Zoom and Microsoft Teams: A Comparison of Communication Apps

This article compares Zoom and Microsoft Teams, two popular communication apps. It discusses their features, applications, advantages, and disadvantages. It also explores the concept of cloud storage and computing. Suitable for businesses, educational centers, hospitals, and social gatherings, these apps offer various benefits and challenges.

Information and
Communication
Technology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Task 1..........................................................................................................................................1
Zoom.......................................................................................................................................1
Microsoft Teams.....................................................................................................................4
Task 2..........................................................................................................................................6
Cloud storage and computing.................................................................................................6
Task 3..........................................................................................................................................8
Security and privacy...............................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
References:.....................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Information technology can be defined as the collectively using of the technical devices
such as hardware. Software, operating systems, networking , internet and many more to perform
technical functions in an organization or for personal use which benefits them to be more speedy
and accurate in their working (Zheng, Hatakka, Sahay and Andersson, 2018). Communication
technology can be defined as the collectively using of the communication applications and
websites through which individuals can communicate with each other virtually either for the
professionalism or for personal use while sitting at home. There are various apps available for
the same such as Zoom, Microsoft teams, Go to meeting, team viewer, web ex and many more.
The following discussion is made on the Zoom and Microsoft meeting application with their
features, applications, suitability, advantages and disadvantage, cloud storage and computing
with advantages, disadvantages, suitability and applications and security and privacy with
challenges and measures with proper findings and conclusion.
MAIN BODY
Task 1
Zoom
Features Meetings and Chat: It is one of the feature of Zoom that is the meetings and chat which
means app allows for meetings and chat virtually on the app through which individuals
feels comfortable to communicate with other people while sitting at home. For example,
HD video, audio, collaboration & chat. Rooms and Workspaces: It is an another feature of Zoom that is the rooms and
workspaces which means that app provides personal rooms for waiting or even the
workspaces to perform the work. For example, power up the conference rooms
with video. Phone System: It is also an another feature of Zoom that is the phone system which
means that the app is easy to operate on phone or mobile system. For example, enterprise
cloud phone system.
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 Video Webinars: It is also the one of the feature of Zoom that is the video webinars
which means that it allows various seminars to be conducted on the video conferencing.
For example, full-featured, easy-to-use, engaging webinars. App Marketplace: It is the feature of Zoom that is the app marketplace which means that
along with the Zoom app, there can be other application also which can be used
simultaneously. For example, integrations and bots to use with Zoom.
 Pricing:
Professional: $14.99/month/host,Business: $19.99/month/host,Enterprise: $19.99/
month/host, Zoom Rooms: $49.00/month/room, H.323 Room
Connector: $49.00/month/port and Video Webinar: $40.00/month/host (attendees 100
people) (Majeed, 2018).
Applications Companies: Companies uses Zoom app for various purposes in order to operate and
manage their business effectively and efficiently so that they can interact and
communicate with the employees about the workings and for the personal use as well.
They use for the online conferences, on boarding and many more specially due to the
Covid-19 pandemic. Hospitals: Hospitals uses Zoom app for various purposes in order to operate and manage
the functioning of the hospital safely and potentially so that they can interact and
communicate with the staff, nurses and even with the patients for consultation and for the
prescription as well. They use for the online meetings and necessary talks required. Educational centres: Educational centres uses Zoom app for various purposes in order to
operate and manage the working of the educational centres widely and broadly so that
they easily interact and communicate with the teachers, principals, students and parents
as well. They use for the online classes, test, assignments, parents teacher meeting.
 Family and friends gatherings: Family and friends gatherings uses Zoom app for various
purposes in order to operate and manage the social meetings of family and friends so that
they can easily interact and communicate with the parents, cousins, elders, relatives and
many more. They use for the online parties, online chatting and many more.
Suitability
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 Easy to set up and manage: Zoom app is suitable for the people who don't know much
knowledge about the technology because it is easy and comfortable to set up, use and
manage because it only needs installation part and usage of it. Modern communication: Zoom app is suitable for the people who are more indulged in
the modern communication because it provides the features which fulfil the requirements
of the individuals in a more effective manner. Single platform for meetings, phone, webinars and chats: Zoom app is suitable for the
people who want more than one uses with the app such as they must be able to perform
the meetings, webinars and chats on a single platform which is possible with the Zoom
app. Connect via desktop clients, browsers, conference rooms & mobile devices: Zoom app
is suitable for the people who have more than one devices to connect and wants to
operate and use the Zoom app on all their devices by connecting with the desktop clients,
conferences and mobile devices.
 The best value and return on investment: Zoom app is suitable for the people who wants
best value and return on investment while using it so that they can use the app for the
further use as well (Luthra, Mangla, Chan and Venkatesh, 2018).
Advantages Easy to use and deploy: Zoom app has an advantage of easy to use and deploy which
means it is comfortable to install and start the application and further using of it. Compatibility: Zoom app has an advantage of compatibility which means it can operate
on any type of the platform either laptop, mobile, desktop, tablet and many more. Cost effective: Zoom app has an advantage of cost effectiveness which means using and
installing the app is not expensive, it makes cost when it is used on a high priority such as
heavy working on it. Flexibility: Zoom app has an advantage of flexibility which means it has the flexibility in
terms of timings, cost, energy and usage of it, therefore it is flexible in nature.
