The conversation about the Covid-19 pandemic and its overall impact on society as we used to know it, is one that is going to be on the front burner of discourse for several years to come. Whether it suddenly passes now the same way it came or there is eventually a third or even a fourth wave of the disease, one thing is certain; life will never return to what we used to know as "normal".
The pandemic has forced human society to rethink the ways we used to do things and determine what is absolutely necessary and what has been accepted as conventional due to convenience.
Before now, most organizations considered the physical presence of their staff in their physical location an absolute necessity, as they felt it was probably the surest way to access the dedication, commitment and productivity of the staff. As a result, the concept of remote or virtual office was a rare experience, used sparingly on occasions with only top management Cadre or clientele outside the geographical boundaries of the organization in situations of inevitability.
But with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic and its ravaging impact on a global scale, remote offices are now fast becoming the norm for many organizations around the world. With every country rolling out regulations and guidelines on how human activities - social and economic - can be safely carried out; many of such organizations have found a way to carry on with business "as usual" with the "Zoom" solution.
So, what is "Zoom" and How Does It Work?
Video conferencing software is the cornerstone of any successful and productive team. Video conferencing tools, like Zoom, allow individuals to meet and work together productively "face-to-face" when meeting in person isn't possible. This makes meeting remotely much more human, which essential in order to help users feel and stay connected.
The video conferencing platform Zoom is no doubt the biggest business winner of 2020. What started out as a leading video conferencing platform in businesses, due to the pandemic, became even more ubiquitous than personal platforms like Skype and FaceTime. So much so, that the term “Zoom” (as a verb) has become to video conferencing what “Kleenex” is to tissues paper and “Xerox” is to making paper copies.
This year the number of Zoom users has grown rapidly surrounding concerns for coronavirus (COVID-19). It's estimated that the company added 2.22 million monthly active users in 2020, while in all of 2019 it added 1.99 million users.
What Is Zoom?
Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing platform that can be used for video conferencing meetings, audio conferencing, webinars, meeting recordings, and live chat.
According to our research, Zoom is the most popular video conferencing solution for companies with 500 employees or fewer, and the second-most popular solution for companies with more than 500 employees, after Skype for Business. According to Zoom's S-1 filing in early 2019, more than half of Fortune 500 companies are using Zoom, and it earned an average NPS of more than 70 in 2018.
Next, let's dig into the most common Zoom use cases in a typical workplace: Zoom Meetings and Zoom Rooms.
Zoom Meeting
What is a Zoom Meeting? Zoom Meetings are the foundation of Zoom and the term refers to video conferencing meetings using the platform that allow remote and co-located meeting attendees to communication frictionlessly. Since you, you don't need to have a Zoom account to attend a Zoom meetings, you can even meet with clients or conduct interviews with remote candidates virtually.
A "Zoom Meeting" simply refers to a meeting that's hosted using Zoom, and attendees can join the meeting in-person, via webcam or video conferencing camera, or via phone.
We will conclude this article in the second installment of this series.
