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Late last month, Zoom rolled out Zoom Workplace. The announcement repackaged a number of the solutions that Zoom is well-known for, such as video conferences, chat and phone, and ones that it is still trying to promote, like whiteboards and the forthcoming documents.
With Zoom Workplace, the company is making a concentrated push into the broader realm of workplace collaboration, armed with highly touted AI-powered tools designed to make teamwork more seamless and productive.
The move signals Zoom's ambition to evolve from a platform known primarily for virtual meetings into a comprehensive suite for productivity and communication. But it raises the questions: Why do this and where does Zoom fit in the already overcrowded productivity market?
Why Is Zoom Going Down the Productivity Path?
The Zoom name is now synonymous for video conferencing, much like Google is for web search. “You want to jump on a Zoom?” is often immediately followed by an invite to a Teams or Google Meet link. The technology has become ubiquitous, even for people who don’t necessarily work remotely.
In the last few years, nearly every competitor has tried to copy the looks and functionality of Zoom meetings. But being great at video conferencing only takes you so far. The demand for versatile, all-in-one platforms at work is on the rise and consolidation is a key factor driving decision making.
With this announcement, Zoom Workplace pushes itself more directly into territory dominated primarily by Microsoft, Google and to a lesser extent, Slack. While it may have a leadership position in virtual meetings, it quickly moves to challenger status when it comes to broader productivity and collaboration capabilities.
The move can also be seen as a strategic response to the evolving product offerings of its competitors. Microsoft and Google have long offered suites that blend communication, collaboration and productivity. Slack has expanded beyond simply team communication to more collaborative tools via product updates and its wide array of integrations. Zoom Workplace represents an attempt to not just play catch up but leapfrog into the space, boosted in part by AI.
But I think there’s some deserved underlying skepticism about Zoom's ability to extend its expertise to a new domain. Can Zoom, the platform celebrated for making video conferencing ubiquitous, replicate this success elsewhere? Creating a cohesive, user-friendly platform that can stand toe-to-toe with the established ecosystems of its competitors will be hard and its subtle feature additions have made running Zoom meetings more challenging than they were a few years ago.
Beyond the product challenges, there are also questions of where Zoom Workplace fits in a company’s tech stack.
Related Article: Do We Collaborate Too Much?
Doing the Math: Zoom Workplace + Microsoft 365 (or Google Workspace)?
As Zoom enters a new market with Zoom Workplace, Microsoft and Google's productivity suites are catching up on video conferencing. Back in 2020, Google Meet had all kinds of issues with video conferencing. Teams wasn’t a whole lot better, either.
At that point, it made sense to have both Zoom and Google (or Microsoft). Zoom zoomed into the enterprise with record speed as a result. It was easy to use, fairly ubiquitous across devices, and didn’t matter whether you were a Google or Microsoft customer.
Teams and Meet have both improved to the point where they can now be your primary video conferencing tool. The subscriptions that made sense a few years ago make less sense as we’ve gotten closer to feature parity.
That’s not to mention the cost. While Zoom has a free tier today, it’s pretty much freemium, with incredibly limited functionality. Its lowest-priced paid tier is more than double the cost of the equivalent Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace subscription on a per-user basis.
Related Article: Too Many Tools Are Stifling Productivity
Consolidate or Not to Consolidate: That Is the IT Question
The decision of whether to consolidate workplace collaboration goes beyond just simple functionality overlap or pricing, though.
Consolidation promises streamlined operations, potential simplification of tool management and, yes, reduction of costs in terms of subscription licensing and internal support. That can be particularly appealing from an IT perspective, where simplifying the tech stack can lead to all kinds of advantages beyond just one throat to choke.
But consolidation doesn’t always align with the diverse needs of various teams within an organization (let alone delivers on its promises). The specialized requirements of different departments might be better served by a range of targeted tools rather than a single, all-encompassing solution. This diversity of needs poses a challenge for HR departments, which must consider the impact of these tools on employee experience, productivity and satisfaction.
Organizations have to carefully consider their unique circumstances, including their workflow requirements, company culture and the preferences of their workforce, to make a decision that best supports their workforce and overall technology strategy.
Related Article: New Wave of Collaboration Apps Looks to Cover All Team Collaboration Needs
Zoom's David vs. Microsoft and Google's Goliath
So let’s go back to the primary question: Where does Zoom Workplace fit in? As the product is today, I’m not sure it can replace the solutions most people are using — and certainly not Microsoft or Google, even if the price difference was a non-factor.
As far as Zoom goes, it’s hard to imagine it is going to stand still with Workplace. It will likely expand and compete as well.
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The move is a clear acknowledgment of the times: The convergence of communication, collaboration and productivity is here and it’s Microsoft and Google’s crown to lose. The choice of consolidation versus specialization will always be a push and pull of approaches and preferences. Compromises between easing administrative and pricing burdens, while also delivering the tools that people want, will always be somewhat in conflict.
Zoom Workplace has a massive challenge to overcome. It can’t afford not to grow and expand, but it is entering a space where there's already heavy competition. If you put me in an IT leader’s role and I’m considering why Zoom over some of these other options? I’m probably sticking with one of the Goliaths by default.
