COVID-19: Four free must-have applications to hold virtual meetings

For the next few weeks, most official tasks will be attended to remotely. This is because companies have directed their workforce to work from home as globally, cities work towards applying social-distancing to try and reduce the spread of the virus.

Should you happen to be in a position where you’ll be working from home, communication with your colleagues doesn’t have to be severed.

With some free tools and platforms, you’ll be able to keep in touch with colleagues, organize and track team meetings, as well as work on strategies.

The best about most of these tools is that they are free and work on nearly every kind of system software.

• Zoom

Zoom is a great start for your virtual meetings especially for a team using both IOS and Android devices as it is compatible with both.

To join in a Zoom call, all participants have to do is first download the application on either the Google Play Store or Apple Store. Afterwards, they will have to join a scheduled call by clicking a 9, 10, or 11-digit Meeting ID which can be shared via email, or Instant Messaging such as; WhatsApp.

Zoom’s free plan is great as it can take up to 100 participants. The apps highest plan is equally affordable at $19.99 [N7,336.33] and accommodating up to 500 participants.

• Hangout Meet

Hangout Meet by Google is a great video conferencing tool especially for people with existing Google accounts. Just like Zoom, Hangout Meet will require that participants join a cal through a link. This link can easily be shared via email.

Incredibly, Hangout Meet is compatible with Android and IOS devices which automatically syncs with your Google account. This means that the application comes with a full G-Suite package with apps like Gmail, drive [30GB availability], Google Doc, Sheets, Slides, Forms etc inclusive within the app.

The least plan begins at $6 [N2202] and $25 [N9,175] being the highest available plan. Hangout Meet offers a 14-day trial which means you can enjoy the benefits of the application for 2 weeks.

• Skype Business

Skype Business is also available for both Android and IOS devices and can be found in the store of both devices.

Skype might seem a little bit time-wasting as new users have to set up their details, verify their email addresses or numbers before logging in successfully. 

However, the app is user-friendly and offers cool features like chat boxes where conference video participants can text while on call.

A link will need to be shared to join in the video call. This can be sent by email or other social media platforms.

• Slack

While Slack doesn’t offer video-calling features, it’s a great platform to hold virtual meetings especially if it is project-based. The app offers better planning tools through its Channels which is usually organized by project, team members, and topic.

Slack is also advantageous as it features some of the important tools and apps you already make use of such as; Google Drive.

Slack is available for IOS and Android devices.

With these apps, you never have to worry about organizing important meetings, interviews, or business sessions from home.