Zoom pivots beyond pandemic surge, doubles down on India and enterprise

Zoom, which became synonymous with video calls during the Covid-19 pandemic, is now repositioning itself as a broader enterprise collaboration platform as workplaces return to normalcy. The company is doubling down on AI-led collaboration tools, enterprise solutions, and India as a key hub for engineering and R&D, even as it faces intense competition from rivals like Microsoft and Google.

In an interview with Times Internet, Sameer Raje, General Manager and Head – India & SAARC at Zoom, spoke about the company’s post-pandemic transition, India strategy, and the road ahead. Excerpts:

Q: Zoom became one of the most widely used platforms during the pandemic. Now that things have stabilised and people are back in offices, how is Zoom doing in India?

Sameer Raje: Zoom today is much more than just meetings. During the pandemic we became synonymous with video meetings, but the platform has evolved significantly since then. Today Zoom is a comprehensive collaboration platform that brings together employee experience and customer experience, with AI embedded across the ecosystem. Our goal is to enable seamless collaboration across organisations and with customers.
Q: But the popularity during COVID was extraordinary. With competitors like Microsoft and Google now pushing their own collaboration platforms, does that put pressure on Zoom to maintain the same prominence?

Sameer Raje: If Zoom became synonymous with video meetings, it’s because we were very good at it. Every product has a lifecycle.

When we started in 2011, our focus was video meetings. By 2020, we had become a household name for web meetings.

Today, Zoom has evolved into a full UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service), CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) and CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) platform that supports both employee collaboration and customer engagement. We continue to focus on what we do best—bringing people, systems and workflows together through collaboration.

Q: Large platforms like Microsoft and Google bundle collaboration tools with their broader office productivity suites. Does that put Zoom at a disadvantage?

Sameer Raje: We look at the problem differently. Traditionally, people create documents, slides or spreadsheets and then share them for discussion. Our philosophy is that documents should actually be the output of collaboration. For instance, Zoom Docs can emerge directly from conversations in meetings or chats. It is built around co-creation. Similarly, our new AI-enabled docs, sheets and slides focus on collaboration first, with AI embedded into the process.

Q: How important is India in Zoom’s global strategy?

Sameer Raje: India is extremely important for Zoom on two fronts. First is the market opportunity. The size and potential of the Indian market are significant, which is why we recently launched services like Zoom Phone and Zoom Contact Center in the country. These require regulatory approvals and significant investment.

Second, it is talent. We have two major technology centres in India that support the global Zoom platform and contribute to research and development. Indian talent plays a key role in our global product development efforts.

Q: How large are your R&D and development centres in India? Do you plan to expand hiring?

Sameer Raje: They are sizable operations and among our largest centres outside the US. While we don’t disclose country-specific numbers, we will continue to expand our teams as the business grows and new product requirements emerge.

Q: With India’s new data protection laws now in place, how is Zoom addressing issues like data localisation and privacy?

Sameer Raje: Zoom is fundamentally a collaboration platform—we do not store customer data unless users choose to store it. For paid enterprise customers in India, their data flows through Indian data centres. We comply fully with Indian data security and privacy regulations and ensure that the platform adheres to all applicable guidelines.

Q: What kind of product development work is happening from India?

Sameer Raje: India has a deep talent pool, which is why our teams here are heavily involved in product innovation. Currently, a significant part of the R&D work in India is focused on our flagship Zoom Contact Center platform.

Q: How do you see Zoom’s India operations evolving over the next five years?

Sameer Raje: From our perspective, Zoom already has a sizable presence in India. Globally we are more than a 7,000-employee company and India is an important part of that footprint. As we scale new products and services, we will continue to expand our operations here.

Q: Has Zoom usage in India increased or declined compared to the pandemic period?

Sameer Raje: Usage has largely stabilised. During the pandemic, many casual users joined the platform—for example people using the free 45-minute meetings for personal calls. That segment has naturally reduced. But enterprise and mid-market usage has remained stable because Zoom has always been focused on corporate collaboration and business use cases.

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