Google has banned its employees from using Zoom on employees’ devices over security concerns. Its remarkable why any Google employee would use a competitor product anyways, but the fact that Google had to go ahead and tell their employees this seems wild.

According to BuzzFeed, Google sent an email to certain employees that had Zoom installed on their Employer provided laptops warning them of “security vulnerabilities” an that the app would stop working on their laptops this week.

“We have long had a policy of not allowing employees to use unapproved apps for work that are outside of our corporate network,” Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesperson, told BuzzFeed News. “Recently, our security team informed employees using Zoom Desktop Client that it will no longer run on corporate computers as it does not meet our security standards for apps used by our employees. Employees who have been using Zoom to stay in touch with family and friends can continue to do so through a web browser or via mobile.”

For more Zoom related Stories hit up the link below.

Zoom related Stories

We also promised to help you all discover alternatives, so let’s get to it. In true Platform De.Central fashion, we will start with services from non-Platform Owners like Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft.

Slack

We regularly report on Slack and its meteoric growth as of late, reaching a daily user base of 12.5 million, its huge design refresh and its new interoperable calling features with services like Teams, WebEx, Zoom and more. While Slack is mostly used for chat, it does sport a handy video calling feature. If you are on the free version of Slack you can call only one person at a time, you can host a meeting with a paid subscription. More Slack News

Whereby

Whereby says “Enjoy the freedom to live and work where you thrive with easy video meetings from Whereby” right on its homepage, which is a fantastic message that holds even more weight in today’s economy. The free version touts a 1 user and 1 meeting room set of features that they say should be for personal use. You can have up to 4 meeting participants, there is desktop and mobile access, secure conversations, screen sharing, lock rooms and YouTube integration that allows for everyone in the meeting to view a single video at once. The paid version touts joining meetings with a click, screen sharing, simple room names, up to 50 users in one call, customizable branding, ability record, down and share calls, join from a browser or iOS app. Silent Chat feature, no more pesky notifications sounds from in app chats and reactions with Emoji’s.

Cisco Webex

Webex is a tried and true go to videoconferencing app that has been around for a long time. Although it is mostly known as a business application that is used by large corporations it is a handy options for smaller organizations as well. Right now Cisco is offering a robust free version. The special free offer includes the first month totally free when you signup for a paid monthly plan or you get 4 months free when you purchase an annual plan, just use this promo code wecare2020. This version includes up to 100 participants in a meeting, no time limit on meetings, a Call-in for audio VoIP feature, Unlimited number of meetings, desktop, application, file and whiteboard sharing options, video conferencing, Webex teams collaboration, mobile features, and robust security features. From there the Starter tier is $13.50/month with more features as you move up the tiers.

RemoteHQ

RemoteHQ boasts the ability to collaboratively work in a single web app that can be controlled by anyone in the session, the ability to see your session records all in one place, like files, notes and recordings, all backed up automatically. The free version touts 1 meeting room, 5 concurrent participants in a meeting, naming of your url, customizable meeting room with a logo, public or private rooms, screen sharing, video chat, group chat, Emoji reactions, Slack integration, file uploads and email support. Need more than the free version offers, the Pro version is $9.99/month and boasts additional features.

Lifesize

Lifesize has a robust free tier that touts Unlimited Meetings, 25 participants at a time, a personal meeting room, Native desktop and mobile apps and online support. If you need more than the free tier offers, the standard tier is $16.95/month. Lifesize even compares itself to Zoom in this report.

Solutions from Platform Owners

Skype Meet Now

Skype has been synonymous with video chat since 2003. It is now owned by Microsoft which has squandered its lead recently, but that doesn’t mean it is a bad product, on the contrary it still does the job well. Skype is also what we would call platform agnostic, as you can use Skype on nearly any device. Want to do a call from you Xbox, Echo Show or Linux Laptop, no problem. Skype boasts features like being able to join a Skype call without a download or account (Which is huge for ease of access), call recording, background blurring, screen sharing, chat, live subtitles, Meet Now features that enable you to create and share meetings in 3 clicks without have to signup or download the app.

Hangouts Meet

Google Hangouts Meet is the new version for G Suite users and offers free access to it premium features for Education. You can video chat with up to 10 people, audio calls with up to 150 people, chat and screen share. Hangouts can be used on mobile and web. More Hangouts Stories

Teams

Built as a direct competitor to Slack, Teams is the leader in Business Chat with 44 Million daily users, but it also features many tools available in Skype. Microsoft is currently offering a 6-month free trial, Microsoft worked with Slack to integrate Microsoft Teams calls right into Slack, making it easier to simply do a call without having the app get in the way. Now there is a version of Teams called Teams for Home, that enables family and friends to enjoy many of the same features of Teams but for personal use. More Teams Stories

FaceTime

FaceTime is an Apple hardware only app, so you can use it if you have an iPhone, iPad or Mac. You can also use Group FaceTime video calls where you can add up to 32 people. You can start a Group FaceTime from the FaceTime or Messages app. One of the fun features of Group FaceTime calls is camera effects where you can use filters, animoji’s or your memoji as your head during a call. This is the only option in this article that is hardware dependent, i.e. you have to use an Apple device.

We hope this helps our readers adopt an alternative to Zoom and keeps everyone productive at the same time.

By Platform De.Central | Source: BuzzFeed News