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Sachindra S - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
MSP
Top 10
Good communication, reliable, and easy to download
Pros and Cons
  • "The performance is good."
  • "In the next release, I would like to see better security."

What is our primary use case?

We are service providers. If a client has some of those licenses, they will arrange for a Zoom meeting. We share whatever storage the clients have, but we do not purchase storage.

Zoom is used for video communication.

What is most valuable?

The performance is good. 

We are satisfied with this solution, it's good.

What needs improvement?

Security is required, and I assume that it is already in place. Aside from that, we are not utilizing Zoom's high-end capabilities.

In the next release, I would like to see better security.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Zoom for three years.

It is dependent on what the client does on their end in terms of deployment.

Buyer's Guide
Zoom
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Zoom. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We haven't had any problems with Zoom in our limited use.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not had any issues with the scalability of Zoom.

How are customer service and support?

I have not contacted technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Jaeger, Teams, and Grafana are the tools used in the company for remote monitoring.

We use a variety of operating systems, including Linux, Unix, and Windows.

We also use the network storage for office purposes and I personally use Google Drive, iPhone, and iCloud. 

I don't work with the Enterprise edition; instead, I use the open edition.

How was the initial setup?

It doesn't require installation, we use a link, but sometimes we have to download from the browser. This process is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

I was able to complete this process myself.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend Zoom to anyone who is thinking about using it.

I would rate Zoom an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
GIS Scientist at MIT
Real User
Straightforward to use, good for communication tasks, and offers decent pricing
Pros and Cons
  • "I'm not a really technologically sophisticated user. From my point of view, if I can use it, it's likely very straightforward."
  • "I'd like for there to be more integrations possible in the future."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use Zoom for conferencing. 

What is most valuable?

I don't have a problem with the pricing. 

I'm not a really technologically sophisticated user. I just use it. From my point of view, if I can use it, it's likely very straightforward. 

It's very helpful for communicating with others.

What needs improvement?

It's hard for me to find where the button is in order to start a call. The setup could be a bit simpler. That's it. Everything else is pretty simple.

I'd like for there to be more integrations possible in the future.

If there was an easy way to share files, that would be ideal.

They could improve their permission settings a little bit.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for one year. It hasn't been that long. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is a bit difficult in that I always have trouble finding the button to initiate the process.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is decent and I don't consider it to be overly expensive. 

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. It's very useful for conferencing and works well, however, there's always room for improvement.

I'm just a customer and an end-user.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Zoom
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Zoom. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
823,875 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Strategy & Operations at Allstacks
Real User
Very user friendly, easy to share screens, and lots of useful features
Pros and Cons
  • "There are lots of great features available to every user."
  • "How they have the gallery aligned when someone is sharing a screen isn't ideal right now. If there were more options on how to arrange it, would be ideal."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily use the solution for remote meetings.

My typical use case is doing product tours, as well as tool connections, and explainer videos for how to use dashboards for our product. I teach people through virtual training. 

How has it helped my organization?

Technically, the solution hasn't changed the way I work so much. I've been remote since before COVID-19 and all my work is being handled in the same way as it was before. However, I'm very aware that for everyone else in the world it's probably changed the way meetings are traditionally handled.

We have a technical product that is quite complicated to understand without being able to visually see and walk people through it and show them how to use it. Zoom makes it possible to do visual training. Instead of being in there face to face, however, we're able to actually just walk them through each training session and new users can ask questions, and dive deep into the product to understand it better.

What is most valuable?

I like being able to record the sessions if I need to. I also like the option to annotate.

The options to add polls and share screens are great.

There are lots of great features available to every user.

It's pretty user friendly and easy for people to use. All the clients I have say they don't typically have any problems getting into it or using it. It's great in that respect.

What needs improvement?

I would say the polls need improvement. 

When you're using the video, there's a little dialogue box that pops up. It's annoying to everybody who uses Zoom. It would be nice if it had some more features for driving interaction and engagement during meetings. However, they need to make sure the dialog box is up there in a more convenient way. 

How they have the gallery aligned when someone is sharing a screen isn't ideal right now. If there were more options on how to arrange it, would be ideal. 

The ability to make it easier for poll creation and usage would be helpful. If I make a poll, I want it to be accessible to all my different meetings, not just that one meeting. Right now, it's a lot of extra work due to the fact that I have to continuously re-create it every time I need it. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for at least a year, or, maybe at this point, two.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't had any problems with stability. It's actually been much more stable than the other five different conferencing tools I have used. I'm happy with that. It's quite reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We only have 16 users on the solution at this time. That's everyone in our organization.

