Zoom announced that its revenue skyrocketed 169% from the prior year to $328 million for the three months ending in April, as it became the go-to video-conferencing service for many stuck at home during the pandemic.
The company reported an even more astronomical spike in business customers. There were roughly 265,400 companies with more than 10 employees using its platform, a 354% increase from the year prior. Zoom “deployed millions of licenses for new customers,” CEO Eric Yuan said on an earnings call.
Created as a business communication tool nearly a decade ago, Zoom’s popularity exploded at the beginning of this year, as millions of people in lockdown began using it to host events ranging from birthday parties to religious events and even to cabinet meetings.
Work-from-home and social distance initiatives have meaningfully accelerated the adoption and traffic on the Zoom video communications platform. The pandemic has also resulted in a big spike in Zoom’s number of free users, who can host calls up to 40 minutes long before being asked to pay.
Zoom’s rise kicked off a tech battle over video conferencing. Here’s what’s at stake
While Zoom’s business has undoubtedly benefited from greater usage during the pandemic, it’s also received unwanted attention.
Zoom is facing growing competition from larger tech companies, including Facebook and Google. They’re all fighting for a bigger piece of the pie that’s likely to get even bigger: The video conferencing market is projected to grow from $14 billion in 2019 to $50 billion by 2026.
So far, Zoom is holding its own. The company upgraded its outlook for the next three months, forecasting revenues between $495 million and $500 million. Zoom continues to see elevated levels of participants even as some lockdown restrictions are eased.
It’s still unclear how much of their lives people will want to live on video once they’re allowed to move about more freely and return to the office. There’s still the fear of a second wave of COVID-19 which could keep more people working remotely well into 2021.
For those of us who will continue to use Zoom for online communications, Pam came across a Zoom training option that will help folks get more skilled at using Zoom.
Here’s a FREE Zoom training video program, broken down into bite sized pieces, that will help users get the most out of their Zoom usage:
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-zoom/stay-connected-with-zoom-meetings
