If your small business requires a video conferencing tool, you will have many options to consider such as Zoom, Go To Meeting, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, or other platforms. However, some video conferencing platforms are more appropriate for smaller businesses, such as BlueJeans video conferencing. Explore everything you need to know about BlueJeans products before you try our #1 recommended VOIP service.
Everything You Need to Know About BlueJeans Video Conferencing
BlueJeans video conferencing is an application for your computer or smart device that can host virtual meeting rooms across the globe. BlueJeans is designed with cloud-based technology, which improves the scalability, sharing, and security of the video-conferencing application. Thanks to Verizon’s recent acquisition of BlueJeans, the platform has recently improved with a variety of new tools and features to host virtual meetings for your small business.
BlueJeans offers several products at different price points so you can meet the needs of your business. For example, while virtual meetings are still the most well-known feature of BlueJeans products, there are other applications so you can host webinars, telehealth conferences, and other virtual events. Let’s unpack the products offered by BlueJeans so you can identify the product that will work best for your small business.
BlueJeans Meetings
BlueJeans Meetings is the standard virtual meeting application that can be used by small businesses and small hybrid teams. The goal of this product is to allow small teams to meet regularly and collaborate with tools to complete projects more quickly. BlueJeans Meetings is generally the foundation for all other BlueJeans products, so the basic features of the product must be robust.
This video conferencing platform allows up to 200 participants with up to 25 simultaneous screen views. BlueJeans Meetings can be accessed through desktop, mobile application, meeting link, web browser, or meeting IDs for internal attendees, whereas external participants can join via browser or email with an invitation and meeting link. BlueJeans Meetings has four plan options that can be billed monthly, with the standard plan starting at $9.99.
High-Quality Audio
There are several standout features to consider for BlueJeans Meetings, which will extend to other products in the BlueJeans line since Meetings is the foundation of all other BlueJeans video conferencing products. One of the best features of this particular product is the outstanding audio and video quality.
BlueJeans has partnered with Dolby Voice, so it has one of the highest-rated audio qualities among other video conferencing platforms. With BlueJeans, users can choose optional background noise and music suppression, automatic volume leveling, and much more. The video quality is also in HD, and the platform includes a floating view to keep the video meeting in the background on the user’s device while the user is using other software applications.
Team Collaboration Tools
Team Collaboration Tools are another highlight of this particular product. Team Collaboration Tools are essential for hybrid workplaces, especially for remote workers. This BlueJeans product has elevated basic team collaboration by improving features such as presentation mode to more easily share PowerPoint and other presentation applications. Users also have the option of using whiteboarding, breakout sessions, team chat, and file sharing through the BlueJeans application to collaborate more easily.
Aside from the Team Collaboration Tools that are specific to this BlueJeans product, users also have the option of using other platforms with BlueJeans for more personalized collaboration. For example, using shared Google documents with multiple editors is an option. Overall, this product is designed for smaller hybrid teams that need to share condensed information about team projects.
Smart Meetings
Smart Meetings is another significant feature offered by BlueJeans Meetings. Smart Meetings is powered by AI to increase productivity so that teams can have fewer meetings with a higher degree of efficiency. Essentially, the Smart Meetings tool reduces the need for note-taking and increases engagement among participants.
The main feature of Smart Meetings is meeting highlights, which allow all participants to create a highlight for essential information to be discussed. The AI will flag the in-meeting highlight by identifying the keywords in the transcription and video recording. Meeting highlights allows users to categorize these keywords based on urgency and importance.
Meeting Recording
Finally, the BlueJeans Meetings application also allows for on-demand meeting recording and transcriptions. All of the video streams, closed captions, screen shares, and presentations are recorded in the BlueJeans app so they can be retrieved and downloaded later on. The meeting recording and transcription feature offer on-demand playback that can be shared via email or meeting link and can also be classified as private.
For the standard plan, BlueJeans Meetings will record only two hours at a time before a new recording session is started. Each recording session is called a chapter, which makes it easy to organize meetings for playback at a later date.
BlueJeans Events
BlueJeans Events is an application that is designed specifically for large-scale meetings, such as webinars and webcasts. The goal of BlueJeans Events is to simplify virtual events while also increasing immersion so that virtual meetings feel similar to in-person meetings. Notably, BlueJeans Events can support up to 150,000 attendees and 150 participants, and will also allow users to access the platform with Facebook Live or YouTube Live integrations so businesses can reach millions more attendees.
The price plan for BlueJeans Events includes the standard plan that can be customized by the number of seats required for your webinar, with the lowest plan of 100 seats costing about $40 a month. The second plan is the large-scale plan, which offers customized pricing based on the number of users accessing the application.
Event Scheduling
Event Scheduling is one of the best features for BlueJeans Events. This tool allows users to schedule upcoming events and view the recordings of past events that are saved in the product dashboard. Hosts of events can specify event times, duration, and recurrence, and even add descriptions for what the event is about.
Hosts may also choose to make the event accessible by invitation, open only to employees, or open to the public. With the Event Scheduling tool, hosts may have the option of requiring attendees to register after invitations are sent. Furthermore, event hosts can also designate certain attendees as presenters who can share video or audio information.