We use the solution often, however, since everyone is already on it in our organization, we don't have plans to scale more or increase usage. We're already at 100% usage.

From day one, we've been using video conferencing as our main method of communication.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've never had to reach out to technical support. I have a background in IT, so my instinct, if I run into issues, is to figure everything out myself. I can't speak to the quality of their service since I've never dealt with them.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've tried about five other solutions, and Zoom, by far, has been the most stable and reliable.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward in some ways. However, it's not intuitive per se. It's straightforward once you're aware of it, and yet, there are a lot of features I didn't even know were there until I did some research. It wasn't obvious from how they have their website set up. You have to really dig for features. I found it only after six months or a year into using it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We currently use the business account on Zoom. I'm not sure of what the exact costs are to use the solution. The pricing, as I understand it, is very straightforward. There might be just one add-on cost, which would be for users who would like to join in or talk via toll-free dialing.

What other advice do I have?

We're just a customer. We don't have a professional relationship with Zoom.

In terms of advice for implementing the solution, I would probably just say make sure that new users go into the settings within their account and see what they have turned on and off. For instance, I just told my CEO and a couple of the other executives about the option to annotate because I assumed that they knew that was possible. They didn't. 

There's also the capability of using a whiteboard. There are a bunch of other really great features that are available as well that are not obvious at first. Users need to just go in through their account settings and click on everything and set the account up in ways that are convenient for them depending on what they're trying to accomplish. 

It's strange that the majority of the cool features are by default disabled, so users have to go in and become familiar with them on the back end. Everyone needs to take the time to make sure you really play around with it, or go to the help center and watch some videos, and read some of the articles to see what's available.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
ManishBhandari - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Technical Specialist at Redington India Limited
Reseller
Remote engagement solution that offers stability and scalability
Pros and Cons
  • "Zoom is interoperable and user-friendly."
  • "The free version of Zoom could be improved and offer more functionality. We would also like to have whiteboard and drawing functionality."

What is most valuable?

Zoom is interoperable and user-friendly.

What needs improvement?

It would be great if Zoom could continue to enhance all of its features to keep up with other solutions on the market. The free version of Zoom could be improved and offer more functionality. We would also like to have whiteboard and drawing functionality. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have used this solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable solution but I am not sure how many users it is possible to have on one call. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support for this solution is good. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
PeerSpot user
reviewer1228851 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Consultant at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Good communication and performance, but the time limit in the free version should be removed or increased
Pros and Cons
  • "The sharing and recording, are the most valuable features of Zoom."
  • "Whiteboarding would allow me to utilize the screen to draw something, explain, and write something."

What is our primary use case?

I am a pre-sales consultant.

I use the basic features in Zoom, to have conversations with clients,  show some presentations, and for sharing. I'm not a very advanced user.

What is most valuable?

The sharing and recording, are the most valuable features of Zoom.

What needs improvement?

If whiteboarding is not available, it would be beneficial. I'm not sure if it exists. If I can do some whiteboard sessions, that would be great. 

Whiteboarding would allow me to utilize the screen to draw something, explain, and write something. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Zoom for two years.

The corporation updates this solution on a regular basis.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Zoom is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I'm not sure about scalability because I didn't host that many people on it, so I can't really comment on scalability or how well it performs when there are a lot of attendees and sessions. I really don't have the experience.

How are customer service and support?

I have not contacted technical support.

It is maintained by my company; I am a user who does not get involved in the technical aspects.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I am exploring Microsoft, but Studio is no longer supported.

I have some experience with Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

I use Teams a lot and prefer it to Zoom simply because I'm more comfortable with it and there's no time limit. I don't need to worry about when my meeting ends.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is simple, it's straightforward.

Zoom is maintained by my corporate IT team. I am a user, I use this solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

What I don't like is the 45-minute time limit on the free subscription. Teams, on the other hand, do not operate in this manner. You can utilize as much use of Teams as you want. There are no time limits in the free version of Teams.

It is included with your Office 365 subscription. If you have Office 365, which everyone does, it is included. You can't use Word, Excel, or PowerPoint without it.

The free version has a time limit, but paid subscriptions are available.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Zoom a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1248843 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Category Buyer Technology at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
The breakout rooms are good for training exercise, but we sometimes have connection issues

What is most valuable?

Zoom's breakout rooms are an interesting feature that is quite useful for conducting exercises during training. I don't think Teams has this. I also like the recording capabilities, but that depends on the type of privileges that the user has. Not everybody in the organization has the ability to record. 

What needs improvement?

