Zoom execs have held private discussions over an expansion into the contact centre space, according to a report by The Information.
Citing two people with “direct knowledge of the matter”, the publication said that CEO, Eric Yuan, and others in the Zoom leadership team have pondered whether a move into CC should involve an acquisition or the ground-up development of Zoom's own solution.
The report comes as Yuan prepares to face investors following the publication of Zoom’s quarterly results later today.
UC Today has contacted Zoom for comment, while the vendor declined to comment in The Information's report.
While the rumours may come as a surprise to many, Zoom has already dipped its toes into the contact centre space through partnerships with the likes of Genesys, Five9, inContact, Talkdesk and Twillio – according to the Zoom website.
Zoom Phone, which has seen tremendous growth since its launch two years ago, has played a crucial role in these integrations.
When the partnership with Genesys was announced last year, Yuan said that Zoom's growing presence in the contact centre space was “setting a new standard for employee and consumer communication and collaboration”.
Zoom has not been an acquisitive business over the course of its 10-year existence, with the sole deal coming last May amid immense scrutiny around cybersecurity.
This made its revelation that a recent funding round could be used to fuel acquisitions all the more intriguing.
In a filing with the SEC it stated:
“We may use a portion of the net proceeds for acquisitions or strategic investments in complementary businesses, products, services or technologies, although we do not currently have any plans or commitments for any such acquisitions or investments”
UC Today’s Take
While this is, at most, speculation, it’s worth looking at who may (or may not) be an option for Zoom if it were to go down the acquisition route.
Zoom did say that the majority of the cash raised recently would be used as working capital and, at $2bn, these funds alone would not be enough to hook in an established contact centre provider.
