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Video Calling App Development – Important Features and Its Top Industries

Video Calling Apps

COVID has completely shifted the dynamics of workplaces around the globe, quite unannounced. Remote working has become the new normal and millions of people are currently practicing working from home. With the current situation at hand, there is no guarantee when and how soon things will return back to normal.

This is why businesses are banking on technology to facilitate the remote working lifestyle that has been imposed on them. One of the technologies that have been making it possible for any workflow to continue at the same pace as when things were normal, is the video conferencing applications. 

Yes, this technology isn’t the most recent or new but it has definitely skyrocketed in usage and popularity. Moreover, the demand for video calling apps that complement the need for a new style of online collaborations due to COVID is higher than ever. Nonetheless, the video conferencing industry is gaining massive traction connecting employees, customers, and the world together.

Thinking of building one?

So, it wouldn’t be surprising if you are contemplating diving into the industry with a brand new video chat app. Yes, it is daunting and you may think that the competition is already tough with big runners like Zoom, Meet, and Skype taking the majority of spotlight and customers as well. However, with many video chat apps available, not every app is perfect or in line with the current demands. Which change often with the circumstances and trends.

In short, you have a great chance to provide a competitive product and disrupt the market at present.

So, before you shake hands with a technology partner to start with your video chat app development project, there are a few things you need to understand. Things like which types of video calling apps exist, top industries using these apps, and what are the features that can brace a great video chat app.

Types of Video Conferencing

You need to have a clear understanding of the types of video conferencing that exist and currently in use:

  • Conference Calls: Calls that include more than one person. And depending on the application, you can add up to 100 participants or more.
  • One-on-One Calls: This is a more common way of video chatting where there are two people video chat on a more personal level. This chat could be between friends, family, employees, clients, and more.

Industries Using Video Conferencing Apps

Right off the bat, the major industries depending on video chat apps are:

  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Gaming

These industries will help you understand the audience residing within this market and enable you to make a more learned decision about your target audience.

Education

With schools closed globally, the future of millions of students regarding educational progress has become uncertain. However, established schools and institutes are relying heavily on video conferencing solutions to keep the wheel of educating their students turning.

According to Statista, the global digital education market is projected to reach $243 billion by the year 2022.

E-learning technology has made it possible for teachers to conduct online classes and lectures. Moreover, it has made it possible for students and learners to have the flexibility of reviewing the recorded lectures afterward as well. Also, the accessibility factor has made receiving education from home a breeze as the students can join virtual classes from any device, from any place, and at any time.

Safe to say, the concept of learning at your own pace has finally been refined through e-learning technology.

Healthcare

Whenever healthcare is discussed in the light of COVID and technology, instantly, ‘telemedicine’ is mentioned. Telemedicine is the practice of providing medical attention to patients remotely. Which is exactly that we require in times of social distancing and quarantine.

This is why businesses are investing in doctor appointment booking apps, that would allow people to get live consultation sessions without having to leave their house for basic check-ups. More so, such solutions will allow people with little to no access to medical services to receive the necessary attention via apps.

According to Statista, the global telemedicine market is anticipated to reach a value of around $175 billion through 2026; making this a large growth from $45 billion estimated back in 2019.

So, video conferencing apps will and have been changing the way we provide healthcare services; enabling safe exchange, keeping the doctors safe from potential infection from the affected patient.

However, in the light of current circumstances, apps that provide video consultations along with numerous other features assisting doctors and patients to connect with ease, are more required than ever.

Gaming

Live streaming apps are raking massive traffic during COVID, especially through live streaming of gameplay. Believe it or not, the gaming community is quite invested in these streams and take them quite seriously. However, the live streaming, in general, has become a trend of today and these streaming apps have made it possible for everyone to watch anything live – from Q&A sessions, musical performances, cooking, and much more.

Now that you are aware of the top industries making use of video streaming apps the most, you can choose your target audience wisely.

Must-Have Features of Video Calling Apps

Coming towards the features that a video calling app should include, they aren’t complicated and quite straight to the point.

Sign-up

Your app would require users to create their account and for that, they would need to sign up. It is best to make the onboarding process as easy as possible. For this purpose, the best way is to integrate your app with popular social media platforms that would allow users to log-in through their social accounts.

Contact List Access

You cannot have a video chat app without having the feature to find people residing within their contact list. Moreover, it is best to allow the users to search for people by their names, nicknames, contact numbers, and even email addresses.

Messages

You cannot exclude the message/chat feature simply because it is a video call app. Messaging is an integral feature that no chat app can live without. So, users should be able to text each other.

Online/Away/Do-Not-Disturb Status Display

Since your video conferencing app is aimed to be used by professionals also, to carry out their meetings -you would need to display their statuses that indicate whether they are away, available, or shouldn’t be disturbed.

Remember, with the majority working from home, these applications are the main source of communication for teams and without such statutes, there would be a lack of boundaries leading to annoyance or disturbance.

Notifications

This is a basic feature that should include alerts about upcoming calls, missed calls, unread messages, or any other aspect.

Video and Voice Calls

Any video calling app would be incomplete without the main feature of video and voice calling. There should be an option to make one-on-one calls, group calls, and conferences that include several people. Make sure your app provides clear audio and video quality.

So, these were the main features that a video conferencing app cannot do without. Hopefully, this must-have given you a direction to take with your own video calling app fulfilling the target audience’s needs and pain points in the current situation.

Muniza Ashraf

Muniza Ashraf is a software engineer turned technical writer with extensive experience in various niches, especially all-things-tech-related. If she isn’t writing, she is researching to bring information in the best way possible. Currently, she is associated with KoderLabs, a custom software development company in Dallas.

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