Zoom’s (NASDAQ: ZM) emergence among the most preferred video conferencing platforms amid the pandemic saw the entity record significant growth in adoption and revenue, placing the company to topple other established competitors. With the effects of the pandemic waning off, it seems Zoom is managing to sustain the growth experienced during the health crisis.
In this line, data acquired by Finbold on February 21 indicates that Zoom was the most downloaded business app in the United States across 2022 at 37 million, followed by Microsoft Teams at 25 million, while Indeed ranks third after recording 19.4 million downloads. Microsoft Authenticator emerged fourth with 17.2 million downloads, while Google Chat fifth at 15.1 million.
In terms of revenue, the 2022 fiscal year marked Zoom’s highest returns at $4.09 billion, representing a growth of 54% from 2021’s value of $2.6 billion. In 2020, Zoom’s full-year revenue amounted to $622.6 million, while in 2019, the value was $330.52 million.
Zoom sustaining pandemic gains
Zoom’s ability to rank as the most downloaded business app in the U.S. highlights the platform’s resilience to maintain its popularity after bursting on the scene triggered by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The growth has been sustained despite the world emerging from extended lockdowns. In this case, initial drivers that inspired the platform’s adoption, such as work-from-home policies, have helped the app retain usage for personal and business purposes while adopting specific growth strategies.
The company has leveraged its video install base to shift into related services. Notably, the platform rolled initiatives such as Zoom phone and apps to make meetings more engaging. Zoom executives have stated that the platform had witnessed an addition of about 1,500 new features to improve the meeting experience. Generally, while the downloads for Zoom are impressive, the company has attained the level after being forced to tweak its offerings to consumers by increasingly embracing innovations.
The number of downloads also corresponds with the company’s revenue which has surged steadily in recent years, despite the firm issuing several warnings of negative growth. The revenue growth has been tied to Zoom’s enterprise sector offering.
Challenges facing the business app
However, behind Zoom’s numbers and revenue, the platform has tackled an array of challenges. For instance, the company has fallen victim to the effects of the economic uncertainty that impacted tech companies. Zoom has resorted to cost-cutting measures such as reducing the workforce while attempting to navigate a high inflationary environment.
At the same time, Zoom is still competing for a market share, considering the video conferencing scene has grown exponentially with new and established entities moving to improve services. Despite fierce competition from established brands such as Microsoft, Zoom appears to strive to secure its position as a significant video communications company in the U.S.
To counter the competition, Zoom needed to upgrade its products, although initially, skeptics had warned that its position would diminish with the lifting of the lockdown and availability of vaccines. However, the company’s current position can be viewed as a direct benefit of the hybrid working models with a focus on making the platform hybrid-friendly to attract more clients.
Overall, the lingering economic uncertainty threatens Zoom as the company could be left behind in favor of rival services such as Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Slack. Additionally, with Zoom heavily relying on enterprise services, the company now faces the uphill task of onboarding high-paying clients to retain its growth.
