The race to dominate the video conferencing market has just become more interesting.
As we are going through the new normal, the “work from home” era, the team meeting goes entirely online. This gave rise to the increased market for an enterprise-level video conference app like Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams.
Chinese video conferencing app Zoom was quick to react to the situation and made the most of it. In no time the app became the most popular video conferencing app in many countries including India. The app which was being used by just 4 million users by the third week of March, has got 35 million users on the Android platform alone within a short span of four months.
The exploded growth didn’t go unnoticed and made many heads turned.
By shrewdly comprehending the abrupt business need for video conference application, India’s most vibrant and richest man, Mukesh Ambani has created a curative business solution that could hunt massive bounties in this economic slowdown.
Yes, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio had just rolled out a rivalry app for Zoom and other corporate-level video meeting apps. Meet JioMeet.
By raising a whopping sum of Rs 117,588.45 crore in less than 3 months, Reliance Jio Platforms is all set to enter into the new promising market of corporate video conferencing solutions.
On the late hours of Thursday, the mighty telecom player proudly demonstrates JioMeet, the homegrown video conferencing solution or service that challenges the dominance of Zoom app. JioMeet is found to be as efficient in features as that of Zoom.
Just like Google Meet and Zoom, JioMeet allows its users to facilitate unlimited free calls in high definition (720p) quality. Also, JioMeet can support 100 participants in a single call. More surprisingly, the app does not insist on the short time limit on the duration of the call.
Jio services also ensure the users that it can facilitate “uninterrupted” free call for a continuous length of about 24 hours. What’s interesting is that the platform doesn’t specify any paid plans yet, as Jio is very famous for giving away free services as launch time goodies. However, it still looks clouded on how the pricing would be.
Features of JioMeet
Jio was beta testing this application in May this year and mentioned that the app would be offering services on “enterprise-grade” with host controls like password protected calls, multiple devices login up to five devices, and the app would facilitate screen sharing and collaboration techniques.
The additional features include switching from one device to other seamlessly, Safe Driving Mode for the participants in commute, and waiting room features for participants to ask permission before entering into a call. JioMeet is compatible with desktop browsers like Chrome and Firefox.
The company has launched a standalone app for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android platforms. To make it more appealing for Microsoft Windows users, it has got an Outlook plugin as well. That sounds incredible, right?
However, the company hasn’t mentioned anything about the global launch of the JioMeet. It seems currently the service is restricted only to India.
To iron out all privacy-related concerns, JioMeet claims that all meetings are encrypted albeit doesn’t specify whether it is end-to-end encryption.
Jio platform’s analysts and executives indicated that there is a long list of plans to expand JioMeet’s technical functionality. That includes services focusing on health care and education initiatives.
Yes, JioMeet is expected to roll out as an online channel or tool for doctors to consult their patients, prescribe medicines and tests. Interestingly, there can be an additional facility for purchasing the prescribed medications online and get the test results digitally.
For the education sector, JioMeet will facilitate teachers to conduct virtual classrooms for their students, along with the capacity to record sessions, assign and accept homework from students, and perform assessments digitally.
With over 387 million users Reliance Jio is India’s top telecom operator. But the company’s offerings are not limited to telecom service alone. Over the last few years, the company has launched a fleet of digital services that have made Jio Platforms emerge as a technology giant in India. JioMusic, JioCinema, JioTV, are some of the most popular services being used by millions of users in India currently.
Interestingly, most of these digital services are available either at no extra cost or at a very nominal cost that fits into the pocket of every Indian. The exploded adoption and unprecedented growth of Jio Platforms to become a company valued over $85 billion in just 4 years is an interesting case study for many.
In spite of attaining such massive growth in a short span of time Mukesh Ambani doesn’t seem to have any plan to stop just here. The regular launch of new services, including the latest one JioMeet, is a clear indication of what he is up to.