Moderator App
The Moderator App is intended to be used during the meeting so that moderators and presenters can more easily host the event. The Moderator App is convenient since it monitors everything happening in the webinar space, including providing a list of participants, participant information, and much more. The Moderator App will also allow moderators and presenters to approve Q&As, view poll results, or share other content with attendees.
Live Streaming
BlueJeans Events allow for integration on Facebook Live and YouTube Live platforms for live streaming. Social media streaming allows webinars to reach a much wider audience without providing individual links to join the meeting.
When live streaming is integrated into your webinar or event, the software will automatically upload the event onto Facebook or YouTube so the video is saved on the internet and can be played back by the public at any time. Analytic tools from Facebook or YouTube can also give users event analytics to assess how many people viewed the live stream.
In-Meeting Collaboration
One of the neat things about BlueJeans Events is the In-Meeting Collaboration tool, which gives in-person attendees the same amount of engagement as virtual participants. Essentially, this tool allows for event chat, Q&A’s, meeting polls, virtual hand-raising, and other features that are monitored by moderators during the event. In-Meeting Collaboration is ideal for hybrid teams or hybrid events.
BlueJeans Rooms
BlueJeans Rooms is a physical product, which may seem odd from a platform that is designed to be used with cloud-based technology. However, BlueJeans Rooms is specifically designed to allow small businesses to customize a physical conference room with hardware and other configuration options that will integrate neatly with other BlueJeans products. For example, BlueJeans Rooms is often combined with BlueJeans Meetings.
One of the biggest advantages of using BlueJeans Rooms is the ability to incorporate your current hardware to transform the configuration and efficiency of your conference physical room. The specific design of this product is ideal for connecting remote workers, hybrid teams, and in-office teams all at one time. When you sign up with BlueJeans Rooms, your subscription will also include on-site installation, IT management, and management of individual meeting rooms for greater ease of use.
Command Center Interface
The Command Center Interface is one of the core features of blue jeans rooms. This interface allows administrators and moderators to review historical meeting data, access live meeting controls, view network stability, and assess real-time analytics for each meeting and each room. The Command Center interface is easy to use and can include information such as participant end-point distribution, geo-distribution, feedback summaries, and much more.
Using the Command Center Interface may be especially important when working with hybrid teams or remote-work employees since this interface allows for real-time monitoring of video conference connections. Using this data can drastically improve the productivity of individual teams, as well.
Wireless Screen Sharing and Projection
There are many other key features for BlueJeans Rooms, such as integration with Google Calendar and other calendars. However, one of the more exciting features is the Wireless Screen Sharing and Screen Projection tools, which reduces the need for bulky hardware that may be previously used in physical conference rooms.
The Wireless Screen Sharing and Screen Projection features also offer multi-screen support. Some users may also choose to use Smart Sensor technology that will allow users to access rooms via a scan from a smartphone. Additionally, businesses and individual users may choose to add touchscreen whiteboards for physical conference rooms, which is another tool that is ideal for hybrid teams.
BlueJeans Gateway
BlueJeans Gateway is an intermediary platform that creates a bridge between BlueJeans products and Microsoft Teams. This is ideal if you don’t want to undergo a huge infrastructure change when you sign up for BlueJeans video conferencing. With a BlueJeans Gateway subscription, users can keep their current hardware and use personal smart devices to link up with Microsoft Teams users in the BlueJeans platform.
Pricing for BlueJeans Gateway starts at $39 a month, which will include up to 19 rooms for collaborative meetings. If you need more than 20 rooms, the large-scale deployment plan will be customized based on the needs of your small business.
One-Touch Meeting Join
One of the best features of this cloud-based video interop is the One-Touch Meeting Join tool that allows for easy collaboration between BlueJeans users and Microsoft Teams users. The One-Touch Meeting Join tool makes it easy for users of different platforms to collaborate at the same time.
BlueJeans Telehealth
BlueJeans Telehealth is the video conferencing answer to many of the challenges still experienced by the healthcare industry. Many patients still prefer attending virtual visits rather than in-person visits due to higher risks of contracting viruses, particularly among immunocompromised people. The BlueJeans Telehealth application is an ideal solution for hospitals, individual providers, and other healthcare employees to host meetings.
BlueJeans Telehealth is much more advanced than any other virtual healthcare application since it has a collection of tools that allows for a higher degree of individualized patient care. Importantly, BlueJeans Telehealth is certified by HIPAA, which means the security of this product complies with privacy regulations outlined by the government for patient privacy.
Patient Data Collection
Patient Data Collection is one of the standout features of BlueJeans Telehealth. This application allows hosts to collect data about patients, such as patient name, date of birth, and other information that can be added directly to a patient’s chart by integrating BlueJeans Telehealth with Epic software. Additionally, collecting patient data and healthcare information may be important for insurance or demographic purposes.
