BUSINESS COMMUNICATION SKILLS

BM004-3-1-BCS

Submitted by:
Kelvin Appadoo-TP062183
Suhail Quaseed Parkar-TP061617
Chew Jiaxian-TP060763
Lee Zhi Jian-TP062094
Brennan Chong Sze Khy-TP061769
Teng Kai Qian-TP061812

Number of words:
Table of Contents
1) INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................3
2) LITERATURE REVIEW..............................................................................4
2.1) MICROSOFT TEAMS.......................................................................................4
2.2) SKYPE............................................................................................................5
2.3) ZOOM............................................................................................................ 6
3) CONCLUSION..............................................................................................7
4) RECOMMENDATION.................................................................................8
5) REFERENCES..............................................................................................9
1) Introduction
The following research report includes the advantages and disadvantages of various
cloud-based conferencing apps created by first-year Actuarial Science undergraduates. The
research objective is to analyze various conferencing apps and answer questions such as,
“What’s the most suitable video conferencing apps for large and small businesses?”. The three
video conferencing apps in question are Microsoft Teams, Skype, and Zoom. We have decided
to prepare a class forum to properly articulate our thoughts. This report will summarize the three
apps and provide our recommendation.

According to Senft (2019), videoconferencing is the transmission of imagery, video, and

audio between two or more different parts of the world. Normally to relay information, people
would have to meet physically or waste time waiting for a response through emails, instant
messaging, faxes, etc. but through video conferencing apps, we could transmit the same
information without any physical interaction. It helps with communication with different
departments who face physical roadblocks to communicate. This cuts down on time and
increases efficiency. As IT consultants to this firm, our goal is to determine the most suitable
video conferencing app to be used by our employers.

To come to our conclusion, our literature review consists of researching news articles and
blog posts published in the past two years comparing different apps that may suit our needs.
Thus, we can make a decision that is accurate and up to date.
2) Literature Review
2.1) Microsoft Teams
One of the advantages of using Microsoft Teams in a business is that an employee would have a
better focus on their works or projects. This is due to the application of different channels and
groups in a single cloud-based conferencing app. Employees can easily obtain information for
different projects in different channels without having to screen through their emails or chats
thus having less chance to be distracted and get confused. Other than that, Microsoft Teams also
enhance productivity by providing better communication. Microsoft Teams integrates all Office
365 applications into their app so that users wouldn’t have to navigate around their desktop to
access different apps, thus saving time and effort. Information can also be passed around easily
to the relevant groups by creating a post and tagging the group, making it a lot simpler than using
emails and CC-ing multiple people. (Techmag, 2019)

The disadvantages when it comes to Microsoft Teams are the base complexity of the
app’s features and the difficulty in setting up a full working system. At first, it will likely be
difficult to decide how many groups are necessary for each section of the company. Moreover,
there is no way to duplicate a certain group for a different purpose so it would have to be
manually done as well. The structure of Microsoft Teams and file storage locations can also be
quite confusing, and if integrated into a company, no doubt many employees will have a hard
time navigating the app and locating the files they need. With any one user basically be
guaranteed to be in multiple teams, locating a specific file might prove to be a time-wasting task
with the file structure of Microsoft Teams. (Techmag, 2019)
2.2) Skype
An advantage of using Skype for business is the security it can bring to business meetings.
There is a security measure in Skype that if enabled, allows only approved devices to connect to
a meeting. This extra layer of security can be very important for vital meetings in large
businesses where the contents of the meeting need to remain secure. Skype also supports cross-
platform usage, which means that as long as you have a phone or computer with you, you are
able to join a meeting. This is because unlike some other video conferencing apps, Skype
meetings are compatible across phones, apps, and browsers. The price of Skype is another factor
to look at as it is one of the cheapest video conferencing apps available. Most features are
already available with the basic version of Skype, and a subscription to Skype premium is only
about 5$ a month, which is good news for small businesses wishing to take advantage of the app.
(Spade Technology, 2020)

From a safety point of view, skype may become a platform for hackers to steal the personal
information of the users. Also, slow screen sharing in meetings is a problem that faces when
using skype, there is an often lag when the presenter is showing. Compared to other video
conferencing tools like zoom, teams, skype has an outdated experience, there always seems to be
an issue (Desai, 2020). Choppy playback or video stalling problem happen and often takes an
extended amount of time to load. Although it has a free version, there are some interactive
features you must pay if you want to use them.
2.3) Zoom
One of the pros of using Zoom is the ease of setting up a meeting. One of Zoom’s features is
that it allows you to generate a personal URL that can be shared easily with anyone that is to be
involved in the meeting. (Seymour, 2020)

Another perk of using Zoom is the scalability that it provides through its services. Zoom can be
picked up conveniently by a small business, and as the business grows larger, they can easily just
upgrade their Zoom package to fit the size and needs of their organization. (Seymour, 2020)

Although unlike some other conferencing apps that work in the browser, Zoom requires you to
download the app before using it, the ease of using Zoom still cannot be questioned. The user
interface is intuitive and all the motions from setting up a meeting to joining the room and
sharing screens are so simple that anyone can use it. (Seymour, 2020)

Where Zoom falls short in terms of its features is in its pricing. While there are a generous
amount of trial features that small businesses can access for free, most services do require extra
subscriptions-based on the size of the meetings to be hosted and the features that are required by
the business such as more cloud storage. Also, since it is subscription-based you could end up
paying extra for services you rarely use just so the option is there when you need it. (Giaquinto,
2020)

Another major issue with Zoom that has been highlighted a lot is the security of using it.
Among the many security flaws that are present within Zoom is the lax encryption of meetings.
Zoom had falsely advertised end-to-end encryption when in fact, they later admitted that it just
was not possible yet for the platform. Other than that, Zoom bombing, where hackers infiltrate
ongoing meetings to cause a disturbance is also on a rise due to the ease of brute-forcing meeting
URLs, and multiple reports of malicious practices by Zoom itself such as installing hidden
servers on users devices. (Paul, 2020)
3) Conclusion
As analysed by our team, the three cloud-based video conferencing apps depicted have
their advantages as well as their limitations. These benefits and drawbacks, while being strongly
backed by adequate research have been well documented through this report.

