There’s a free alternative to Zoom, but it has a catch
Twilio offers free subscriptions to some users
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Demand foronline collaboration toolsandvideo conferencing softwarehas boomed in recent weeks, with big players likeMicrosoftandGooglechasing market share from the likes of Zoom and WebEx.
WhileZoomcustomers grew from 10 million to 200 million in a few months,Microsoft Teamsand Google Hangouts relaxed the rules to aid first responders, schools and enterprises with a view to on-board them to their respective platforms.
The latest to join the bandwagon is Twilio, which has announced three months of free access to its video platform for those working in healthcare, education and nonprofit organisations that are involved in the Covid-19 crisis response.
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Zoom alternative
Twilio aims to offer a solution for front line health workers by letting them screen people for Covid-19 online, as well as assist other patients remotely. It also aims to offer an alternative solution to schools offering remote education to students and NGO workers fighting the pandemic.
The company has further limited the free offer to new signups before June 30 and for existing users who require additional video services.
While there are quite a few video conferencing solutions available, there seems to be a stretch on the bandwidth across several countries. Microsoft has already reported that its cloud servers are facing a lot of stress due to the unexpected increase in the usage of Teams applications.
Zoom, on the other hand, had beena preferred choiceamong the adopters because of its easy to use interface and free offerings to various sectors. However, reports about security vulnerabilities, lack of end to end encryption of video calls, and its Chinese connections with regards torouting calls through offshore locationshas raised questions about the platform’s security.
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Even though the company has publicly apologized for these issues and hasannounced various stepsto control the damage, it still faces a class-action lawsuit.
Jitendra has been working in the Internet Industry for the last 7 years now and has written about a wide range of topics including gadgets, smartphones, reviews, games, software, apps, deep tech, AI, and consumer electronics.
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