Written by: Lynn Cadet
Edited by: Lillian Castro
TL; DR: Secure video conferencing tools have never been more essential. With the rise of hybrid and remote work, video conferencing platforms have become a target for hackers to exploit. TrueConf offers a secure, privacy-first conferencing platform for enterprises of any sizes to meet, chat and collaborate with peace of mind and total data control. We spoke with Maria Mihalyova, Lead PR Manager at TrueConf, about the platform, its security solutions, and AI-based features.
Like most technological marvels, video calling took on an illusion of magic when it first appeared. Growing up as a first-year Gen-Zer, I got to experience our shift to daily internet reliance in real time. I used the family desktop computer here and there in the early aughts, but after the introduction of the smartphone and widespread wifi, I became hooked much like everyone else.
Technological advancements, such as ChatGPT, still amaze me. And video technology has never lost its wonder. As a pre-teen, I thought it incredible how someone could be hundreds of miles away, and I could see and communicate with them on my screen. But we have come a long way from the days of Skype and ooVoo.
Today, we have high-quality video technology to help us with everything from recreational use and business meetings to telemedicine and educational seminars. Users can also connect from all over the world without running into grainy screens or buffer wheels. One company helping businesses do just that is TrueConf.
“We are developers of enterprise-grade video conferencing solutions for small teams and large enterprises. Our solutions are self-hosted and work on our proprietary communications protocol. We develop everything from scratch, focusing on security and independence from third-party technologies and providers,” said Maria Mihalyova, Lead PR Manager at TrueConf.
TrueConf serves a variety of clients across multiple industries with its video collaboration solutions. Enterprises can find everything they need to streamline their communications with TrueConf, including video calls, meeting scheduling, webinars, and team messaging.
Secure Communication for More Than 10 Years
A standout feature of TrueConf’s platform is its security. Video conferencing can have several vulnerabilities, leading to hackers gaining remote access and executing arbitrary code. Data breaches are costly. Companies can’t risk hackers secretly joining meetings and exploiting their communication tools.
TrueConf has built its ecosystem to protect users from data breaches and safeguard their privacy. Its reliability is evident because most of its customers and users are from info-sensitive verticals, including government, defense, healthcare, and financial institutions. For example, one of its customers, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, is one of the largest aerospace manufacturers in Asia and uses TrueConf to create secure communications.
“They have centers throughout the country and have united them into one secure video communications cloud for more than 30,000 employees. So, they have one network with no third-party access. The video conferencing is under their full control,” said Maria.
TrueConf is GDPR-compliant, HIPAA-ready, and ISO 27001 certified. All electronic data transmissions are encrypted and protected. TrueConf leverages end-to-end encryption for communications data to ensure no one can tamper and access customer sensitive information.
“TrueConf ecosystem is deployed on our customers’ own IT infrastructure with no third-party access. It can operate absolutely autonomously in the local network, or as a private collaboration cloud, or even as a SaaS video conferencing service with all the features of cloud solutions. So, your communications don’t leave your premises, your organization, your company network, and even our employees don’t have access to any of our customers’ data,” said Maria.
Since TrueConf is on-premises, closed-circuit software, companies have complete control over their data and privacy. No one accesses a client’s data unless they authorize it. The integration with Data Loss Prevention (DLP) systems also enhances security by allowing users to minimize risks of extraction of sensitive data.
“It is a special system with filters. You can set up these filters, and the system will instantly track, edit, or block information and messages sent in chats, depending on the rules defined on the DLP-system side,” said Maria.
Building Valuable Solutions From Scratch
Maria told us TrueConf creates everything from scratch. And its development team has been busy. But for TrueConf, everything starts with a flexible foundation. TrueConf software is available across any device, including smart TVs, and is compatible with Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, and other operating systems.
“We provide client applications that allow you to stay connected on multiple devices with chats and video calls synchronization. We are actively developing our built-in messenger. The apps are complemented by a set of collaboration tools, such as screen sharing, slideshow, and remote desktop control, video and audio files sharing, user-friendly address book. All these features allow immersing users into full-fledged remote or hybrid work and interaction with colleagues, regardless of their geographical location,” said Maria.
TrueConf’s ecosystem of products is on-premises and can work offline without an internet connection. Its TrueConf Server solution allows users to integrate with other apps, including Zoom, Thunderbird, and Microsoft Outlook. It can also accommodate up to 1,500 participants in one meeting and up to 1 million users in the corporate communications network.
“We can transmit 4K video quality. This feature is essential for telemedicine, engineering, remote consultations, and so on. We also provide a toolkit called TrueConf VideoSDK that allows integrating our video conferencing capabilities into any existing applications,” said Maria.
TrueConf offers ultra-HD video conferencing and an SDK, so developers can replicate and customize its video experience across other communication channels, such as interactive information kiosks. TrueConf also provides a free version of its software that can serve up to 50 members.
“You can install the server on your premises, and allow 50 users to communicate in chat, make video calls, and schedule video conferences. But only 10 users can participate in group video meetings. This gives companies that only need chat the possibility to leverage our software,” said Maria.
Making Meetings Smarter With AI
TrueConf works with AI to create smarter meetings for everyone. Its advanced meeting manager and other features include AI attributes to help make meetings more interactive and flexible. Integrating AI has allowed the TrueConf team to create a noise suppression feature, voice-activated layouts, and virtual backgrounds.
“We have VAD-based conference mode called Smart meeting. It allows speakers to take and leave the podium when they start or stop talking or sharing the content. So the layout is made automatically without the need of moderation,” said Maria.
Last year, the TrueConf team released an AI-based face tracking feature. It allows meeting speakers to move in frame and remain in focus. It works for any web camera. Auto framing, another new feature built in TrueConf solution for meeting rooms, automatically zooms in and crops users’ images if they sit in different parts of the room, creating a seamless visual composition.
TrueConf continues to improve its platform and stay active in the tech community. Maria told us users can find the team at several conferences this year, including InfoComm India and Asia. As for new features, the team will release conferences with simultaneous translation soon.
“In the next release of our TrueConf Server, we will introduce simultaneous translation, new slot types in the meeting layout, conference transcription, and many other important updates. Our desktop client applications will also have new features, including an AI-based one,” said Maria.