 Better services on slow connections: Zoom app has an advantage of better services on
slow connections which means if there is any fault in internet connection or is working
slow then too Zoom app will provide the services at it's best.
Disadvantages
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 Customer service is delayed: Zoom app has a disadvantage of delayed customer service
which means that if there is any problem occurs on the app and if reach out to the
customer servicing, it is being delayed. Less secure: Zoom app has a disadvantage of less security which means that the app is
not wholly secure in terms of data and internet which is connected with the app.
 Cyber attacks: Zoom app has a disadvantage of cyber attacks which means hat due to the
low security, hackers can attack the app and retrieve the personal information of the
customers (Swaramarinda, 2018).
Microsoft Teams
Features Conversations within channels and teams: App provides conversation with various
channels and teams such as talking on the chats, video and audio to facilitate the using of
the app. Document storage in Share Point: App provides the feature of document storage such as
storing or capturing of data and information is provided on the app. Online video calling and screen sharing: App has the feature of online video calling and
screen sharing options through which one person can present their data to the other while
sharing of the screen.
 Audio conferencing: App has the feature of audio conferencing options such as more
than one people can talk on the audio call to share the information with each other at the
same time (Ottestad and Gudmundsdottir, 2018).
Applications Business: App has a good application in the business as it benefits the business to
perform meeting in a virtual manner as it saves time and cost both. Education: App is widely used in the education by the schools, colleges and institutions
to execute the online classes, tests, assignments, meetings and may more. Entertainment: App is broadly used in the entertainment industry as it supports in
shooting and acting of the actors in the cinemas and daily soaps.
 Social: App is highly used in the social terms such as in friends and family get together
in a virtual manner who are living long distances.
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Suitability
There are two primary choice to consider for suitability: The Organic Approach: A
business can select to instantly use Microsoft Teams where everyone in the institution can do
whatsoever they desire with the program and the acceptance and utilization of the Microsoft
Teams platform can develop organically. The Controlled Approach: This is more managed
conceptualization involves authorization Microsoft Teams use for particular feature of the
institution. It also involves strict controlling who is capable to use it and who can do definite
things within it, consequential in a phased roll out plan across the institution. It can be selected to
do something concerning both of these approaches or something some place in between (Chou,
Shen, Hsiao and Shen, 2019).
Advantages Productivity gains and enriched communication: App has the advantage of gaining of
the productivity in an organization and enriched communication so that effectiveness can
be maintained properly. Better focus on the work: App has the advantage of focusing of the work in a
concentration to amend, improve and enhance the functioning of the tasks associated with
the app. Increased transparency: App has the advantage of increment of transparency which
means every thing is clear in the app either advantages or demerits related to the app. Seamless move to a digital workplace: App has a advantage of seamless move to a
digital workplace which means it is easy and comfortable to move from traditional way
of working to the digital workplace with the help of the app.
 New team members can more quickly get up to speed: App has a advantage of easiness
in the new team members can more quickly get up to the speed.
Disadvantages Difficult transition from Outlook: Using this app has a problem in transition from
outlook because it is less supportive in nature with the compatibility with other files and
folders. Structure of files confuse users: Using this app has a problem in understanding the
structure of the files associated with the app as it is complicated in nature.
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 Non-optimal online meeting experience hinders adoption: Using this app has a problem
in adoption of the non optimal online experience of meeting online because its services is
not too relevant whenever is needed. Challenges regarding permission settings: Using this app has a problem in settings
which is related to the permissions is facing the challenges because it is complex in
nature.
 Limited flexibility can lead to manual replications: Using this app has a problem in
flexibility because it is limited in nature which can lead to the manual replications which
is time consuming in nature (Grant and Meadows, 2020).
Task 2
Cloud storage and computing
Advantages Cost: It is one of the merit of cloud computing and storage that is the cost which is
effective effective in nature that supports in saving and more investment in other areas of
the business. Accessibility: It is an another merit of cloud computing and storage that is the
accessibility which is easy and comfortable for the people to store data on the internet. Recovery: It is also the one of the merit of cloud computing and storage that is the
recovery which is convenient in nature if any data is lost then it can easily recovered. Syncing and updating: It is also an another merit of cloud computing and storage that is
the syncing and updating of the data which is necessary to secure the data.
 Security: It is the merit of the cloud computing and storage that is the security which is
effective in nature and can trust internet to save the data (De Freitas and Spangenberg,
2019).
Disadvantages Internet connection: It is one of the demerit of cloud computing and storage that is the
internet connection which can be lost anytime due to the network issues when urgent data
is required. Cost: It is an another demerit of cloud computing and storage that is the cost which is
high at the time of initiation that is the initial cost and maintenance cost is high.
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 Hard drives: It is also the one of the demerit of cloud computing and storage that is the
hard drives disadvantages which means it contains storage of some specific GB so if it is
filled out then it will be necessary to remove some data to adjust new data.
