High-quality secure video conferencing experiences are increasingly important for end-user productivity. With more users working from home and turning on video, IT must ensure company networks can handle the load. Just as importantly, meeting rooms often need to support Zoom video conferencing as well Microsoft Teams video conferencing, as collaboration between in-office and remote users is the new normal and users require both.
Gartner defines video conferencing, often called videoconferencing and teleconference, as communication by individuals or groups using systems that support image, voice and data transfer over digital networks or telephone circuits. Recently, several video conferencing platforms have grown in popularity for work. Top platforms include Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Skype for Business.
By 2024, remote work and changing workforce demographics will impact enterprise meetings. Only 25% will take place in person, down from 60% today.
The growing popularity of Zoom, Microsoft Teams and video conferencing in general is driving increased usage of room systems in organizations. These room systems exponentially increase support needs and associated costs.
According to a recent study conducted by Nemertes Research, a whopping 90.6% of companies have employees working fully remote because of the pandemic – an increase from 63.2% pre-COVID-19. Almost overnight, companies had to send hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of employees to home offices.
Employee Work Habits Changed To:
WFH Full-Time
(an approximate 2x increase)
WFH Part-Time
(an approximate 2.3x increase)
Pre Covid-19 statistics showed over 70% of professionals conducted remote meetings or worked from home (WFH) for at least one day each week. However, in the wake of Covid-19, whole companies are working from home, and they’re doing so 100% of the time.
Learn more about what Unify Square and our PowerSuite software and managed services are doing to empower enterprise IT to manage complex work-from-home scenarios with their videoconferencing solutions.
Better employee quality of life (59%)
Better environmental impact (42.7%)
Reduced employee turnovers rates (32.8%)
More productive employees (28%)
Cost savings (24.9%)
Beginning in early-March, the world experienced an unprecedented shift to working from home. This resulted in two significant transformations. First, organizations suddenly found themselves with the need to deploy video conferencing solutions on a massive scale. Second, the threat of video conferencing security dangers quickly became a top issue in the UC world.
A recent survey found that 85% of companies believe embracing the public cloud is critical to fuel innovation. But only 40% of those who have already adopted public cloud have a cloud security management approach in place.
Most end users were unaware of vital security settings of video conferencing platforms. For the few who did know about them, they assumed that someone else was managing security on the back end.
With an expected 40% of businesses maintaining a remote structure post COVID-19, secure video conferencing is a higher priority as we transition back to a semblance of normality. The key elements of security for video conferencing monitoring can be broken down into three areas:
The difference between a “Zoom-Bomb” or an exposed chat thread and a secure video conferencing meeting, is as simple as checking a few boxes in the settings.
Data transmission is the most vulnerable area of security. In the wrong hands, the video conference stream can turn into a private surveillance camera.
Information from these virtual meetings could be sensitive, so data storage needs to be secure and separate from all other networks.
Each UC platform comes with its unique list of security settings. Keeping track of these settings becomes even more difficult as they’re constantly being updated. How do you navigate the complexity and ensure a consistent experience across multiple platforms?
For emerging technologies, the conventional IT impulse is to lock down/discourage adoption until the organization fully understands the risks. However, the adoption of new features isn’t just a security decision anymore.
Apart from exploiting security bugs, cybercriminals have other attack vectors when it comes to collaboration. These phishing attacks include stealing credentials and delivering malware payloads through links and attachments, just like email.
Any number of different security misses can inadvertently make recordings public. Lack of complex password or default password requirements and nonexistent policy regarding recordings could lead to data leakage.
In March 2019, Cisco patched high-severity vulnerabilities in the video-conferencing platform. If exploited, these could have allowed an attacker to execute code on affected systems.
Recently, Microsoft Teams had a security flaw that would allow a ‘malicious GIF’ to steal user data across an entire company. Additionally, some customers are still looking for Teams video conferencing to implement some advanced security features previously valued in Skype for Business.
Both IT and end users need to keep a core list of security best practices in mind for both Zoom video conferencing and Teams video conferencing. This renewed and hyper-vigilant form of digital workplace dexterity is essential.
Monitor &
Track Metrics
Deploy
Policies
Protect & Verify
Meeting Links
Don't Share Personal IDs
Authenticate & Track Users
Control Screen Sharing
Disable Join Before Host
Use Waiting Rooms
Avoid File Sharing
Double Check Confidentiality
Bring your users’ favorite collaboration and communications apps all under a single management framework, powered by our patented technology. Tackle cross-platform issues with ease. Learn about our plans and pricing to see which is right for you. Gain access to:
Reduce troubleshooting time and improve end-user satisfaction by providing actionable and prescriptive guidance regarding advanced quality issues.
Use the power of crowdsourced cloud intelligence to compare anonymized WSC and UC performance KPIs across multiple sites and between different users and virtual meeting platforms.
Accelerate user adoption for meetings, chats, and calls across multiple platforms at the same time —visualize the full adoption profile of your entire enterprise Unified Communications and Collaboration environment.
Identify and track a customized and targeted set of Execs, VIPs or even conference rooms so that IT can stay ahead of any potential problems.
AI/ML analyzes platform data to create a centralized hub to view problems and insights. Our software prioritizes issues to troubleshoot and identifies system anomalies.
Leverage PowerSuite’s comprehensive policy framework to implement governance covering security and workflow needs.
Videoconferencing solutions have increased expectations for productivity gains and always-on reliability. Especially with so many companies new WFH policies, IT teams are now responsible for planning, deploying, and maintaining a multifaceted stack of unified communications and workstream collaboration platforms. Our unified communications experts have been busy honing their skills to cover the video conferencing solutions arena so that you don’t have to. Take a look at our Signature Consulting Services Datasheet to see how we can help your virtual meeting platforms be successful and secure. Learn More Here.
Long-term impact and statistics you need to know
Issues, considerations, and tips & tricks for managing remote work
Current state and trends for telecommuting and remote work amid COVID-19
Top 6 work from home UC challenges and solutions
Deciding between Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and others
Is Zoom simply the canary in the coal mine?
COVID-19 is forcing us to be better at remote work.
Best Practices for Pairing Zoom with Microsoft Teams and other apps
Battling the multi-platform collaboration app hydra