect with the right people in your team and discover new ways to increase engagement. Workplace Rooms is planned for release at the end of June 2020.
Zoom Features
Zoom is probably the best-known video conferencing tool on the market. With Zoom, you can join a meeting in a matter of seconds, just by clicking on a link. High-quality video meetings come with custom backgrounds, HD video, and other excellent features, like hand-raising.
Like Workplace from Facebook, Zoom also has several additional tools to offer to support team collaboration. Aside from video, you can also have instant messaging conversations through Zoom Chat. There’s even a business phone service from Zoom called Zoom Phone.
Features include:
- Instant and straightforward web-based meetings
- Zoom Phone for VoIP
- Instant messaging with Zoom Chat
- Screen sharing and file sharing
- Local service for 17 countries
- HD video with custom background
- Hand-raising and other engaging features
- Webinars and streaming
- Integrations with other leading tools
Just as Facebook has Portal, Zoom also has its own selection of hardware solutions to offer in Zoom Rooms. You can also integrate your Zoom experience with many of the tools your teams might already use, such as Salesforce, Microsoft Outlook, and even Workplace, by Facebook.
Workplace from Facebook Rooms vs Zoom: Experience
Both Workplace Rooms and Zoom make creating virtual meetings a breeze. If you need a fast and efficient way to connect with team members, you can do that with either app. Zoom provides a convenient browser-based service that you can access with just one click. Workplace Rooms allows you to create meetings from a familiar social-media style interface.
With Workplace from Facebook, you get a meeting experience that feels natural, convenient, and organic. People can launch live videos in seconds and check the health metrics of their conversations as they broadcast. There are automatic transcription and translation, and secure tools to help you manage your rooms.
With Zoom, employees can find everything they need to collaborate in the same browser-based space. With Zoom Phone and Chat also available, it’s easy to build a fully-featured collaborative experience. What’s more, Zoom ensures that contractors and external parties can join in the conversation in seconds. Zoom even integrates with some of the leading software on the market and offers API access to developers too.
Workplace Rooms vs. Zoom: The Verdict
Both Workplace Rooms and Zoom could transform your meeting experience and support better collaboration for your team.
If you’re looking for a convenient way to connect with people inside and outside of your team, and you like the idea of live captioning and streaming, Workplace Rooms might be right for you. Workplace Rooms makes collaborating over the web feel quick, and natural, and you don’t even have to worry about language barriers.
Alternatively, if you want HD video with custom backgrounds, hand-raising, and integrations to all of your favourite apps, Zoom might be the right choice. Zoom can also support employees and external guests, and it comes with access to other tools, like business phone and chat.
Are you working with Zoom or Workplace Rooms? Let us know in the comments!