 Privacy: It is also an another demerit of cloud computing and storage that is the privacy
issues which means there are people who are specialised in stealing the important
information and misusing it.
Suitability
For enterprise organizations, cloud-computing requirements must consider adaptability,
extensibility and manageability. Cloud computing can be classified into three areas: IaaS –
Infrastructure as a Service, PaaS – Platform as a Service and SaaS – Software as a Service
(Garkushenko, 2018).
Applications Art: Cloud computing and storage is highly used in the art industry to store and capture
the data which is confidential and essential. Business: Cloud computing and storage is highly used in various types of the businesses
to store the data and performs data analytics using such concept. Data storage and backup: Cloud computing and storage is highly used in the storing of
data and in backing it up to update, insert, modify and delete the data as per the needs and
requirements of the business. Education: Cloud computing and storage is highly used in an education centres to teach
the students, meeting with the teachers and parents and many more. Entertainment: Cloud computing and storage is highly used in an entertainment industry
to store data online for the clips of cinema and many other facts and information.
 Management: Cloud computing and storage is highly used in management because it
includes the large data of the human resources, finance, marketing, operations,
technology and many more.
Task 3
Security and privacy
Challenges
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 Insufficient testing and updating: It is the one of the challenge that is there are not
enough practice for testing and updating of the application as it takes time, energy and
cost. Weak passwords: It is an another challenge that is the weak passwords which means that
weak passwords are easily cracked out by the attacker to steal the information. Malware and ransomware: It is also the challenge that is the malware and ransomware
which means there are various software available which destroys the system working if
installed. Hacking: It is also an another challenge that is the hacking which is done by the person
who have specially gained the knowledge about hacking of the system and making
control over it.
 Viruses: It is the challenge that is the viruses attack which is very harmful thing for the
systems as it spoils the effective functioning of the computer (Laitinen and Valo, 2018).
measures Training and development to employees: It is important to train and develop the
employees about the technology and how they can maintain their system secure. Access control: It is essential to put access control over the data from the persons who
are authorised to access the information. Strong passwords: It is significant to put strong passwords so that no one can crack it to
steal or misuse the private data.
 Regular updates and security check up: It is necessary to regular update and security
check up so that business cannot lost any crucial data (Graham and Dutton, 2019).
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that communication technology is a part of information technology which
plays a major role in running up of the organizations in an effective, efficient and potential
manner (Huda, Maseleno, Atmotiyoso and Muhamad, 2018). There are various platforms,
software and applications available to make the use of it for easy working in the life. Therefore,
it is important to analyse the Zoom and Microsoft teams working, merits, demerits, applications,
features and suitability, it is essential to examine the cloud storage and computing with it's
advantages, disadvantages, suitability and applications and it is significant to determine the
security and privacy in information technology with it's challenges and measures that are
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required to take to resolve the same. Hence, this report covers all such areas to better understand
the conception of information and communication technology to apply such knowledge in a real
world organizations.
References:
Books and Journals
Chou, C.M., Shen, C.H., Hsiao, H.C. and Shen, T.C., 2019. Factors influencing teachers’
innovative teaching behaviour with information and communication technology (ICT):
the mediator role of organisational innovation climate. Educational Psychology. 39(1).
pp.65-85.
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De Freitas, G. and Spangenberg, E.D., 2019. Mathematics teachers' levels of technological
pedagogical content knowledge and information and communication technology
integration barriers. Pythagoras. 40(1). p.431.
Garkushenko, O.N., 2018. Information and communication technologies in the era of the smart
industry development: problems of definition and conditions of development. Economy
of industry, (2 (82)), pp.50-75.
Graham, M. and Dutton, W.H. eds., 2019. Society and the internet: How networks of information
and communication are changing our lives. Oxford University Press.
Grant, A.E. and Meadows, J.H. eds., 2020. Communication technology update and
fundamentals. Routledge.
Huda, M., Maseleno, A., Atmotiyoso, P. and Muhamad, N., 2018. Big data emerging
technology: insights into innovative environment for online learning
resources. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET). 13(1).
pp.23-36.
Laitinen, K. and Valo, M., 2018. Meanings of communication technology in virtual team
meetings: Framing technology-related interaction. International Journal of Human-
Computer Studies, 111, pp.12-22.
Luthra, S., Mangla, S.K., Chan, F.T. and Venkatesh, V.G., 2018. Evaluating the drivers to
information and communication technology for effective sustainability initiatives in
supply chains. International Journal of Information Technology & Decision
Making. 17(01). pp.311-338.
Majeed, M.T., 2018. Information and communication technology (ICT) and environmental
sustainability in developed and developing countries. Pakistan Journal of Commerce
and Social Sciences. 12(3). pp.758-783.
Ottestad, G. and Gudmundsdottir, G.B., 2018. Information and communication technology
policy in primary and secondary education in Europe. Second handbook of information
technology in primary and secondary education, pp.1343-1362.
Swaramarinda, D.R., 2018. The usefulness of information and communication technology in
entrepreneurship subject. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education. 21(3). pp.1-10.
Zheng, Y., Hatakka, M., Sahay, S. and Andersson, A., 2018. Conceptualizing development in
information and communication technology for development (ICT4D).
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