The sustained growth of 400% in recent monthsleads to Zoom be positioned as one of the most important communication tools for companies and individuals. According to figures provided by the brand, the number of daily free connections has increased considerably.
Given the receptivity that it continues to have throughout the world, Zoom It was planted continue to invest in application development and frequent system updates to bring news to users. From the company they assure that classes, work and meetings have a tendency to be hybrid, that is, between face-to-face and distance, an aspect that they intend to make the most of.
Surely you have heard a lot about Zoom, but until now you have not used it or you know little about this application. In this course you will have all the details about its operationfeatures, utilities, benefits and products that are available, both free and with a paid license.
What is Zoom?
Zoom is a communications app that can be used to meet with others, either in audio or combining it with video. A notable aspect is that while you make the call you can record the meeting and later review any information of interest.
The Zoom’s main focus is businessso that in a session it is possible to include up to 1,000 participants, requiring in this case to buy a license of use. But you can also use the free version with a wide variety of features, which in many cases are enough to complete school tasks, communicate with family and friends or perform work-from-home or remote functions.
Zoom Functions and Features
This tool adapts to the needs of each one for its ease of use and versatilityand can be used from any device and operating system.
Although there are many functionalities that the application has, here are the main ones:
- Personal meetings: for free you can connect with any contact as many times as necessary.
- Organize group meetings: by purchasing a license, you can include up to 500 people in a conference. In the free version a maximum of 100 connections per 40 minutes.
- Quality audio and video: the quality is HD, no matter you are the host or not. This applies even in meetings with hundreds of participants.
- Enhanced Security: Communications encryption allows remote work and meetings to be private, with password protection and access restrictions.
- Group chat: there is the possibility of sharing files through instant messaging, storing information to consult it in the history when necessary.
- Screen Sharing: Very useful feature especially for exhibitions or conferences in which specific instructions are required.
- Calls and video calls: You can do the combination of both elements depending on the circumstances.
Benefits of using Zoom
The reason why many users are inclined to Using Zoom goes beyond the fact that it is a fashionable application or because everyone uses it.
There are many advantages of having it installed on your computer, as you will see below:
- stable connection: even with high video quality and a good number of attendees, the amount of interruptions is limited.
- It is easy to use: the interface adapts to any device and is handled comfortably.
- Technical support: a group of specialists give fast and personalized attention once a license is acquired.
- File sharing is easy: the chat gives the possibility to interact with other users within the videoconference.
- It has a free version: that although it is free, it has most of the features available, only for limited uses.
- It is an ally for your business: Whether you are just starting out or have already been building your business for some time, it helps improve communication with your partners and workers.
Uses and Utilities of Zoom
Depending on the plan you choose, it is possible to add additional features and uses to your Zoom account. Remember that its use is based on the cloud, so communications are in real time with users anywhere.
Here are some of the utilities of this tool:
virtual whiteboard
One way to give a graphical explanation is using a blackboard, but not one of the traditional ones but virtually. You can listen to all opinions and With the brainstorming, take notes with which, in the end, a definitive concept will be put together.. All participants will be able to see it simultaneously.
This function is intended for the host of the meeting and using the whiteboard has the advantage that you can copy and modify the drafts you have made. The feature is available on both mobile and desktop.
Recording of meetings
Imagine that you are in a class, an online seminar or in a meeting from which you need to extract important information to use it later or an explanation is being given from which you need to have all the steps. To not miss anything, what you have is to record the content. This is stored and you can see it as many times as you need. It is one of the particular advantages that Zoom has over other similar platforms and what has allowed it to gain a position in the market.
schedule conferences
This feature allows you create a meeting by placing a specific date and time, leaving it available from that moment of programming until it is carried out. It is necessary that you put a title that identifies it and add some reminders to be aware and that nothing escapes. The link that is created when scheduling the meeting is the one that you will share with the guestswho also have the option of receiving reminders as the date approaches.
Simultaneous screen sharing with the webcam
This function has very special characteristics. You can choose what you will share and with whom you will share it, in case you don’t want the whole world to see what you have on your desktop. Likewise, select which of the elements will be seen, if it will be one or several of the ones you have open at the same time. But also you can share an element while still seeing your image through the camera that you have connected Thus, they can observe you when you give any explanation about an action to be carried out.
virtual background
Maybe you want to give a different image to what will be seen behind you when participating in a conference or Zoom meeting. In this case you must use a virtual background, which can be a still or moving photograph. This gives a better concept, especially when it comes to interviews or classes at a professional level. You have to know that one of the requirements is have a wall in a solid green tone and good lighting in the room in which you are. This will make it easier to obtain and define the virtual background.
manage users
It is a function of the moderator or host manage the participants that will have a meeting. If it is very large, several administrators can be appointed who will be assigned specific functions that allow guests to maintain order, preventing them from intervening without authorization. Administrators can kick a member, mute a member, chat, directly intervene with other users as well as activate or deactivate the audio, if the function is limited for attendees.
Who invented Zoom?
The creator of this platform is Eric Yuan, a Chinese businessman who lives in the United States. The first private version of Zoom came to light in 2012, a time when brands like Skype were consolidating. However, the greatest boom of the application was in the year 2020 when it went from 10 million meetings a day to more than 200 million, which has led to the fortune of this entrepreneur growing enormously.
Although it was already known especially in the business world, now it has also become a tool for other uses, for example educational and personal. Although it is true that it had some problems with privacy at certain times, these have been corrected and they remain one of the leading companies in the video call sector.
Differences between free Zoom and paid Zoom
As you know, Zoom allows you to use a basic version without having to pay anything and save special privileges for those who buy a license or increase the capacity of their plans.
Some of the differences that are noted are now described:
- In the free version, videoconferences have a limit of 40 minutes while in the professional you have up to 24 hours in a row.
- In Zoom for free the maximum limit of participants is 100 while In the paid versions, 300 people and even more can connect.
- The user with a license can record the content of meetings and store them in the cloud, something that is not possible in the free version.
- Besides, if a Business or Enterprise license is purchased they can be connect more than 500 peoplethere is telephone support and greater customization options.
Zoom Products What does it offer its users?
Although Zoom’s main cover letter is video conferencing, makes available to its affiliates other tools to improve communications on a personal or business level.
Here you will find in detail three additional products that the company offers:
Zoom Phone
is a cloud phone service which already reaches two million licenses acquired. HD audio quality allows communication to be understood without interference even if the connection system being used is low. It also has native applications for the main operating systems, such as Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android.
They point from the company that have adequate support for standard landlines, which allows to make a leap to new technologies without problem. Whoever acquires the license will be able to see the history of communications and voicemails, apart from the identification of the calls and the recording of the same.
Zoom Meet
This Zoom meeting feature allows you to connect from anywhere no matter what device is used. You can easily start a conversation, join or be a collaborator. Security settings allow for seamless conferencing, with added encryption and password protection.
Making use of customization tools, with you can make each of the meetings leave you a different experience, enabling the transcription system, use a virtual background, play or share a video and thus work comfortably from anywhere.
Zoom Rooms
is one of the pioneering systems that integrates into company conference rooms, regardless of their size. Audio, video and screen sharing is configured in a single site from the computer or mobile device. It is…
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