Network & Security Administrator at a logistics company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Has good integration with Google
Pros and Cons
  • "It's integration with Google is the valuable feature."
  • "The improvement needs to be done as per customer requirements."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is being used for video calls. 

What is most valuable?

Its integration with Google is the most valuable feature. 

What needs improvement?

The improvement needs to be done as per customer requirements.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Google Hangouts for six months. 

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. I rate the stability a nine out of ten. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I moved from Zoom to Google because I have a Google account. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Senior Business Development Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Easy to use, and you're in the system with just a click
Pros and Cons
  • "Its ease of use is most valuable. It is just a click, and you're in the system."
  • "It is not as stable. They can improve its stability."

What is most valuable?

Its ease of use is most valuable. It is just a click, and you're in the system. 

What needs improvement?

It is not as stable. They can improve its stability.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for probably a couple of years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is not as stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have issues when we have multiple users. That's why we use Zoom. If we got a big meeting, we use Zoom.

How are customer service and support?

We have our own support team that manages it, so I let them worry about it.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We use Google Meets for internal meetings, but we use Zoom for client-facing meetings. 

I've used Microsoft teams. It used to be Skype, and now, it is probably Microsoft Teams.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise others to know the purpose of the tool. I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Google Hangouts
March 2024
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PAM Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
MSP
Top 10
Good, reliable source of communication, but it is not compatible with every device, it's browser-based
Pros and Cons
  • "Google Hangouts is an excellent tool."
  • "Google will not have two identical chat platforms. Google Chat is always a winner because it is compatible with my device."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use Google Hangouts to communicate with one another. We've moved on from Google Hangouts and are now using Google Chat. You will notice that people are getting out of Hangouts. Hangouts will be going to go away.

I haven't used Google Hangouts in two months, and I used to use it more than two dozen times a day.

What is most valuable?

It's really good, it works out pretty well.

Google Hangouts is an excellent tool.

What needs improvement?

Hangouts will go the way of the Dodo. Google will not have two identical chat platforms. Google Chat is always a winner because it is compatible with my device. Google Hangouts, however, was not. Google Hangouts is a browser-based application.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very stable. We have no issues with the stability of Google Hangouts.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Google Hangouts is very scalable.

What other advice do I have?

In terms of Webex and potentially losing some quality having a good meeting often entails muting everyone except the speaker and then switching from one speaker to another. Because whenever there is an open forum, or there is a larger audience, and I believe the number is usually around 16, your chances of having a know-it-all who has something to say about everything skyrocket. Being able to mute somebody, would be very valuable.

Anybody who needs that many people and you need professional services like that, it's time to start paying the subscription and support the product. If they want to have control of the venue, the only way to have control of the venue is with the paid version.

It pays for itself. Having a meeting go off the rails is an embarrassment.

Webex is probably one of my only 10s, but I am really starting to enjoy Microsoft Teams. It has the features that I need. It's built into Windows. I get it as part of my subscription to Microsoft Office from the company. I have only had one issue where I made a mistake. There's a little rule that you should have. If it's your meeting, it needs to be your meeting, it should be your tool choice. if it's your meeting, you should be the one to schedule it, even if it's very difficult, the project manager with the client wants to host the meeting himself.

For example, I had a very interesting little experience, only a few weeks ago, where it was my meeting, but the project manager from the client set up the meeting. I did not know this, but he had me muted. When I was responding to people, it was as if nobody was listening to me. I didn't know what was going on. Then, after about 15, or 20 minutes, the project manager said, "are you going to respond to this?" And I said, "Is anybody listening to me?" I've answered these questions I don't know how many times. One of the people on the call called me up, not even 15, 20 minutes ago, and said, "by the way that meeting you were in yesterday, you were muted." I would recommend if it's your meeting, it's got to be your tool.

It's PAM, and PAM Solutions are notoriously politically fraught by those who want to have their environment secured versus those that like things the way they are, and we had one of those.

I would recommend using Google Chat.

It was nothing out of the ordinary in comparison to others. I would rate Google Hangouts a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
CFO at a maritime company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Intuitively designed and quick implementation
Pros and Cons
  • "Google Hangouts is easy to use and intuitive."
  • "Google Hangouts could work on making the service better for slow connections."

What is our primary use case?

We use Google Hangouts for internal chats and file transfers.

What is most valuable?

Google Hangouts is easy to use and intuitive.

What needs improvement?

Google Hangouts could work on making the service better for slow connections.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Google Hangouts for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Google Hangouts is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

I did not contact support because the solution is very easy to use.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used Zoom. I have found that Google Hangouts hand Zoom operates fairly similarly.

How was the initial setup?

the setup of Google Hangouts was very easy. It did not take long to start using it, it was very quick.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others. My children at school use it all the time at school.

