Zoom Video Communications is expanding its massively popular video chat platform to smart devices as the pandemic continues to keep much of the country working and socializing from home.
The San Jose, California-based video conferencing software company will soon bring its technology to Portal from Facebook, Amazon Echo Show and Google Nest Hub Max, the company said Wednesday (Aug. 19) in a press release.
“It’s more apparent than ever that people are looking for easy-to-use displays for their video communications needs, both professionally and personally,” said Oded Gal, Zoom’s chief product officer, in the release.
Zoom on Portal is planned for release in September, while Zoom on Amazon Echo Show and Zoom on Google Nest Hub Max are expected to be available by the end of 2020, the release stated.
The expansion follows Zoom’s record first quarter (Q1) results as the coronavirus turned the company into a household name, growing its revenues 169 percent to $328 million from $122 million from the same quarter one year ago, the report said.
To stay competitive, Facebook unveiled a free video-chat service in April called Messenger Rooms that allows as many as 50 people to virtually meet at once.
“To help people feel like they’re together even when they are or have to be physically apart, we’re announcing features across our products that make video chat and live video easier and more natural,” Facebook said.
The company said Messenger Rooms will allow users to “invite anyone to join your video call, even if they don’t have a Facebook account. Rooms will soon hold up to 50 people with no time limit. Host celebrations, gather a book club or just hang out.”
The number of adults working from home has tripled since before the pandemic, with one-third wanting to upgrade their work-from-home set-up if their company paid for it, according to a study from Morning Consult, a Washington, D.C. data intelligence company, the release stated.
In addition, a survey of company leaders found 47 percent said they intend to allow employees to work remotely full time, according to data from Gartner, a Connecticut-based global research and advisory firm.
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