Zoom Video Communications is an American company that provides remote conferencing services using cloud computing. Zoom offers video communications technology through its software platform. The company provides a remote conferencing service that combines video conferencing, online meetings, chat, and mobile collaboration.
Zoom became widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic as more people worked and studied remotely. Zoom’s stock price grew substantially in 2020 as the platform became a household name.
When was Zoom founded?
Zoom was founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan, an early engineer at WebEx which was later acquired by Cisco. After getting frustrated with WebEx’s video conferencing technology, Yuan left Cisco to found Zoom in 2011. The company launched its software in 2013.
Where is Zoom’s headquarters?
Zoom is headquartered in San Jose, California. The company has additional offices around the world including New York, London, Sydney and Singapore.
What products and services does Zoom offer?
Zoom’s main product offerings include:
Video Conferencing
Zoom Meetings allows HD video conferencing for up to 1,000 participants. Features include screen sharing, chat, recording, and customized backgrounds.
Online Meetings
Zoom’s online meeting software allows calendar integration, audio conferencing, screen sharing, and webinars for up to 10,000 attendees.
Chat and Messaging
In addition to video meetings, Zoom offers persistent chat functionalities and messaging across devices.
Conference Room Software
Zoom Rooms allows conference room systems to connect easily to Zoom virtual meetings. Hardware and software bundles turn rooms into video conference centers.
Mobile Apps
Zoom offers mobile apps for iOS and Android to provide video conferencing and screen sharing on smartphones and tablets.
How many customers does Zoom have?
As of October 2020, Zoom reported having over 300,000 business customers with more than 10 employees. This is up 458% year-over-year from 2019. The company also reported that it hosted 3.3 trillion annual meeting minutes, up from 2 trillion in April 2020.
How much revenue does Zoom generate?
For the fiscal year 2021 ending January 31, Zoom reported revenue of $2.65 billion, up 326% year-over-year. Revenue growth was driven by acquiring new customers and expanding across existing customers. The company’s net income for fiscal 2021 was $672.3 million.
Fiscal Year | Revenue | Net Income |
---|---|---|
2021 | $2.65 billion | $672.3 million |
2020 | $622.7 million | $21.7 million |
How many employees does Zoom have?
As of January 2021, Zoom employs over 2,400 people worldwide. This is up from just over 500 employees in January 2019, representing over 400% employee growth in 2 years.
Who are Zoom’s major competitors?
Zoom’s main competitors include:
- Cisco Webex
- Microsoft Teams
- Google Meet
- Amazon Chime
- GoToMeeting
However, Zoom has become the clear leader in the video conferencing market with its easy-to-use platform.
What is Zoom’s market share?
Zoom has rapidly gained market share in the video conferencing industry. According to a 2020 report by Synergy Research Group, Zoom accounts for about 24% of the total video conferencing market. This makes Zoom the market leader, ahead of Microsoft Teams at 21% and Cisco Webex at 16%.
What technological innovations has Zoom pioneered?
Zoom has pioneered several important video conference innovations and capabilities:
- Virtual Backgrounds – Zoom allows users to display custom photos or videos as their background during calls.
- Active Speaker View – Zoom automatically switches the active video feed to focus on whoever is speaking.
- Gallery View – Allow participants to see thumbnail previews of other participants in a grid layout.
- Touch Up My Appearance – Uses AI to smooth skin tones and adjust lighting on the user’s video.
- Noise Cancellation – Uses AI to remove ambient and background noise during calls.
These innovations and Zoom’s commitment to ease of use have made it popular for both business and consumer use cases.
How has Zoom grown during COVID-19 pandemic?
The COVID-19 pandemic, starting in early 2020, led to dramatic growth in Zoom usage as people worked and studied from home. Some key stats about Zoom’s growth include:
- Daily meeting participants on Zoom grew from 10 million in December 2019 to 300 million in April 2020.
- Zoom’s customer base with more than 10 employees grew 485% between Q1 2020 and Q2 2021.
- Zoom stock price increased 5x from $68 at the start of 2020 to around $350 by October 2020.
The pandemic accelerated Zoom’s business growth as video conferencing became critical for remote work and education. However, this also led to scrutiny around Zoom’s security practices as consumer usage skyrocketed.
How has Zoom responded to “Zoom-bombing”?
The increased use of Zoom during COVID-19 led to “Zoom-bombing”, where uninvited participants would break into Zoom meetings. In response, Zoom accelerated its efforts around security and privacy:
- Enabling passwords and virtual waiting rooms by default for all meetings.
- Giving more controls to meeting hosts to manage participants.
- Acquiring security firm Keybase and enhancing end-to-end encryption.
Zoom also published regular transparency reports detailing requests for data and content takedown demands. Despite some backlash, Zoom remains a trusted video conferencing platform for many businesses and schools.
What is Zoom’s long-term vision and strategy?
Zoom outlined a 3-year strategy in 2020 focused on enhancing its video-first unified communications platform. Key pillars of Zoom’s strategy include:
- Make Zoom Meetings the best video meetings experiences.
- Grow the Zoom Phone cloud phone system.
- Innovate across integrated Zoom Rooms and conference room devices.
- Expand Zoom App Marketplace integrations.
- Partner closely with developers, ISVs, and resellers.
Zoom aims to become the leading provider of frictionless unified communications across different use cases for businesses and consumers.
How does Zoom make money?
Zoom makes money through a freemium model. Basic Zoom access is free for individual users, group meetings under 40 minutes, and 1-to-1 meetings. Paid plans unlock more features, capacity, and customization for businesses, enterprises, and other organizations. Zoom also generates revenue from hardware like conference room devices.
Conclusion
In summary, Zoom Video Communications is the market leader in video conferencing solutions. Founded in 2011, Zoom’s easy-to-use platform for meetings, chat, webinars, and conference rooms has made it the tool of choice for remote work. Zoom experienced astronomical growth during the COVID-19 pandemic as businesses, schools, and consumers flocked to its services. The company aims to become the top provider of unified communications across multiple use cases even after the pandemic subsides.