Video Conferencing Wars

We see a new battlefield being drawn.

Zoom caught the attention of most due to the pandemic. With stay at home orders issued, businesses tried to keep up operations by shifting to video conferencing. The user base for Zoom absolutely exploded.

As did the stock.

Of course, such a lucrative market is not going to remain untouched.

Zoom started to take a hit when security concerns mired the company. This allowed other entrants to position themselves.

One such company is Verizon. A leading telecommunications company, it recently acquired a competitor of Zoom, Bluejeans. The $400 million price tag will provide this service when it is integrated into Verizon's 5G system.

https://www.cnet.com/news/verizon-to-buy-zoom-video-conference-rival-bluejeans/

Verizon's move is going to allow it to take on, not only Zoom, but also Skype. The Microsoft owned platform is another one of the leading video conferencing applications out there. This is getting to be a heated space.

I would be remiss if I did not mention another company that is stepping up efforts, Facebook. The social media giant announced that it is going to take on Zoom by expanding its video rooms.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/24/tech/facebook-video-calling-upgrades/index.html

It only makes sense for companies to focus in this direction. The coronavirus has pushed companies to embrace technology. What happens after this end is going to determine the fate of these moves.

Will people return to operating the way they were before all this hit or will the technology finally take hold?

The obvious answer is likely a combination. There will be a greater percentage of interaction taking place via video conferencing. When people return to work, the numbers might fall off but will be higher than before.

We can also bet that companies will look to utilize this service as much as possible instead of flying employees out for training or meetings.

With added competition, we are also going to see a lot more promotion of the technology. As it improves, companies will receive more value. At the same time, people will be getting accustomed to communicating in this manner meaning they will be resistant to going back to previous methods.

Through all this, the technological capabilities are likely to explode. There is going to be some serious R&D taking place, especially from the big players. They all are going to try to outdo each other.

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