We sometimes have difficulties connecting, but I never know if it's an issue with Zoom or the network. I would say it's Zoom because we have been working quite a lot from home. However, I would generally say I have not experienced that many issues with Zoom. I'm satisfied.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Zoom within the company for the past two years or so.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Our organization has around a thousand people, and Zoom is the standard tool we have been using.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Zoom seven out of 10. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1385187 - PeerSpot reviewer
Regional Territory Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Easy to use, and reliably supports a large number of users
Pros and Cons
  • "The product runs pretty smoothly so I haven't had to contact technical support."
  • "When you are connected to one device and you're going to log into another one, Zoom should ask you to transfer without having to disconnect you."

What is our primary use case?

I set up a lot of meetings using Zoom. Especially now that we are working remotely, every I do is via Zoom.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Zoom is that it's easy to use.

What needs improvement?

When you are connected to one device and you're going to log into another one, Zoom should ask you to transfer without having to disconnect you. That would be a nice feature to have because what you have to do now is start the other device on mute and then disconnect from the original one. If you don't put it on mute then sometimes there is an echo or other strange sounds. Ideally, there should be nothing weird in the call.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Zoom for approximately four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Zoom is a pretty stable platform. In the past couple of years, we have maximized our usage because the corporation mandates its use. We have the option to use other products but I think that everybody is signing up for Zoom. It is also part of one of our sister companies.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This seems like a scalable product because a lot of people are using it.

With approximately 140,000 employees in the company, about 30,000 are involved with sales. Of these, perhaps 15,000 to 20,000 of them use Zoom on a daily basis.

How are customer service and support?

The product runs pretty smoothly so I haven't had to contact technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I used a similar solution from another company. One of the nice features with the other solution is that when you have a meeting running on one device, such as a cell phone, and want to move to another device, such as a desktop PC, it will automatically detect that there is a connection open and transfer you from one to the other.

Another product that we used to use was Webex. The company decided to switch away from that and standardized on Zoom. Webex is not a product that I miss. Zoom does an equal or better job than it did.

How was the initial setup?

I have not had to set up Zoom because it comes preconfigured for us.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

In the company, we have options to use other similar products.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anybody who is considering Zoom is that it's okay to start small. However, if you plan to have a large installation and want reliability then Zoom is a good platform to use.

This is an awesome product and everybody is getting up to speed with it. The features that I have used are enough for me and I haven't had to request any changes. That said, I appreciate that there are things that need improvement.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Managing Consultant at Business and Technology Consulting, LLC
Real User
Convenient, easy to use, and simple to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "It's not a big deal to set up a meeting."
  • "One thing I do wish was that there was more visibility. Sometimes I have to click into a reply-all to find out who is in the meeting and whether they've accepted or not."

What is most valuable?

It works. It's easy to use and it's easy to set up.

I like that it is easy to record. 

To me, it's like using your iPhone. It's not a big deal. It's not a big deal to set up a meeting. 

Screen sharing is important. Being able to pull up spreadsheets, system presentations, PowerPoints, whatever, is very helpful. The tool's pretty effective that way.

People like it to be light. They like it to be not so technical that it's hard to learn or hard to use. One of the reasons Zoom grew so fast is that kids could learn it, old people could learn it, workers could learn it. It takes a little more learning curve to have the license and host meetings. Set up meetings, to host, there's a little bit more there, however, even that's pretty simple.

What needs improvement?

One thing I do wish was that there was more visibility. Sometimes I have to click into a reply-all to find out who is in the meeting and whether they've accepted or not. It's not convenient to check on that while you're in a meeting.

Teams is better about that. Teams is better about posting up right in front of you so you can see who was invited, who clicked in or not, who's on the call. 

Also when people are talking, you see either their image, if they've got an avatar, or at least their initials, and a little round fake avatar that's blinking when they're trying to talk, or they're raising their hand. That is the only thing I'd say that's really a frustration for me with Zoom, is I'm not always sure who got invited.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for a while. I use it every day.

I'm working virtually and my clients are all over the country. I don't visit them more than maybe once every six weeks each. I'm on the phone in Zoom or Teams probably 15 to 20 hours a week.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is quite good. I haven't dealt with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good. Expanding it is not a problem. 

As consultants, there's only usually a few of us that are engaged with a client. We don't send an army in. We're very senior consultants, and our rates are really high. We're like hiring an attorney or something. We're not a bunch of bodies coming in to do all the leg work. We're advising them on how to do a lot of things properly in terms of ERP selection and implementation.

