Tag Archives: Zoom

News

Tech News : Zoom Hopes New Features Make It “One Stop Shop”

Zoom has announced that its new (beta) productivity tools, Zoom Mail and Calendar (clients and Services), combined with its existing features will mean that workers will have everything they need in one app.

Give Workers A ‘Toggle Tax’ Break 

Zoom says that the new productivity tool, working together with existing features within Zoom, such as Zoom Meetings, Phone, Whiteboard, and Team Chat will mean that “teams can move quickly and seamlessly from email to a video meeting, elevate a chat message to a phone call, collaborate on projects, and early next year, they can share out whiteboards, all without ever leaving the Zoom app.” 

The New Tools 

Zoom’s new (beta) productivity tools are:

– Zoom Mail and Calendar Clients. These will let any Zoom user (free or paid) access their existing email accounts from popular third-party email services directly in the Zoom desktop app. Zoom says that this is designed to help users to focus more on their work by saving them the trouble of having to toggle between different apps.

– Zoom Mail and Calendar Services. The Zoom Mail service will allow customers (in the U.S. and Canada at present) with Zoom One Pro or Zoom Standard Pro plans to be set up an email account hosted by Zoom at no additional cost. Also, customers with a Zoom One Business or higher plan will be able to set up a custom domain. The Zoom Mail service also gives end-to-end encryption for any emails sent between active Zoom Mail Service users and expiring emails with access-restricted links for external recipients. Zoom says that its Zoom Mail Service is “designed for small-to-medium businesses without dedicated IT resources who also have a need for enhanced privacy in their business communications, such as law firms or any business needing to share private information within their team.”  

More Planned 

Zoom is also set to introduce features like Zoom Spots in early 2023. The feature “virtual coworking space” enables more spontaneous video calls to replicates the “working alongside” aspect of an open office. Zoom also offers cloud VoIP services with ‘Zoom Phone.’

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

These new tools are squarely aimed at SME businesses and see Zoom competing with platforms like Teams, Slack, Google Meet, Skype, and the likes of WhatsApp which has been introducing a raft of new features, thereby widening its appeal to business customers. As Zoom points out, it hopes that these tools, which relate to “business critical” communications will make business customers more dependent on (and loyal to) just the Zoom app for most of their business comms needs and stop them from “hopping between apps”, i.e. using competing apps. The end-to-end encryption and expiring emails aspects of the new tools are reminiscent of valued features of WhatsApp (Teams also offers E2EE for calls). Ever since the pandemic dramatically swelled the numbers of users for Zoom and other comms apps and collaborative working platforms, there has been a battle raging for market share with an expansion of features to cover more and more business needs to make themselves more of one-stop-shop.

News

Tech News : Zoom Updates For Collaboration (And Fun)

Zoom has announced that its new apps, updates, and features will improve collaboration and creativity, thereby increasing engagement and interaction among attendees of hybrid-working meetings.

Collaborate Mode

Zoom says that its new ‘Collaborate Mode’ will improve engagement by elevating the screen-sharing model to be interactive, with participants seeing the host’s app view (similar to a shared screen view), along with an invite so they can preview the app experience before joining. Zoom says this mode will enable hosts to start collaborative experiences for any app during all-hands meetings, brainstorming sessions, and more.

Examples 

Collaborative Mode works across all browsers, and examples of Collaborate Mode for apps (using apps together within Zoom) include:

– Using Miro‘s online whiteboard in Zoom so meeting participants can launch a collaborative workspace for everyone to interact, co-create, and capture ideas in real time.

– Having fun and breaking the ice in meetings by using Playco’s #AskAway social game designed to help co-workers get to know one another in the minutes before meetings.

– Using MURAL’s digital whiteboard and collaboration features to help teams innovate.

– Using the CODA app in Zoom for taking a vote, prioritising Q&A topics, and uncovering how the team are feeling about a meeting.

– Getting the team involved in fun activities by using Funtivity by Hermis, which also works well for new staff-member onboarding, plus customer advice.

Breakout Rooms 

The other new addition to Zoom to improve collaboration and involvement is Breakout Rooms. This is where meeting participants can break into smaller groups for focused discussions or tight-knit collaboration. With Breakout Rooms, the meeting host can split participants into separate groups automatically or manually, allow participants to select and enter Breakout Rooms as they please, and switch between rooms at any time.

Breakout Room Incorporating Zoom Apps 

Zoom says that Breakout Rooms can also incorporate Zoom Apps to help make sessions more engaging, productive, and fun. Examples include:

– Using Welo’s visual workspace to recreate collaborative physical spaces and create a more human experience.

– Simplifying the whole process of Breakout Rooms by using twine for Zoom, an all-in-one Breakout Room management app.

– Increasing Breakout Room engagement by using Funtivity by Hermis.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The pandemic launched a major battle between collaborative working platforms such as Zoom, Teams and Slack, all of which received a rapid and vast increase in user numbers. Now, in the post-pandemic environment where hybrid working has become popular, the battle is on to keep adding value, retaining customers, and tempting users to switch.  Allowing customers to collaboratively use a range of engaging, fun, and teamwork-enhancing apps within Zoom, along with the addition of Breakout Rooms allows Zoom to add value, complete with Teams (which also has breakout rooms and allows 3rd party apps), and hopefully retain its huge post-pandemic customer base. Also, by allowing apps like Welo within Zoom (which features a digital house with users represented by an avatars and able to go to individual rooms for a private meeting), Zoom can compete with platforms like Meta (Facebook) and show itself to be forward-thinking and in touch with the new direction of comms platforms.