Amazon Chime
Amazon Chime is a real-time audio, video conferencing and collaboration service hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS). Chime replaced Biba, an online meeting service acquired by Amazon.
Amazon Chime enables business professionals to schedule online meetings and attend them using audio or visual services. A Chime end user receives an automated notification from Amazon Chime prior to the beginning of the meeting. An end user can mute or unmute his or her microphone at any time, and the service provides an auto-generated list of meeting attendees.
Chime integrates with a number of business apps, including Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook, to display scheduled meetings. The service can also connect to an existing business directory via integration with Active Directory (AD) and AD Connector, which helps an administrator implement security features, such as password rotation and multi-factor authentication. Amazon Chime also uses AWS Identity and Access Management policies for enhanced security.
Amazon Chime also includes features for screen-sharing, remote desktop control and either individual or group text-based chats.
Amazon recommends that users create a new Amazon.com account associated with a work email address before Chime installation. Business professionals can use Chime on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android operating systems. An administrator creates and manages Chime users and chooses a subscription plan.
Amazon Chime pricing tiers
There are three different Amazon Chime subscription options:
- Basic is free and includes one-on-one audio and video calls and group chat;
- Plus costs $2.50 per user per month and includes all Basic features along with screen sharing, remote desktop control, 1 GB of message history per user and integrates with Active Directory;
- Pro costs $15 per user per month and includes all Plus features. Pro also enables business professionals to schedule and host meetings for three or more people -- up to 100 attendees -- record meetings, integrate with Outlook and use other features.
Amazon offers a free, 30-day trial of Pro features. Basic and Plus users can join meetings that are hosted by Pro users, which allows a business to combine different license levels to reduce costs.
Skype for Business, Cisco WebEx and GoToMeeting are the main competitors for Amazon Chime.