Our aim is to determine the best video conferencing software with a view of providing
the best communication platform for the company both internally and externally. Several
decisive factors shaped our analysis, mainly concerning the app’s cost, its useful features, ease of
use as well as suitability for small and large businesses, among others.

The first software studied was Zoom and our team concluded that the ease of navigating
through the app, let alone setting up a group meeting is unprecedented. Moreover, the existence
of different packages is able to cater to the size of different businesses. However, the security
and privacy involved with Zoom are still far from acceptable, especially in the professional
world.

Next on the table was Skype which has undoubtedly been present for a long time,
enabling free virtual meetings on a global scale, for the basic version of course. Nonetheless,
Skype is prone to hackers and the slow screen sharing may come as an issue during an important
presentation with our business partners. Being in the game the oldest, Skype also lacks some
features compared to other communication software.

Last, but not least was Microsoft Teams and our research highlighted the effective
integration of the Office 365 tools in one app, which makes business communication much easier
and efficient. Transparent communication and the use of different channels also add to quicker
communication. What may come as a hurdle when using the software is the difficulty in
organising files accordingly, which is quite important on a business level. The lack of some
special features cannot be ignored when compared with the other apps as well.

All the helpful and undesirable features of these video conferencing software should be
weighed in and compared to select the best one to push our company’s communication to the
next level.
4) Recommendation
The most suitable video conferencing app that our group recommends is the Microsoft
Teams app in order to let the top management suggest their client in a more comfortable and
easier condition. First, the most unique feature of the Microsoft Team other than Skype and
Zoom is it can create a Team that contains a group of people who have the same purpose easily
by using their email address (Microsoft Pulse, 2019). Those companies who use Microsoft Team
can classify their client into different Teams. In this way, the top management team can use some
specific strategy to persuade different types of clients to purchase their company products.
Besides that, the top management team can schedule a meeting earlier before meeting by using
Microsoft Team which Zoom, and Skype cannot so this feature well (Microsoft Pulse, 2019).
Clients in the same Team can get ready earlier for the meeting by receiving the notification of
the scheduled meeting that is organized by the company from the Microsoft Teams app. In this
way, the attendance and the concentration of clients during the meeting will increase because
they have freed their specific time to attend the meeting earlier. As a result of quality meetings,
the performance of the company will also be increased.

Next, a result of fewer email is form when the top management team using Microsoft
Team as a portal with clients (Microsoft Pulse, 2019). This is because clients can send any
questions in the way of texts, files, stickers, or pictures form before and after meeting by using
the conversation that contains in Teams with high security which cannot involve in Skype and
Zoom. In this way, the company will not receive and send emails about the company’s products
before and after meeting which are inconvenient to the top management team. Lastly, users of
Microsoft Team who need to collaborate on a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document during
meeting no need to switch to those apps because Microsoft Team has a tight integration with
Office 365 (Microsoft Pulse, 2019). This unique feature of Microsoft Team is the strongest
reason why Microsoft Team is more recommended than Skype and Zoom in the public. In this
way, no more problems of document format change due to different version of the computer of
clients and increase the effectiveness of work in the company.
5) References
1) Desai, J., 2020. [online] Skype for Business Reviews Available at:
https://www.trustradius.com/products/skype-for-business/reviews#2 [Accessed 1 January
2021].

2) Giaquinto, R., 2020. Pros and Cons of Using Zoom, Keeping Businesses and Events Going.
[online] Green Geeks Blog. Available at: <https://www.greengeeks.com/blog/pros-cons-using-
zoom/> [Accessed 1 January 2021].

3) Microsoft Pulse (2019) 5 reasons why you should start using Microsoft Teams today.
[Online]. Available at: https://pulse.microsoft.com/en/work-productivity-en/na/fa2-reasons-why-
you-should-start-using-microsoft-teams-today/ [Accessed: 4 January 2020].

4) Paul, K., 2020. ‘Zoom Is Malware’: Why Experts Worry About the Video Conferencing
Platform. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/apr/02/zoom-
technology-security-coronavirus-video-conferencing#:~:text=Zoom%20has%20been
%20criticized%20for,watching%20a%20classroom%20presentation%20remotely.> [Accessed 2
January 2021].

5) Senft, T., 2019. Videoconferencing. [online] Available at:

https://www.britannica.com/technology/videoconferencing [Accessed 3 January 2021].

6) Seymour, S., 2020. Pros & Cons of Zoom: Analysis of A Video Conferencing Software -
Financesonline.Com. [online] Financesonline.com. Available at:
<https://financesonline.com/pros-cons-of-zoom/> [Accessed 1 January 2021].

7) Spade Technology. 2020. Top 5 Skype Business Advantages. [online] Available at:

<https://www.spadetechnology.com/top-5-skype-business-advantages/> [Accessed 10 January
2021].

8) TechMag. 2019. Microsoft Teams for Business: Advantages and Disadvantages - Techmag.

[online] Available at: <https://tech-mag.co.uk/microsoft-teams-for-business-advantages-and-
disadvantages/> [Accessed 3 January 2021].
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