Any business owner will tell you that time equals money, and this is certainly the case in law firms!  More and more businesses are looking for ways to encourage their staff to work smarter, not harder. For many, this can mean the opportunity to work remotely either for a portion of their role, or in some cases, their enture role.  According to a 2017 Gallup poll, from 2012 to 2016 the number of employees working remotely rose from 39% to 43%.

In the last five years we have seen the rise and rise of the Video Meeting. Initially, mostly used to connect people face to face who were located a great distance apart, we now see businesses using video meeting platforms in replacement of meetings that they may have previously stepped out of the office to attend nearby.

Video meetings are no new concept to law firms, especially when it comes to managing communications on an international deal. But could using video meeting software for domestic/local meetings save your boss valuable time, therefore save the firm money?

Presenting ideas on efficiency and cost saving measures is a great way to add value and be noticed in your career. When it comes to working with the latest VC platforms, we’ve taken the leg work out of the research for you and have presented five platforms all under $30/month.

1. ClickMeeting – BEST FOR GROWING BUSINESSES

• 4 hours of meeting recording, whiteboards, screen sharing, toll-free numbers, moderated private chat tools
• Up to 25 attendees including 2 presenters and up to 4 video streams
• Can customise the meetings appearance to fit your brand
• Compatible with PC, Mac, iOS and Android phones
• Multiple packages to move to as your business grows, but pricing starts at $25 per month

• Advanced Scheduling , meeting recordings, poll and survey, screen sharing, whiteboard tools
• Virtual ‘lobby’ for users to wait in if they log on before presenter logs on
• Real-time screen sharing
• VoIP support
• Can be used on desktop, iOS, and Androids
• Up to 250 people can join one meeting.
• Can be integrated with Office 365 since Skype is part of the Microsoft umbrella
• COST: $5 AU per month

3. GoToMeeting – EASIEST TO USE

• Less advanced than the others, but the easiest to use
• Meeting scheduler, drawing tools, hand-over control, virtual whiteboard, keyboard and mouse sharing.
• Can be joined via Desktop, iOS and Android, or toll-free call
• Starter Plan allows 10 Participants in one meeting, or 50 for the Pro plan
• Great customer support including training videos, live training, PDF guides, and live chat
• COST $19AU for the Starter and $29 for Pro Plan

4. Zoom – BEST FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

• A cloud based platform that can cater to up to 100 interactive video participants
• Tools include screen sharing, meeting recording, reporting functions, whiteboard, illustrations and diagrams, create groups for text or drag and drop content sharing, meeting scheduler with Google or Outlook calendars
• Screen sharing, content sharing in wireless mode
• Accessible on PC and iOS and Android devices
• Pro plan is $20.99 per month per host

5. Join.me – BEST CUSTOMER SUPPORT & OVERALL FAVOURITE

• A more streamlined platform to keep things simple for users
• It takes one click for users to join the meeting
• Up to 250 people from multiple locations can join the meeting with 10 video streams at once
• Text chat, screen sharing, scheduling invites, call recording tools
• Can brand the ‘meeting room’ with a custom meeting link name and company logo
• Can be used on desktop, VoIP, iOS, Android, and phone line in 40 countries
• Compatible with Microsoft Office 365 and Google Calendar
• COST: $10 AU per month