The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we live, think, and socialize. As social gathering is a thing of past, offices became deserted workplaces, and classrooms are empty, people are turning to technology to work, learn, communicate, and stay in touch with their dear ones.

Not surprisingly, video conferencing applications have seen a record jump in usage as meetings, classes, and social interactions have shifted to the online space.

People are also using similar tools in their personal lives to meet virtually while confined to their homes.

According to the App Annie report, what will excite video conferencing app providers is their number of downloads, which has hit a record of 62 million in just 7 days between 14 and 21 April.

“As people face uncertain timelines for the length of social isolation, video conferencing apps have the potential to vastly influence our daily habits — breaking down geological barriers and fostering the ability to work and socialize relatively seamlessly,” said App Annie’s Lexi Sydow in the blog post about the app download numbers.

No matter where you are, a feature-rich video conferencing app provides an easy-to-use platform to ensure productive, effective, and efficient communication with your customers, co-workers, and colleagues.

Besides, it allows your company to connect with clients & other stakeholders, and makes it easy to collaborate, problem-solve, and hold effective meetings in real-time.

Therefore, if you haven’t yet switched to a professional video conferencing solution, it is time to make the move.

Industries That Can Leverage the Benefits of Video Conferencing Technology

Education

Nowadays, when social distancing is important and schools have been shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak, educational institutions are choosing video conferencing to continue teaching online.

Almost every country that is highly affected by the pandemic has started using online learning platforms integrated with video conferencing technology to get connected with students and ensure interactive learning.

This technology also allows students to record all the video streams and other content to be revised later. So, virtual learning is implemented through video conferencing to make classroom walls invisible and allow students to have the whole world as their learning resource.

Corporate

Many employees, who are working from home due to this pandemic, are adapting video conferencing technology to stay connected with customers and other employees. It helps companies avoid communication gaps and connect seamlessly.

Moreover, with video conferencing apps, employees can share crucial data and discuss various agendas easily. With data and screen sharing, they feel they are sitting next to their colleagues and working as they do in the office.

Healthcare

The healthcare industry has started using telehealth as a key way for safe communication and contactless treatment. Telehealth includes video conferencing technology, which allows doctors and patients to communicate online through a video call.

All users, from doctors to patients, can use desktops, laptops, and smartphones to connect in video conferencing sessions and exchange data.

Moreover, this technology in the healthcare industry can also be used to provide live medical training to doctors that will ensure better treatment.

Popular Video Conferencing Apps

Zoom

Zoom is one of the most popular video conferencing apps nowadays. With this, one can start, schedule, and join a meeting, as well as share screen in a Zoom room. Besides, one can find the upcoming meeting details, and contact, messages, files, or chat channels.

Based on the size of the business, this app offers various plans to the users, including Basic, Pro, Business, and Enterprise.

The Basic is a free plan that allows meetings of up to 100 participants, 40 minutes limit on group meetings, and unlimited 1 to 1 meeting, etc.

Supports: iOS, Android, Windows

Skype

Skype is a popular VoIP app that offers full experience even when you don’t have access to your desktop or phone app.

Comes with features like end-to-end encryption, sync up conversations, supported browsers, call recording, and more, one can use it for both personal and professional purposes.

This app is suitable for video conferencing for a small team of up to 50 people and completely free. You can also use it for sending SMS messages, placing voice calls, sharing videos and photos, or even share the screen during business presentations.

The new version of the app also allows group calls, adding checkmarks, and translation for conversation.

Supports: iOS, Android, Windows

Google Meet

It is another popular app that is now used in most corporate environments. Users who have Google account can use Google Meet easily.

The free users of Gmail are allowed up to 10 people to chat in a video call. Amid COVID-10 outbreak, Google has relaxed some restrictions for all G-Suite and G-Suite tier for customers, who are using it for education purposes, regardless of the tier.

Now, users can arrange video conferences with up to 250 participants altogether. Moreover, this platform allows recording and saving meeting videos to Google Drive.

Supports: iOS, Android, Windows

JioMeet

Launched by Reliance, JioMeet has been rated as 4.6 on Google Play store and 4.8 on the App store.

This popular app can be used for both one-to-one meeting and group video conference call with up to 100 participants at the same time. Like Zoom, this video conferencing app allows you to schedule a meeting and share the meeting code in advance with the participants.

While most video conferencing platforms have a time limit for free meetings, with JioMeet, a meeting can go up for 24 hours without any restrictions. Besides, every meeting hosted on this app is password protected.

JioMeet also offers features such as Screen Sharing, Waiting Room, Safe Driving Mode, multi-device support, etc.

Supports: iOS, Android, Windows

Besides there are Free Conference, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, and a lot more cutting-edge video conferencing g apps to allow remote working easy and effective, and boost the outcome.

Comparison between Popular Video Conferencing Apps

Related: The Story of TikTok: How It Took the World by a Storm?

Must-Have Features in a Video Conferencing App

In order to develop an outstanding video conferencing app and give a superb experience to the users, you need to include some key features to the app. Here are a few of them:

• One-to-one audio & video calling
• Group calling
• Screen & desktop sharing
• Security features
• Text messaging from desktops and mobiles
• Useful recording & payback
• Instant voice or video messaging
• End-to-end encryption
• Automatic backup
• Synchronization with cloud service
• Push notifications

Bottom Line

As the number of COVID-19 cases around the world is increasing day-by-day, we never know when we can get back to our old-normal.

While various businesses have stopped working and have no idea about when they can resume the operations, there are some others that can run their business smoothly with video conferencing apps.

If you are one of them and want to build an effective app teamed with robust collaboration conferencing features, let us help you.

By using WebRTC – a powerful and cutting-edge technology, our expert developers have recently built a multimedia multi-person chat app solution. Comes with features like real-time audio and video communication, custom emoji module, auto-translation of texts, file sharing, user-friendly admin, etc., it offers an all-in-one solution to businesses.

We have the capabilities to build video conferencing technology into your current ecosystem that will help you work consistently and get the best outcome.

Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

Reference(s):

Video Conferencing Apps Surge from Coronavirus Impact