For multi-site organizations evaluating Zoom vs Teams, the decision isn’t just about video quality or chat features anymore. It’s about platform integration, workflow efficiency, and long-term scalability. And in some cases, the answer might not be Zoom or Teams—but a third option: UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service).
In this guide, we’ll compare Zoom vs Teams and help you understand where UCaaS fits in—especially if your organization spans multiple locations and needs to centralize communication strategy.
The Basics: Zoom vs Teams
Both Zoom and Microsoft Teams have matured well beyond their original roles as video conferencing tools. Today, they both offer robust collaboration ecosystems—but the key differences come down to:
- Zoom is still video-first. Its UI is simple, intuitive, and universally adopted for meetings.
- Teams is tightly woven into the Microsoft 365 suite, making it ideal for businesses already using Outlook, SharePoint, or OneDrive.
For many IT teams, the decision depends less on features and more on infrastructure compatibility and user adoption.
Why Are Companies Switching from Zoom to Teams?
This is a growing trend, especially in Microsoft-centric environments. For organizations already managing licenses through Microsoft 365, Teams is bundled in—no additional cost, no new login system. Teams also enables persistent chat, file collaboration, meeting scheduling, and document co-authoring all in one workspace.
That said, Zoom retains a loyal following among organizations prioritizing webinar hosting, breakout rooms, and ease of use for external audiences.
So when does Zoom win? When meetings are the main event. When does Teams win? When collaboration is ongoing, multifaceted, and rooted in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Collaboration Software Is More Than Meetings
It’s easy to focus the Zoom vs Teams discussion around video features. However, modern collaboration software is more than just video; it should integrate with your existing systems, messaging apps, scheduling platforms, and even voice systems. This is where both tools can show possible limitations—while they excel at collaboration, neither was originally built with a multi-site voice strategy in mind. That’s where other UCaaS platforms come into play, offering—at the core—integrated voice, video, and contact center capabilities designed specifically for business communication.
Where UCaaS Comes Into Play
When evaluating Zoom vs Teams, IT leaders often overlook the broader category they both fall under: UCaaS.
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) consolidates calling, video, messaging, and collaboration into a single cloud-based platform purpose-built for business communication. Platforms like RingCentral, DialPad, Vonage, and many others are designed from the ground up to support:
- Multi-site operations
- Regulatory compliance (HIPAA, PCI, etc.)
- Integration with CRMs and other line-of-business apps
- Advanced analytics and call routing
- Enterprise-grade uptime
If your organization is struggling to scale across multiple departments, it may be time to consider if your true need is UCaaS—not just a video app.
Explore ATC’s unified communications consulting for tailored guidance.
What Does Zoom Offer That Teams Doesn’t?
Zoom’s core strengths still shine in:
- Ease of external meeting participation (no Microsoft account needed)
- Webinars and event broadcasting
- Intuitive UI and host controls
This makes it especially strong for sales teams, education, and organizations working with a lot of external vendors or clients.
However, Zoom lacks the native document management and threaded chat functionality Teams offers—sometimes forcing users to jump between multiple tools.
What Is the Disadvantage of Microsoft Teams?
The biggest complaint around Teams is often user overload. It’s powerful, but requires training and familiarity with the Microsoft ecosystem. Additionally, call quality can depend heavily on Microsoft cloud performance, and voice features may not be robust enough for organizations needing enterprise telephony.
How to Choose for Multi-Site Communication
For multi-site businesses in Ohio and beyond, here’s how to break it down:
| Need | Best Fit |
| External-facing meetings | Zoom |
| Integrated Microsoft workflows | Teams |
| Full voice-video-messaging suite | UCaaS |
| Contact center integrations | UCaaS |
| Compliance (HIPAA, etc.) | UCaaS |
Still not sure? ATC’s consulting services help companies assess collaboration needs, existing platforms, and long-term goals to build a roadmap that makes sense—not just today, but 3, 5, and 10 years from now.
Final Thoughts: Beyond Zoom vs Teams
When comparing Zoom vs Teams, think beyond both. The right decision depends on how your teams work, what integrations you need, and whether you’re ready to centralize communication under a single umbrella. Both can be fully suitable for many organizations. For many, a third choice might be neither—it might be rethinking the platform altogether with UCaaS.