I rate Google Hangouts a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Reliable group meetings with automatic focus on the speaker
Pros and Cons
  • "The group chat is a very good feature, where you can see all of the participants on cameras."
  • "I would like to see more focus on features for interacting with the participants in a group chat, such as screen sharing."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Google Hangouts for video meetings and group chat sessions.

How has it helped my organization?

All of our employees are using this solution and it allows them to easily catch up and keep in touch with each other.

What is most valuable?

What I like best is that once a person starts speaking, you will see immediately who it is.

The group chat is a very good feature, where you can see all of the participants on cameras.

Online sessions are reliable and there are almost no glitches.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see more focus on features for interacting with the participants in a group chat, such as screen sharing. This would be great.

Having an option for participants to ask questions, like a "raise hand" feature, would be helpful because as it is now, they have to send a message and I have to watch for it. The message might be private for me or sent to the entire group but either way, I have to watch the list of participants all of the time for these messages.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Google Hangouts for more than six months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The reliability is very good because there are almost no glitches.

It is more stable than other products.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have 130 employees in the company and all of us use Google Hangouts. However, I have only used it for sessions with 12 participants. With this number of people, it was fine. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not been in contact with Google's technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have been working extensively with products like Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Webex to finish various projects. I find that Google Hangouts is more reliable than Zoom. On the other hand, Webex has more features available for interacting with the participants.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are using the free version of Google Hangouts.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Google
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Senior Executive at Divine IT Limited
Real User
Excellent voice and video clarity without time lag issues
Pros and Cons
  • "Very good voice and video calling options."
  • "Sending documents and other things is not an option."

What is our primary use case?

We use Google Hangouts as our major mode of communication. I'm a senior executive and we're a user of the solution. 

What is most valuable?

I like the voice and video calling options because I feel that Google Hangouts has more voice clarity and video clarity than Skype most of the time. It may even be better than Zoom which sometimes lags and tends to crash quite often. 

What needs improvement?

I'm not completely happy with the message options in Hangouts because for now it's only possible to send pictures, which is unfortunate because I would also like to be able to send documents and other things. I also think that because we've all become very used to using WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, I think they could also include a reply option. 

I sometimes find that the topic that I want to speak to a particular person about, or the topic that we spoke about gets lost among all the words. A reply button would enable me to physically save certain information. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Google Hangouts for a couple of years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable solution. I'm enjoying using it. It's all part of Google, so I'm seldom disappointed.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I believe scalability is excellent. They should continue the way they have been and maybe developing some of the features mentioned earlier but scalability is good. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Like most people, we also use WhatsApp. We've become used to using it for personal and professional purposes. We have lots of groups in our company and among our colleagues where we use WhatsApp for a specific department or specific project. We use both, but I believe Google Hangouts is the perfect place for professionals to come together and work. It's a perfect collaboration space.

What other advice do I have?

I would give this solution a perfect score if they could tweak some of the issues they have such as the messaging. Other than that, I think it's a great product. 

For now, I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
IT Support at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
High performance, simple installation, and user-friendly
Pros and Cons
  • "Google Hangouts is easy to use and has good performance."
  • "The solution can improve by having more integration with different platforms."

What is our primary use case?

I use Google Hangouts for virtual meetings.

What is most valuable?

Google Hangouts is easy to use and has good performance.

What needs improvement?

The solution can improve by having more integration with different platforms.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Google Hangouts for a couple of years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable, it has high availability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have found Google Hangouts to be scalability is good.

We have 300 users using this solution in my organization.

How are customer service and support?

I have not needed to contact the support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used Skype.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was straightforward and did not take very long.

What about the implementation team?

I did the implementation myself.

We have four administrations for the support of the solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There is an annual subscription to use this solution.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Google Hangouts a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
English Teacher at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 10
Feature-rich, easy to use, and accessible
Pros and Cons
  • "Google Meet has excellent audio quality, good images, and a robust set of features."
  • "As someone who is not very familiar with technology, I find it acceptable. I prefer to wait and see what they will come up with in the future. However, I notice that they keep introducing new features that are better than the previous ones."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for online classes.

What is most valuable?

Google Meet has excellent audio quality, good images, and a robust set of features.

I believe the services meet my requirements adequately, and I am satisfied. However, there is not a particular one that stands out as exceptional.

What needs improvement?

As someone who is not very familiar with technology, I find it acceptable. I prefer to wait and see what they will come up with in the future.

However, I notice that they keep introducing new features that are better than the previous ones.

For how long have I used the solution?

I use it every day.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have not had any issues with the stability of Google Meet.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In my opinion, it is a scalable product.

What other advice do I have?

I often suggest using Google Meet.

I would rate Google Hangouts a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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Updated: March 2024
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