In addition to working on department-wide projects, tracking impending chores, scheduling video meetings, joining new message channels, and modifying files, modern employees are in an almost constant state of teamwork. Collaboration solutions such as Microsoft Teams assist employees in monitoring deadlines, communicating across channels, and ensuring that everyone is working with the most up-to-date versions of projects and information. Microsoft Teams interfaces with popular third-party business tools, facilitating the integration of collaboration and communication into a single interface. Microsoft Teams is not suitable for everyone, particularly those who do not work in the Microsoft 365 environment.

In this post, we analyze the features, user experiences, available communication channels, cost, and more of the top alternatives to Microsoft Teams:

Alternative #1: Zoom

• Zoom One is a team communications platform that integrates Zoom’s core applications and collaboration features, such as Zoom Meetings, Zoom Phone, chat messaging, file sharing, and idea brainstorming, into a single, synchronized interface.
• Zoom is best known for its Meetings application, which makes it simple for teams to join dynamic HD video meetings with up to one thousand participants, filters, and other dynamic, collaborative video capabilities.
• Zoom Phone offers HD video chat and integrates with omnichannel contact centers. Zoom Chat promotes cooperation and the sharing of media, including the sharing of whiteboards and calendars.
• Key Features:
  • Virtual Meetings: Zoom Meetings, a videoconferencing tool that rose to prominence during the 2020 pandemic, supports up to one thousand users and includes screen sharing, chat, live captioning, meeting recording and transcription, the ability to join and start meetings easily from calendars, and audience engagement tools such as polls, hand raising, and music.
  • Team Chat: Zoom Chat enables users to exchange direct or group communications with files, videos, emojis, and GIFs. Jump immediately into meetings and whiteboarding from chat.
  • Digital Whiteboard: A virtual collaborative environment with a whiteboard interface that enables users to sketch and brainstorm before, during, or after meetings using sticky notes, drawing tools, comments, and simple whiteboard sharing.
  • Zoom Phone offers HD voice on mobile, desktop, and desk phones, as well as intelligent call routing, an IVR auto attendant, call recording, line sharing, voicemail, call logs and contact lists.

Alternative #2: RingCentral

• Using RingCentral’s MVP (Message, Video, Phone) suite, customers can create groups and teams, chat, create and join video conferences, make phone conversations, sketch, and whiteboard, share media and files, create and assign tasks and checklists, and send desktop and mobile faxes.
• The dashboard of the RingCentral collaboration area enables users to monitor all mentions, preferred contacts, direct messages, and teams. Clicking on any of these opens the corresponding chat, with shared files sorted to the right.
• Key Features:
  • Users are able to create groups and teams, as well as send private messages to internal or external contacts. All discussions are recorded and can be searched by keyword or mention. Easily transition from discussion to a call or video with a single tap.
  • Users can create new tasks immediately in message chats and message history, set calendars, and create and assign to-do lists that can be checked off by any user.
  • RingCentral’s phone service offers calling, SMS, voicemail, voicemail transcription, and faxing, among other features. Users can adjust ringtone, phone number, routing settings, multilingual IVR, and calling extensions via desk phone, desktop, or mobile softphone.
  • RingCentral’s video meetings can accommodate up to 200 participants and feature live transcription, speaker identification, and presentation styles that allow the speaker to choose their positioning on the user’s screen. Auto-follow camera mode tracks the speaker’s motions automatically, and enhanced meeting insights such as highlight reels and summaries assist absent team members in catching up.

Alternative #3: Dialpad

• Dialpad is an internal and external communications platform that organizes inboxes, contacts, team message channels, and recent conversations inside a single dashboard for VoIP voice, chat, and video. A search bar offers a quick contact lookup, and the middle of the screen displays conversation history, contact lists, missed calls, and more menus.
• Key Features:
  • Dialpad HD video conferencing is designed for intra-team meetings with up to fifteen members. Scheduled meetings automatically phone participants at the start time, and hosts can develop and distribute agendas and related files prior to sessions. Utilize screen sharing, meeting chat, and the host’s meeting timer to keep on track during the meeting.
  • AI Transcriptions: Dialpad AI automatically transcribes all video and audio calls, recording action items and sending a call summary immediately upon the call’s conclusion.
  • During a call, agents have access to a comprehensive set of tools, including the ability to transfer calls, add new participants, share the screen, switch from desktop windows to mobile devices, record, and more.
  • Within chat channels, users can communicate images and text, answer with emoticons, and launch a phone chat or video meeting with a single click. Dialpad tracks and indicates who is speaking in video meetings. Dialpad connects with any major calendar app, providing users with a view of their whole day and access to the day’s activities directly from the calendar.

Alternative #4: Go to connect

• GoTo Connect is the collaboration, calling, and customer engagement platform for GoTo, providing cloud phone calls, video conferencing, internal chat, SMS, and multichannel contact center capability on desktop and mobile Android and Apple iOS devices.
• Key Features:
  • Host video conferences with up to 250 attendees, screen sharing, sketching tools, custom backgrounds, and in-session chat. Meeting links allow anyone to join with a single click, making them simple to share in the
  chat with coworkers, clients, and other external connections. Each meeting is transcribed, and users receive the whole transcript afterward
  • so they may search for certain terms and go to specific points in the dialogue. Meetings can be stored indefinitely on the Meeting History page.
  • More than just a ring group or auto attendant, GoTo Connect’s dial plans enable you to precisely control how incoming calls navigate your phone system. Incorporate numbers, tools such as faxing and scheduling, language options, user groups, password authentication, and more into a call path with step-by-step timing controls.

Microsoft Teams delivers a great deal of power and collaboration possibilities to businesses of all sizes. However, the intricacy introduced by so many features may be intimidating to inexperienced users. In addition, your company may not be able to afford Microsoft’s licensing fees for the complete suite of tools, including Exchange email and SharePoint Online. There are other free options available that provide teams with core capabilities.

Finding the best collaboration tool for your business could be a challenging task as there are tons of options you might see online. Beyontel is a vendor-agnostic IT consulting company specializing in cloud-based unified communications. Contact us today!

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