Likelihood to Recommend Had I completed this review a couple years ago, I would have given a rating of 9 or 10 as Hangouts (Classic) is an excellent product. However, now that
Google Chat has succeeded Hangouts, I would not recommend that any new users begin using it where other more modern options are available. Android users who want an internet based instant messaging that also supports calling and video calling could benefit from using Hangouts (Classic) as
Google Chat requires the user to also have
Google Meet installed to make video calls and there is no voice only calling option.
Read full review The software is well suited in most areas of messaging. The communication features it contains and the messaging quality it utilizes provides for standards, like scalability, manageability and, most importantly, secure communications. Again, the software is well suited for scenarios where an organization is aimed at making use of a centralized management. it is built to provide a unified collaborative platform characterized by a single object model and also has a database storage for almost all communication records.
Read full review Pros Google Hangouts (Classic) is embedded within Gmail's scheduler, so setting up the link is as quick as a click of the button. It's a one-step process. Google Hangouts (Classic) is user-friendly and [has] features to share screens easily. Google Hangouts (Classic) is much easier to use than its competitors. Google Hangouts (Classic) have [a] good connection time and there are few glitches. Read full review Video conferencing - The features it provides is apart from any standalone. Mail messenger ` Instant messaging Read full review Cons I would like to see improved video support, so that saved videos can be sent back and forth via Hangouts more easily, without having to start a separate meet chat More pronounced notifications of messages would be helpful; pop up notifications are good, but once there is one, additional messages do not pop up Custom muting times would be great, so that if I am in a 90 minute Zoom meeting, I can set it for that time; right now, it is 1 hour or 2 hours. Easy to forget. Read full review The only area that the software has room for improvement is in the mail part. To a large extent, the email capabilities to the Oracle Beehive Enterprise Collaborative Server is not user-friendly. My opinion is that if the mail option was made in a more separate appearance to that of the calendar, task management, and address books it would appear more user-friendly. Read full review Usability The tool is almost self-implemented. It is likely to be available in every pc or mobile device a user or potential user might have, and all you need to do is adding the company's account and you are done. Once you are setted up, you have almost all actual communication methods available in one tool
Read full review Support Rating Google Hangouts works great and does not require a lot of work to troubleshoot. Everything is simple and easy to use. Google provides all of the tools that one requires to utilize Google Hangouts and any information can be found in the built-in help tools. There is also a forum for users to report issues and typically, Google responds well and will try to work out any issues.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Google is the white cotton socks of the conferencing world. It’s a great ad-hoc tool, but not too much more. If you are not looking to spend money or operate completely on WiFi (without data charges), it’s a great free option as well. The benefit of being free and open is also the liability. It doesn’t have a great integration story with other corporate tools, but [it doesn’t have to] if you aren’t looking for that. All in all, it’s as helpful and ubiquitous as a public payphone…without the pay…and with a video capability.
Chris Carpenter Danaher Business System Leader (DBSL), Awesomizer, Fixer, Maker, Collaboration Enabler
Read full review The only feature that makes Beehive Enterprise Collaborative software stack up against similar software is unification. It is wholly unified. Basically, it allows IT to function as one platform providing services like email, team workspace, and conferencing. Uniquely, this results in saving time and cost related to managing separate systems
Read full review Return on Investment I believe it was part of the google suite that was purchased. It was worth the cost as it was cheaper. I believe it is now free, but also becoming deprecated. It is much better to use Teams, Discord, Telegram, etc. Google does not provide enough support or features to make using hangouts worth it these days. Read full review If one uses all its features to its optimum, I think they can go for break-even within around 1 year. We were able to achieve it. It helped us grab many projects. Read full review ScreenShots