Ride the Lightning

Microsoft Teams vs. Zoom: Can Teams Compete with Zoom?

August 12, 2020

On August 9, Forbes posted about upgrades to Microsoft Teams and Zoom and how they would impact the market. Clearly, Zoom was ahead of the game from the outset of the pandemic.

This week, Teams launched previously announced features as part of a new offering called Advanced Communications. The plan is available as a 60-day free trial via Teams Admin Center now or via Microsoft Teams website in mid-August, Microsoft said in a blog. It can also be added to your Microsoft 365 or Office 365 paid subscription right now.

Teams now can have meetings of up to 20,000 participants in "view only" mode. That gives you the scope to give presentations, hold live events and other meetings where people can watch a live stream. Meanwhile, Teams also allows you to have an interactive meeting with up to 1,000 people, switching to view only when you reach that limit.

Another stellar new feature in Teams is enhanced admin control, which allows you to add your company branding to a meeting. In the next few months, you'll also be able to add a branded meeting lobby.

Microsoft also announced Teams Calling, a cloud-based phone system. This makes it easy to connect and take your Teams contacts with you when you are working from home.

The author seems to think that the new moves could make people switch from Zoom to Teams. Not sure about that. They can already view 49 participants on the Zoom screens. Is the Teams upgrade good enough to cause a switch? I doubt it, though Teams is a great tool for Microsoft 365 users.

Zoom, always proactive, has added new features in Zoom 5.2, including more filters and reactions, the ability to adjust lighting, and the highly sought-after noise cancellation. Boy oh boy, is this new feature highly sought after – no more barking dogs, screaming children and loud lawn mowers. At the low setting, Zoom says this can allow soft background music to "complement a yoga class or game night." I can see Sensei employees enjoying these possibilities.

Zoom also has the advantage that it works really, really well, while some complain of lag issues in Teams, especially when meetings are larger.

My take? Zoom has nothing to worry about.

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225|Fairfax, VA 22030
Email: Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
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