Video Conferencing Platform Term Paper

Abstract
Kerman Insurance Company tasked me with providing them with an insight on the best video conferencing platform in the rural parts of Kerman, California. The major options I researched included: Skype, Zoom, and GotoMeeting. My recommendation is on the use of Zoom as the favorite video conferencing service provider. The feasibility study assessed the best option through user friendliness, pricing, number of users, and recording options

Introduction
As a videoconferencing assessment agent, my professional focus is identifying the best videoconferencing platform or software for different institutions. There are concerns about proper use of videoconferencing in management engaging with remote employees as well as clients.

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The Kerman Insurance Company tasked me with finding the best videoconferencing platform for its communication with remote employees and also clients from different parts of the State and beyond. This feasibility study provides all the necessary information for the insurance company in making the best decision when purchasing videoconferencing services. The insurance company is struggling with the current videoconferencing platform and is looking forward to new and efficient videoconferencing services. The institution has decided to get the best services for running of their offices, especially coordination of employees and clients through communication. Therefore, I have developed a list of three suitable videoconferencing service providers for the institution, including: Skype, Zoom, and GotoMeeting.

Methodology
In the methodology process, I utilized different tactics in acquiring critical information regarding the most favorable videoconferencing service provider for the company. In order to have an informed choice, it was relevant to assess different service providers by assessing aspects such as user friendliness, pricing, number of users, and recording options. The first step was conducting an online search regarding the reviews and comparisons on the best videoconferencing service providers in California. Most information about the statistical comparisons are found online and therefore I researched diverse online platforms to get adequate and reliable knowledge on these companies. In assessing these options, my target was the use of videoconferencing services provided within the United States, and specifically, California.

The employees and clients of the company needed the best video communication platform and service provision, hence the need for in-depth research analysis. Therefore, the search criteria or keywords included: effective videoconferencing platforms and videoconferencing software. Some of the platforms included blogs, discussion websites, electronic books, online forums and articles. On blogs, I majorly focused on statistical information and not just the general views of the authors. On discussion forums, I focused on getting questions and answers on the products offered in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.

Some of the major sites included Quora, Yahoo Answers, various blogs on communication providers and also the official websites of the videoconferencing service providers. In other words, the main target was to get only reliable information that would help in making the best decision for the company. After the online research process, I made an informed decision on the best option according to the criteria as shown in the subsequent discussion. In providing a proper assessment of the options available, I made several considerations and not just the scores.

Criteria
In assessing the criteria, I majorly focused on the major online video communication service providers available for Kerman Insurance Company. These providers included Skype, Zoom, ezTalks Meetings, and GotoMeeting. The criteria of selecting the best service for the company was based on a number of factors as explained below:

Pricing Plan & Discounts: What are the basic and the best offers from the service providers?
Number of Users: What is the maximum number of users that can engage the platform at a particular time?

Mobile Experience & Video/Audio Recording: Which allows proper video and audio recording? Which allows users to engage in conferencing through mobile phones?

User Friendliness: How easy can users with different languages and communication abilities engage in the platform?

Conclusion
When selecting the best online video communication service, there are various issues to consider. The main concern is cost verses the packages given. The delivery of services in terms of packages has been critical, since consumers have different preferences or needs that need to be accomplished. The cost factor is combined with the number of users at a given time, which would ensure the company decides on the best provider according to number of employees and clients involved at a given time.

The second factor is the user friendliness, which is connected to mobile experiences and recording options. The user friendliness is critical when assessing the proper utilization of services, including overcoming language barriers as well as being able to record the videos and audios for bookkeeping. In addition, there should be minimal interruptions.

Recommendations
I recommend that the Kerman Insurance Company adopt the use of Zoom Videoconferencing Software for the video communications services for communication with remote employees and workers. The main reason for selecting Zoom Videoconferencing is due to the best pricing especially the basic plan. The company allows 100 participants to engage in video conferencing for free, which is an important aspect for the company to save more. The platform is also effective in terms of allowing diverse devices to access the videoconferencing abilities (Scanga, Deen, Smith, & Wright, 2018). Although the company focuses on engaging more than 500 users, the company has the opportunity of having different video conferences for different users – employees from different departments and also clients with different needs.

Discussion
In the discussion section, my main focus is the description of the four videoconferencing platforms for Kerman Insurance Company and evaluating each service provider according to selected criteria.

Criterion 1: Pricing Plan & Discounts
All the videoconferencing options have free basic plan where users can interact in a video conferencing. Skype allows 2 users to communicate for free through their videoconferencing options (Nehls, Smith, & Schneider, 2015). The Online Plan 2 is $5.50 per month per user and it allows up to 250 users. The Office 365 Business Plan is $5 per user per month which allows 1 Terabyte file storage and sharing for every user, emailing options and online versions of Office. On the other hand, Zoom has unlimited 1 to 1 meetings and 40 minutes limit for group meetings. In addition, Zoom allows unlimited number of meetings. Apart from that, Zoom has other offers such as Pro Plan which costs $14.99 per month for a given host that has an extra cloud storage for recordings. GotoMeeting has a free plan which only allows 3 users. In addition, the platform has a starter option which allows 10 participants and costs $19 per month. The Pro Plan is $29 per month and allows 50 users.

Criterion 2: Number of Users
The number of users that can access the videoconferencing platform at any given time is highly critical in choosing the best platform (Riley, Garza-Reyna, Muñoz, Lawrence, Shelton, & Rojas-Paz, 2019). For Skype, the maximum number of users is 250. Zoom’s highest number is 200 participants while GotoMeeting has an option of 100 participants. However, the number of users is also relative to the pricing plan. For instance, Zoom’s 200 participants’ option is factored into the Zoom Enterprise Plan, while GotoMeeting’s highest plan costs $49 per month. In terms of users, Zoom has the best options since up to 200 participants can be involved and yet there is an option of 100 users’ free option.

Criterion 3: Mobile Experience & Video/Audio Recording
The criteria of mobile experience and video/audio recording is similar for all the options discussed. All the three platforms have cloud computing options where storage of recordings can be done. However, Skype is the best option, as it has the 1 terabyte cloud storage for every users and also 50GB for every user in mail storage. Zoom’s options are also attractive and should be highly considered as an alternative for Skype, since it has unlimited cloud storage for its best plan – which can be considered affordable.

Criterion 4: User Friendliness
User friendliness is also similar for the three options. The three have user-friendly platforms where users receive online help from their customer care support. GotoMeetings also allows translation options where people with different languages can communicate (Bozwell, Cornwell, & Udall, 2019).

References
Riley, J., Garza-Reyna, G., Muñoz, A., Lawrence, G., Shelton, M., & Rojas-Paz, A. (2019). Video-Conferencing to Promote Global Awareness. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 55(1), 42-45.
Scanga, L. H., Deen, M. K. Y., Smith, S. R., & Wright, K. (2018). Zoom around the World: Using Videoconferencing Technology for International Trainings. Journal of Extension, 56(2), n2.
Bozwell, K. A. Y., Cornwell, M., & Udall, N. (2019). U.S. Patent Application No. 10/230,848
Nehls, K., Smith, B. D., & Schneider, H. A. (2015). Video-conferencing interviews in qualitative research. In Enhancing qualitative and mixed methods research with technology (pp. 140-157). IGI Global.