Google is using its resources to eliminate competition in the field of video conferencing services. Zoom, which made a name for itself with its many features - one of them being able to call anywhere from 100 to 1,000 people at once, led the way for many tech giants to follow its trails. But Google just made its premium video conferencing app free.
Google Meet was originally available only for paid enterprise users of the Suite. But making the app available to individual users is the need of the hour. Seeing the demand for video conferencing apps spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, Google Meet has been made free to use. With this, users can make group video conferences with up to 100 people free of charge.
"We've already seen how Google Meet has been helping a lot of businesses and schools. We kept seeing the need for a very secure as well as easy-to-use, high-quality service for individual users as well. These apps are being used in ways that are unprecedented right now..." Smita Hashim, Director, Product Management, Google Cloud told ET.
Google Meet - the new Zoom?
Zoom's unprecedented growth isn't unchallenged. Ever since the coronavirus outbreak began earlier this year, Google said that usage of its Meet app has grown 30 times. Google Meet has been adding 3 million new users every day and the number of daily participants using the app has crossed 100 million, ET reported.
Google Meet, which is now free to use, comes with a slew of features, including recording, streaming, in-person meetings and enhanced safety controls. That's not it, Google is also developing new features that allow users to see more people during a conversation.
"There's so many ways in which people need video conferencing right now, even for business use it could be for tele-health, it could be retail, it could be again education. We really felt like there was a need for very secure, as well as reliable and high-quality product," Hashim added.
Seeing the trend, Facebook also introduced the Messenger Rooms app, which allows 50 people to join in a group call at the same time. With giants like Google and Facebook stepping up the game after watching Zoom's success, it's only a matter of time before users enjoy the benefits of this competition.
