Buzz 46: JioMeet vs Zoom For Working Women

The Coronavirus arrived and so did the not-so-common culture of working from home. People from all sectors and businesses started relying on video calling apps to fill the communication gaps created by social distancing and the lockdown. Meetings, presentations and even appraisals happened through video calls and have become the new norm.

While most were happy with using various existing video calling platforms, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani conducted RIL’s 2020 AGM via JioMeet—a platform that aims to rival and replace Zoom meetings, the most commonly used video calling app for businesses in India.

Video Calls: The Need Of The Hour

While earlier video calling was synonymous with long-distance calls to relatives through Skype, today there’s a whole plethora of platforms that cater to this need for professional and personal communication. With cheaper access to data and devices that have high-resolution cameras, video calling has become commonplace and easily accessible in the last five years. In fact, during Covid-19, the use of these apps by businesses and organisations both big and small has seen a definitive surge. Reliance Jio is cleverly capitalising on this trend and here are some fine examples.

Reliance Jio Apps For Working Women

• With SHAREit banned and WeTransfer in murky waters, Reliance promoted JioSwitch
• JioCloud arrived with the features to backup files and contacts
• For your chatting needs, JioChat became an efficient way to stay connected
• JioCall became the go-to for VoLTE & RCS

JioMeet Vs Zoom: Advantages & Disadvantages

While Google Hangouts, Google Meet, Skype, WhatsApp, GoToMeeting, and Google Duo are all great apps, Zoom was the reigning champion of video conferencing. Why and how did Zoom become so popular? Is JioMeet the end of all competition? Here are some of the finer points that can help you decide.

1. Money, Money, Money

Doesn’t it feel great when the sabjiwala bhaiyya gives you kadi patta for free when you buy vegetables? Free will always be preferred, especially in today’s market where several people are facing financial difficulties. JioMeet offers an advantage with its free but limited usage. But when hosting larger meetings, paid Zoom Pro plans have more features and flexibility.

Zoom’s basic Rs1,120 per month per host is available for 9 hosts and gets costlier. It can accommodate up to 1000 participants on a single call, offers custom plans for hosting webinars and Zoom rooms.

JioMeet hasn’t announced any paid plans yet and is providing similar functionality and more, all free of cost. JioMeet seems to be targeting enterprises more than individual people or employees, as it asks for company domain and email addresses. But, you can sign up for a JioMeet ID with your personal email account or even your phone number.

2. Experience Matters

Have you ever gone to a restaurant and had an unpleasant waiter? Even though the food might have been fabulous, you will remember the rude waiter rather than the food. This is because experience makes a bigger impression. The same goes for video calling apps. If you have a smooth, disruption-free, glitch-free experience, you will choose that platform over anything else.

JioMeet and Zoom offer a similar experience for most parts. All the basic features of Zoom like screen sharing and recording are available on JioMeet. JioMeet is available across all platforms including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS and web, so there’s no restriction in terms of operating system, just like Zoom.

3. Protect Your Privacy

We build jumbo locks and install CCTVs for our physical safety, women carry pepper sprays and even learn self-defence. But what about your virtual safety and privacy? With 8 major data breach incidents in 2019, people are worried about cyber attacks. This is especially vital for an organisation.

Zoom offers end-to-end encryption (E2E) to both free and paid users. Reliance JioMeet claims to provide encryption and password protection, but is yet to release information about E2E.

The Similarities

1. Simple user interface
2. Password protection
3. Enterprise-grade host control facilities
4. HD-video conference call

The Differences

1. JioMeet offers 24 hours of uninterrupted call connection, while Zoom initially only offers 40 minutes, though it can be extended.
2. JioMeet supports multi-device login. It means that users can switch up to five devices during an ongoing call. This is a new feature that is not present in Zoom.
3. Zoom’s issues and preference for paid users can be concerning, but it does offer clarity over E2E, unlike JioMeet.
4. Paid plans for Zoom start at about Rs 1,120 per month while JioMeet has not yet announced paid plans.

Working women may choose which video calling application to use based on their preferences. Some require quick sessions that can happen over WhatsApp, while others are comfortable sticking to Google Meet. There’s always going to be something that’s newer, improved, or better. Now you’re equipped with all you need to know to choose to go Jio or Zoom.

Let us know in the comments section, which one did you prefer.