Zooming During Coronavirus
Like many during the spread of COVID-19, I was one of the students forced to evacuate my university in a whirlwind of bittersweetness as the nation plunged into inactivity and quarantine. During this period of isolation and excessive time, people, me alike, have turned to video communication as a way to reclaim the lives we had once lived. We find ourselves immersed in a Zoom wave, as educational institutions, businesses, and friend groups shift towards computer and phone screens to stay connected to each other.
In 2011, Eric Yuan, with the help of 40 engineers, left Cisco WebEx to develop Zoom and fix some of the cracks found in his original organization. They had a vision of targeting consumers with budget constraints, who didn’t want to download expensive software and hardware, with an online platform that allows people to interact through virtual meetings. With both an affordable cost as well as a high return on investment, Zoom quickly gained traction, growing from 10 million users in December to over 200 million users in March.
With customers ranging from various sectors, including consumer goods and entertainment, technology, healthcare, education, and business services, Zoom’s video “equipment” allows its product to appeal to all sorts of industries. This poses a competitive advantage for Zoom regardless of industry instability. The basis of human life is communication, so Zoom’s customer base will not disappear regardless of industry changes. Even after COVID-19 passes and the need for a telecommunications service for businesses disappear, people will still want to talk to each other, so Zoom even serves recreational needs, further showing its stability and flexibility to adapt to consumer needs.
However, before we announce Zoom as the king of telecommunications, we must acknowledge both its rising competition and security issues. Recently Verizon Communications announced its decision to buy out the BlueJeans Network, which already serves both small organizations and some of the world’s leading corporate brands such as Facebook, Intuit, and ADP. This acquisition, coupled with Verizon’s reach and 5G development, will lead to fierce competition in the telecommunications market in the near future. Not only does Zoom have to worry about its new upcoming competitors, its current competition also offers much to worry about as they are owned by huge organizations with lots of financial capital — such as Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, or even Cisco Webex.
Another prominent issue Zoom faces is its inability to ensure the privacy and security of its users. Headlines like “Indiana election officials’ Zoom meeting interrupted by pornography” or “Zoom Has A Dark Side — And An FBI Warning” offer an issue that needs to be confronted head on. This new phenomenon of “Zoom bombings”, where hackers disrupt meetings with some rather inappropriate images or comments, has become increasingly widespread. Nevertheless, Zoom has many tricks in its back pocket to combat these uninvited “Zoom bombers”. On April 8th, Zoom released its new option called “Security”, giving hosts the power to respond quickly to Zoom bombing through locking the meeting or removing participants — which simultaneously shuts down the sharing screen option. Some small changes were made as well — making the waiting room automatic or hiding the meeting ID’s. Management-wise, Zoom has hired Facebooks’ CSO Alex Stamos to further consult the startup as it continues to tread these unsecured waters.
Despite its competition and security concerns, Zoom is still a competitive startup with a clear mission and much room for growth. I don’t know about you, but Zoom has become a huge part of my life in quarantine, to the extent where I don’t think I go one day without at least doing something on the application. The future of Zoom beyond COVID-19 may look grim as people return to their former everyday lives, which is dominated by physical interactions rather than virtual meetings. Still, perhaps the Zoom culture created during COVID-19, where digital communication and connections become ingrained in our lives, may convince us that a world without Zoom will be unbearable and bland. I have to admit, catching up with friends that are miles and miles away from me during this time of quarantine has gotten me thinking that, maybe even past this period of self-isolation, Zoom call tea nights will still happen on Sundays at 9pm EST.
Written by Yifei Gao| IQ Associate
