Zoom is reportedly adding new calendar and email tools that will rival Google and Microsoft Office products.
The Information, which initially reported on the story, has said Zoom could be releasing the new applications by the end of the year.
Zoom recently announced its new updates and rebranding of Zoom Team Chat, which will compete directly with Microsoft Teams and Slack.
Kevin McLaughlin, Journalist at The Information, wrote: “Millions of people join online meetings using Zoom Video Communications’ app by clicking on appointment links from their digital calendars or email services run by Microsoft and Google.
“That represents a big vulnerability for Zoom as Microsoft and Google make it easier for customers to host virtual meetings through the two companies’ own competing videoconferencing apps.
“Hoping to stop its customers from jumping ship to those products, Zoom plans to debut its own email and calendar services, possibly as soon as its Zoomtopia conference for customers in November, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.
“The company has spent the better part of two years quietly developing the new services, which some employees refer to as “Zmail and Zcal”. Executives haven’t unveiled the products to most staff.”
Zoom is clearly feeling the pressure to expand its product offerings as although it has been hugely successful in cornering the video conferencing market, it is now sharing that corner with a lot of competitors. Not only are video conferencing solutions an increasingly saturated market, but it also is not such a hot area anymore. It is a need that most businesses have already met.
Worse still, the corner which Zoom has been fighting for has ended up as its prison. It has well and truly entrenched itself in people’s minds as a video conferencing platform. Even though Zoom has had Chat and other work tools for some time, not enough people know about them or think to use them, which is losing Zoom money. Its Q2 financial results this year were branded “disappointing” by Zoom’s CFO, Kelly Steckelberg.
Zoom is not entirely to blame for the position it finds itself in, and its market offensive is not entirely unprovoked. For example, Google has changed its calendar settings to make its Google Meet platform the default option for users. This is unlikely to be an accident, and the move will have a big impact over time, shifting users from Zoom to Google.
The video platform is therefore repositioning itself as a platform which provides a comprehensive set of workplace solutions. If Zoom’s ambitions weren’t made clear enough with its rebranding and revamping of Zoom Team Chat, it has certainly shown its cards today.
New Zoom Team Chat Features
Here is a reminder of the feature additions to Zoom Team Chat, expected to be released later this month.
Share In-Meeting Chats: By turning the Team Chat on, the host can share the in-meeting Chat to Team Chat, saving important links or information shared during meetings.
Schedule Zoom Meetings: Zoom Meetings can now be scheduled within chats and channels, making creating meetings for the intended participants easier.
Reminders: Chat messages can be flagged to create a reminder that will notify users later. This is designed to prevent users from failing to respond to important messages but creating time in the interim to get more pressing work completed.
Respond to Meetings via Chat: Users now have the ability to respond to an incoming meeting via Chat to let them know if they are busy.
Third-Party Integrations: Zoom Team Chat applications can be streamlined to users’ workflows.
Anywhere Chat: Team Chat for Progressive Web Apps (PWA) enables access to Team Chat from a browser, which allows users to collaborate in Chat outside of meetings without relying on the Zoom client.
Earlier this month, Zoom launched a customer-managed key (CMK) offering to help companies meet compliance regulations.
Zoom also recently announced it is providing UCC and’ fan experience’ services for Oracle Red Bull Racing.
