(Technology) – Zoom Video Communications’ March average user numbers were approximately three times its nearest rival Microsoft Teams, according to research firm Apptopia.
This can be attributed to coronavirus-driven stay-at-home demand lift for video conferencing platforms.
Zoom’s daily U.S. user volumes went up to a record 4.84 million on Monday with millions of children switching to virtual learning programs and companies informing their employees to work from home to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
Microsoft Teams was used by 1.56 million users on the same day and Slack saw under 500,000 users.
Zoom has a huge following among schools and students. It has even relaxed norms for schools, lifting its 40-minute meeting limit on free accounts so that online classes can be facilitated.
“First, Zoom’s big advantage, as far as software goes, is it’s scalable, easy to use, and deployable across multiple devices. Second, Zoom has a freemium model, which allows companies to dip their toes in the water before committing to a large roll-out, and expansions come easy.”
– Rishi Jaluria, DA Davidson analyst
Such video conferencing platforms can be used for both video or audio calls ideal for one-to-one meetings, group conferences, collaboration and productivity apps and a secure interface.
All three apps- Slack, Teams and Zoom have free versions which have limited features. They also have tiered pricing for their paid versions.
Even though Zoom has seen an increase in its user numbers, this may not necessarily translate to a revenue jump.
“We have definitely seen an uptick in usage, but a lot of that is on the free side.”
– Kelly Steckelberg, Zoom CEO
Zoom’s shares were trading at $146 on Tuesday, which is a jump from its debut price of $36 apiece.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.