If you're working from home these days, you know virtual meetings on platforms like Webex, Zoom and Microsoft Teams are essential to keeping Iowa State running. But seeing precisely how much the traffic has increased still is startling.
Comparing meeting apps
Check out a side-by-side comparison of video conferencing tools, one of the many resources information technology services offers at its learning and working remotely website.
Information technology services staff shared ISU usage statistics for each of those three programs for the three work weeks after spring break (March 23-April 10, excluding weekends) and the three weeks before (Feb. 24-March 13, excluding weekends). Here are some highlights:
Webex
Cisco Webex is the recommended video conferencing platform for the campus community, with a license available for every Net-ID. It has hosted the biggest share of the expansion in virtual meeting traffic. The percentage increases would be even larger if the last week before spring break was excluded. Just 243 Webex meetings were held Feb. 24-28. By March 9-13, the week before spring break, there were 1,736 meetings.
|
|
Average per week 3 weeks before break |
Average per week 3 weeks after break |
Total increase by percentage |
|
Meetings |
748 |
14,207 |
1,799% |
|
Video meetings |
333 |
7,939 |
2,284% |
|
Meeting minutes |
20,105 |
597,005 |
2,869% |
|
Unique hosts |
272 |
3,747 |
1,278% |
|
Participants |
2,049 |
66,104 |
3,126% |
Zoom
The proportional increase in Zoom usage, while large, is noticeably smaller than in Webex or Microsoft Teams. Zoom meeting minutes are calculated on a per-participant basis. For example, a meeting attended by 20 people for 20 minutes would count as 400 Zoom minutes, not 20.
|
|
Average per week 3 weeks before break |
Average per week 3 weeks after break |
Total increase by percentage |
|
Meetings |
1,064 |
3,663 |
244% |
|
Meeting minutes |
252,639 |
867,810 |
243% |
|
Participants |
5,729 |
23,912 |
317% |
Microsoft Teams
While Teams is used the least of the three platforms, it saw the largest percentage increase in meetings (5,603%) from the first week of this six-week period (39) to the final week (2,224).
|
|
Average per week 3 weeks before break |
Average per week 3 weeks after break |
Total increase by percentage |
|
Meetings |
112 |
2,107 |
1,781% |
