Called the Zoom Hardware as a Service, the platform is an important step for the company. Zoom is the clear in the ongoing Communication App Wars. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company saw its daily users soar from 10 million to over 300 million. Rival services like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet have also thrived, but not to the same degree as Zoom. However, unlike those rivals, there is a limit to how far Zoom can go. Microsoft and Google have wider interests whereas Zoom just has its core videoconferencing capabilities. How the company achieves ongoing growth when this market surge ends is a question many has asked. It seems the Zoom Hardware as a Service product is the company attempting to answer that question.
Subscription Model
There are eight subscription tiers in total, although the licensing needed will be sold separately. Customers pay between $5.99 and $60 per month and the service will be integrated into partner devices. Neat, Poly, DTEN, and Yealink has teamed with Zoom in the teleconferencing market. According to Velchamy Sankarlingam, President of Product and Engineering at Zoom, the subscriptions will boost access to its services: “Amazing hardware partnerships are a key part of Zoom’s ecosystem. With many people globally coping with today’s unique challenges, easy access to hardware is critical for offices, distance learning, telehealth, and more. Zoom Hardware as a Service will help users adapt to new work-from-anywhere environments by making it easier than ever before to get access to the latest and greatest hardware for Zoom Rooms and Zoom Phone. “ Zoom Phone Hardware as a Service is now available in the United States. There is no confirmation about whether the service will expand globally.