Zoom has rebranded its chat product and added additional capabilities as it seeks to compete with Microsoft Teams and Slack. The update includes third-party connectivity.
Zoom’s app, now dubbed Zoom Team Chat, will feature capabilities like transferring in-meeting chat to Team Chat and arranging a meeting from a conversation or channel. The update becomes available before the end of this month.
Zoom was barely known when the pandemic struck in early 2020. It achieved triple-digit sales growth during the height of the crisis as individuals at home used videoconferencing to communicate.
The challenge going ahead
The platform — which competes with WeChat Work, Microsoft Teams, Cisco WebEx, and Salesforce Slack — faces a complex challenge in recruiting high-paying clients to continue its development at a time when many businesses are turning to hybrid work.
Zoom lowered its yearly profit and sales predictions last month as demand eased from epidemic highs. Shares of the pandemic darling sank 7 percent in extended trading after it announced its worst quarterly revenue growth on record as users shifted from virtual to in-person meetings. The stock rose 1 percent to $83.43 but remains 55 percent down from last year as of Friday’s closing.
Zoom’s uphill battle
Zoom is fighting an uphill battle in attracting high-paying clients to continue its growth. Its expenditures have risen as it spends more to entice consumers who are cutting costs due to high inflation.
Operating expenditures increased 51 percent to $704 million in the three months leading up to July. The company now forecasts yearly revenue of $4.39 billion to $4.40 billion, down from $4.53 billion to $4.55 billion previously projected. It anticipates annual adjusted earnings per share between $3.66 and $3.69, down from $3.70 to $3.77.
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