That said, we're engaging with a lot of people though. For example, in this one client I have, they're in Baltimore, I'm often on a call with 20 people. I may be the only one on my side and there's all of them. I have to know who they are and get familiar with their voices. A lot of the time, more people aren't necessarily doing the video thing where they're displaying themselves. It's just is less common that people do that. That's because more people are working virtually and maybe they're still in their t-shirt or you haven't taken a shower that day. If people aren't displaying themselves, you use the tool more like a phone in a sense, as you have to know, "Okay. That was Jackie speaking. That was Lisa speaking. That was Alice speaking."

We get familiar with each other, we get to know each other. However, we typically deal with maybe 10 or 12 people on a call. They may be in different locations. With one client I have, they're in 23 states. Various key people are in different places. Other kinds of meetings I have oftentimes been a three or four-way, where you've got a client and you've got a vendor who's maybe doing something for them. We can have essentially three or four companies represented in a call, and we're having maybe calls two or three times a week.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've also used Microsoft Teams.

The larger the client, the more likely it is that they're going to use Teams instead of Zoom. Oftentimes, they're setting up the meetings and they prefer to set them up. I have this one large client where we're recording every one of our sessions, as they're reusable then for walking back through and revisiting deep discussions we've had and requirements and so on.

I don't happen to like Teams, it's clunky. Teams is clunky and it's also just harder to use. Particularly if you're using it also is a repository for documents, folders, recording, and so on. It's just not as usable.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very simple. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I have a subscription to Zoom.

What other advice do I have?

I am a customer and an end-user.

What my partner and I typically would do if we are in control of that is we use Zoom. We'll use Box for our repository of the artifacts, requirements, recordings, and so on. Box is also very, very easy to use. However, we find Teams clunky on both sides now. However, even though we prefer Zoom if a client prefers a different conference system, and they've got dozens of people inside that are married to that, well, we'll go with what they use.

We are on the latest version of Zoom. Zoom actually forces that. If you get a Zoom subscription, it pops up a patch or an update or whatever, and it's no big deal to click that and update.

What Zoom is, is it's a very convenient, easy to use, quick to set up, simple to learn tool. It works pretty effectively. 

However, people aren't using it so visually anymore as they used to. A lot of times it's really just a meetup where you're all on the same call, and people won't even post their videos too much anymore. Sometimes, if we're at a first-time meeting, we'll have our visual presence there, however, then we'll hide it away behind an avatar. People just aren't in need of that facial thing too much.

The main thing for me was just knowing who's scheduled for a call. Sometimes I don't know who's going to be on the call until I get on the call. There's a list there, however, you don't know who's accepted. We need a clear list. That would be an improvement.

Keeping it light is important. Everything is getting more and more like that. Even the system designs, major ERP systems, most of them when you log in, you feel like you're in a box. It feels boxy. That's the way Teams feels. It's got a structured menu architecture and so on, and frames around everything. The way things are going - and this is how Zoom is - it feels like you're in an open space. It doesn't feel like a box of things. It's an open flow. Keeping it that way is going to be important.

If you add more features, you have to keep it easy to find, easy to hide. Don't throw them on your whole menu. Don't throw everything at me. Just what I'm using is all I need. I'll give you another example of that. There's a system called CRM, Customer Relationship Management, such as Salesforce. Salesforce made a major strategic mistake. They built the thing that is a very complex functional solution. It's expensive due to the fact that it's so overbuilt. I don't know where Salesforce is at, however, I've got a lot of clients that I've run into that say, "Yeah, we put in Salesforce a few years ago and we're going to replace that now as too costly and we don't use it all."

They didn't do a very effective job of layering functionality so that you only see what you use, and make it simple, make it easy. Also, they didn't scale the pricing to what they're going to use. Salesforce is probably still pretty ubiquitous, however, it's probably going to get beat out by a bunch of these smaller, lighter, more open solutions. The challenge for Zoom would be to stay Zoom, and don't fix what isn't broken. It is a great tool. I really have very little, almost nothing but praise for Zoom. The only thing I'd say is that competitively, they're going to have to think about, well, what else does it have to be able to do?

In my opinion, it's going to be making the visual collaboration, not from people to people, and instead, the people to content, whether it's websites, systems, logins, spreadsheets, whatever, making that so easy to do that it's almost natural. We can more quickly say, "Oh, okay, let me pull that up."

Layer number one is, it ought to be as natural as sliding your fingers across the screen in some magical way to be able to show what you want to show. The next layer is going to have to have more social collaboration from inside and outside of the system.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten so far. In comparison, I might rate Microsoft Teams at a six or so. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user