Even though the country is slowly emerging from lockdown, one thing is sure to remain for a very long time: working from home, chatting with colleagues, and increased video conferences within teams and for work. In this blog post, we will briefly introduce the two most commonly used solutions, "Zoom" and "Microsoft Teams," and compare these tools based on various criteria.
Zoom or Teams: The Most Important Features On Board
The participation of any number of participants in online conferences and virtual team meetings is, of course, standard for both video conferencing solutions. And both tools offer the option of creating a free account. But features such as team collaboration, chats, the ability to share your screen, and jointly access shared files are also available in both programs – Zoom and Teams. Here, both programs are equipped equally well.
Zoom or Teams: Usability
Here, Zoom is slightly ahead. The tool is more intuitive to use and start, especially for users without prior knowledge. Microsoft Teams, on the other hand, scores with the ability to integrate other programs from the Microsoft world. These include, for example, programs from Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel), but also business solutions such as ERP & CRM. Especially for companies, these additional integrations and application possibilities are extremely attractive. However, it increases the setup effort and initially stands somewhat in the way of intuitive operation in team meetings.
Zoom or Teams: Expansion and Integration of Add-Ons
We just briefly touched on this in the context of usability. Here, Microsoft has a clear head start due to its numerous Office applications, which can, of course, be seamlessly integrated into Teams. But numerous third-party apps can also be integrated into Teams and then used in meetings. Here, Microsoft is simply too important a partner for many IT companies. With Zoom, it's a bit different. Zoom doesn't integrate, Zoom gets integrated. Through the cooperation of Zoom and Slack, Zoom can be integrated into numerous other applications – including Microsoft Office 365. Overall, Microsoft has the upper hand here, especially when it comes to integrating the video conferencing solution as an app into a company's own IT infrastructure.
Zoom or Teams: Data Protection
This point narrowly goes to Microsoft. Zoom had several known incidents, especially at the beginning of 2020, where users could intrude into other users' chat rooms or data was stolen. In Zoom meetings, data from iPhone users was also passed on to Facebook without consent, and data from over 500,000 users was suddenly found on the Deep Web. Similar incidents are not known or imaginable from Microsoft. Nevertheless, at least in the case of Microsoft, it must be noted: Even if user data is not accidentally "lost," it is still collected. Microsoft's privacy policy (and actual practice) is certainly not fully compliant with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Zoom or Teams: Image and Sound Quality
The longer a video conference, the more important good image and sound quality are in the meeting. Here too, Microsoft is ahead. In a overall comparison of several video chat programs by Stiftung Warentest in summer 2020, Zoom could not consistently deliver good image or sound quality in team meetings, especially with slower internet connections. The overall verdict for Zoom was consequently only "satisfactory" (grade 2.8) - and for image and sound quality, the program even received only a 3.2. Microsoft Teams, however, impressed with its image and sound quality, even with slower internet connections, and achieved an overall verdict of "good" (grade 2.0) - and for image and sound quality, even a 1.9.
Conclusion: Microsoft Teams Ahead, but Zoom with Potential to Catch Up
With the exception of usability, Microsoft Teams currently has the edge in most areas and is slightly better. Stiftung Warentest also came to this conclusion in summer 2020. While a lot has happened since then and both programs have developed rapidly, Microsoft's lead has remained - especially in the integration of business solutions. Only in terms of data protection has Zoom made significant progress and is in the process of reliably closing security gaps. Criticism of insufficient data protection against Zoom – as was the case at the beginning of 2020 – has certainly become much less frequent. And if Zoom consistently implements the provisions of the GDPR, Zoom could even overtake Microsoft in this regard. Then we would have a true draw.