Scheduling and Follow-Ups
BlueJeans Telehealth also assists with scheduling new appointments and follow-ups. Event hosts can use an integrated calendar feature to schedule appointments for patients during or after the meeting. Another impressive feature of BlueJeans Telehealth is the ability to send reminder notifications for appointments, along with email or calendar links so the patient can easily join a meeting.
Accessibility Options
In addition to patients being able to join a BlueJeans Telehealth room at the click of a button without downloading an app, this product also offers many accessibility options. Some of these accessibility options include medical interpretation for 200 languages, medical interpretation for ASL, closed captioning, screen reading, and enhanced color contrast for better video quality.
It’s important for telehealth platforms to offer accessibility options, particularly since many states are still enforcing telehealth consultations, urgent care visits, and doctor appointments for vulnerable people. Those who are immunocompromised, disabled, or who are struggling with hearing or vision problems can benefit from accessibility options. This also complies with regulations to offer equal accessibility for disabled people.
What Is the User Experience Like for BlueJeans?
Overall, the user experience for all BlueJeans products is high. Starting with the foundation of BlueJeans Rooms, many people are pleased with the intuitive performance of the application and the user dashboard. Because the platform is overall very easy to use, users are able to stay organized by viewing upcoming meetings, viewing old meetings as needed, and even automatically decluttering the screen by minimizing the chat window after 10 minutes of disuse.
The user experience for other BlueJeans products, such as BlueJeans Events, is also overwhelmingly positive thanks to the ease of use of the platform. The ability to simultaneously share video conferencing across many meeting rooms and users is one of the better features of the platform. Regardless of the specific product, BlueJeans is an ideal video conference experience for all users.
Do You Need to Download the Mobile App?
When you use BlueJeans products, you have the option of downloading the mobile application so that you can access BlueJeans meeting rooms on your smartphone or tablet. However, because you can access BlueJeans Meetings and other BlueJeans products on your desktop or through the web, it’s not necessary to download the mobile app unless you want to have increased flexibility when you’re using the platform.
Can All Devices Use the App?
The application for BlueJeans is available for both Apple and Samsung users. You can download the application from your device’s app store and install the application in only a few minutes.
When you install the mobile app after you sign up as a user, your mobile app will be synchronized with your desktop or web account. Again, this increased flexibility is ideal for hybrid workers who may spend some time working from home and some time working from the office.
What Are the Best Features of the BlueJeans App?
There are a few features of the BlueJeans mobile application that makes it one of the highest-rated platforms for video conferencing. For example, the application supports different communication styles, including audio-only communication, closed captioning, virtual hand raising, and mute and unmute options. Users can choose to dial in through app audio and video, or only share audio.
To join a meeting from the app, users can use a unique passcode, a link, or a redirect from a BlueJeans calendar invitation. There are other features that improve the mobile experience as well, such as a Safe Driving mode and Intelligent Bandwidth Management, both of which optimize the use of the application.
What Platforms or Software Integrate With BlueJeans Video Conferencing?
BlueJeans products have been specifically designed to be easily integrated with many other video conferencing platforms and software applications. It’s essential for video conferencing tools such as this one to have easy integrations so that small businesses don’t need to completely overhaul established hardware and software infrastructure.
Some of the software that can be easily integrated with BlueJeans include Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar, Alexa for Business, Canvas, Slack, Outlook, Trello, Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Epic. More integrations are also on the way for other major tools and platforms.
What Is Security for BlueJeans Like?
BlueJeans video conferencing has enhanced security, which may be particularly important for small businesses in certain industries that must maintain compliance for privacy. The policy for maintaining security includes security certifications, end-to-end encryption, firewall protection, SSO, third-party vulnerability scans, and HTTPS authentication.
As for meeting privacy, BlueJeans has a few ways to keep meetings private, such as random meeting IDs, password-protected meetings, encrypted meetings, and two-factor authentication for meeting participants to join the meeting. Meetings can also be locked to prevent uninvited participants from joining and participants can be removed by moderators during the meeting. BlueJeans also has failed login notifications and alerts for password changes.
Does BlueJeans Offer Customer Support?
Unlike some other video conferencing platforms, BlueJeans has robust customer service. First and foremost, BlueJeans hosts daily live Q&A sessions five days a week for all customers. The live Q&A sessions can give you quick access to a customer service agent so you can troubleshoot problems. All customers also have access to a 24/7 chat with customer service agents, the ability to open online support tickets, and phone support.
If you are someone who prefers self-service for technology troubleshooting, you may be pleased to learn that BlueJeans also offers on-demand video tutorials for how to use various products. The training videos and how-to guides make it easy for onboarding new users since these guides will teach users how to use all tools on the platform.
Additional Support
If users require additional support, they may have advanced options such as Customer Success Management Manager, Technical Account Manager, Onboarding Manager, and Meeting Assist Agents. Typically, advanced customer support is only available to users who have premium plans.
BlueJeans video conferencing offers a wide range of products that allow businesses to customize video conferencing needs. Whether you need to host small daily meetings for hybrid teams or host larger events such as webinars, BlueJeans offers scalable and tiered products that will fit into any budget. Try our #1 recommended VOIP service today.
