By Jim Lundy
Zoom filed for its IPO last week and the S-1 Document left no stone unturned. While there have been many IPOs for voice-focused providers, Zoom is one of the few video conferencing providers to go public in the last 20 years. Here are some of the key takeaways from its filing.
In addition to its video conferencing offerings, Zoom just launched a brand new voice offering, putting it in direct competition with voice providers.
Zoom Revenues Soar to Over $330 Million
Zoom had to disclose its revenues as part of the S-1 filing. At $330 Million, this makes Zoom one of the fastest growing web and video conferencing providers. The focus on brand awareness and the creation of a strong sales organization are just some of the reasons for the growth. The other is providing a modern user interface with video quality that delights users.
It is important to note that with $7 million in profit, this makes Zoom’s S-1 look particularly attractive.
Zoom Goes Global
Zoom has many customers around the world, and counts over 13 data centers. Many people do not know that Webex got its engineering start in China. The same is true for Zoom. The S-1 revealed that Zoom has 1700 employees and that over 500 of its engineers are based in China.
Zoom Puts the UCC Industry on Notice with Zoom Voice
While Zoom is just launching Zoom Voice (its calling plans), it’s putting the rest of the unified communications and collaboration (UCC) industry on notice. Zoom disrupted the web and video conferencing market first with a newer, fresher offering and made the Room solution an easy addition. Now with Voice Plans, it opens up a new battlefront with Avaya, Cisco, Fuze, LogMeIn (GoTo), Microsoft, and RingCentral. We’d note that RingCentral is a partner of Zoom’s. Now Zoom is a direct competitor.
The Battle for Voice is Looming
As I indicated in my summary from Enterprise Connect, the battle for voice is just beginning. It is a large market and with Zoom jumping in and others jumping in very soon, all providers will have to up their game. This is a win for buyers and it opens up choice.