Why Apple Should Buy Zoom

Achieving true synergy in business is an elusive goal that is rarely achieved at scale and can be difficult to measure. The math that tracks the interaction between two or more elements to produce a combined effect in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts is hardly an exact science.?

As abstract as the concept of synergy may be, if there were a poster child to represent it, Microsoft and Teams would be the obvious choice right out of central casting.???

While Zoom has emerged as the leading stand alone or “pure play” video platform, Microsoft Teams benefits from the synergy of deep integration with the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem.??

Video Is The Gateway To Unified Messaging

As a result of synergy from integration with other Microsoft productivity apps, Teams offers a more robust set of features beyond just meetings, including team chat, file sharing, task management and email functionality.??

This makes Teams a more attractive option for businesses already invested in the Microsoft 365 suite but, more importantly, it sets it up to be a catalyst driving a new wave of user adoption.?

Certified Apps Dominate

Microsoft 365 Certified apps are already seeing an average increase of 65% year-over-year in monthly active users, suggesting customers feel safer using apps with proven cybersecurity and compliance features.?

Meanwhile, Microsoft 365 Certification is helping developers win more business, as customers report considering certified apps before non-certified apps around 90% of the time.

One Microsoft 365 customer, a bank, achieved an adoption rate of 70%-80% after targeting 100,000 users for Microsoft 365 adoption.?

Overall, it has seen steady growth in paid seats, reaching over 400 million as of Q2 2024.? The data points to robust and growing adoption of Microsoft 365 across enterprises of various sizes.

Zoom Can’t Add Features Fast Enough

For its part, Zoom has been working to expand its platform to better compete with Teams, adding features like phone services, webinars, and improved integrations.?

It is also the beneficiary of, at least for now, a coopetition mindset enabling interoperability, allowing users to join Zoom meetings from within Teams and vice versa.?

It’s difficult not to imagine a scorpion and frog scenario at a later juncture so it would behoove Zoom leadership to play offense while crafting its own destiny.?

Critics are quick to put out that as a standalone video platform company, Zoom may be vulnerable to its limitations in terms of integration with other platforms.

But Zoom is moving quickly to expand its horizons in the tech ecosystem, working out compatibility deals with software and hardware vendors and rolling out the Zoom Conference Room Connector product which allows existing video conferencing room systems to join Zoom Meetings.?

Zoom Phone integrates with leading business applications like Salesforce, Slack, and, of course, its nemesis Microsoft Teams.

There are those who will argue that Zoom compares favorably to competitors like Google Meet and Microsoft Teams in terms of its standalone versatility and broad third-party integrations.?

A Haven For Best Of Breed Purists?

Perhaps Zoom’s neutral Switzerland status will be its greatest strength as its clients choose to design their own custom-made tech stack in favor of Microsoft’s plug and play solutions.???

The question is, why isn’t Zoom part of something bigger and broader? Which tech ecosystem would benefit the most from acquiring it? Some analysts point to the contact center and customer experience space, but why limit the possibilities??

Imagine if Apple owned Zoom

It could then connect Zoom to every other application within its trillion-dollar walled garden, allowing for deeper integration between Zoom and other Apple products and services, creating a more seamless user experience.?

Tighter integration with Apple's ecosystem would allow Zoom to be more deeply embedded in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and other Apple platforms.?

This could enable features like instant meeting launching from Calendar, Siri integration for voice controls, and seamless switching between Apple devices during calls. Of course, powering all of this will be AI augmentation technology.

Growing The Pie

Leveraging Apple's hardware and software expertise to enhance Zoom's video and audio quality, as well as reliability and performance on Apple devices could lead to a more polished, higher-quality Zoom experience.

Bundling Zoom with other Apple services like iCloud, Apple Business Essentials, or Apple One to provide more value to customers could make Zoom more accessible and affordable for Apple users.

Integrating Zoom deeper into its data privacy and security policies would almost certainly boost user confidence as Apple is known for its emphasis on user privacy.

Expanded Zoom availability and promotion across Apple's massive user base and retail channels would drive wider adoption of the platform, delivering substantial network effects.??

Overall, Apple's ownership of Zoom could create a more tightly integrated, high-quality, and privacy-focused video conferencing experience that is deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem.?

Although, this would also raise concerns about Apple's growing market power and the potential for reduced competition in the video conferencing space, it could argue that by growing the pie across channels it opens up opportunities for new market entrants.??

So far though, if there is an Apple sized play for Zoom brewing out there, it's securely positioned under the cone of silence. We hear more about Zoom being the consolidator as in the confirmed talks to acquire cloud contact center company Five9, though the deal ultimately fell through.?

The value of expanding its capabilities in the contact center domain is a natural extension of its core business but the bigger story here is an ecosystem integration with tons of, well, synergy.??

SWOT Report is now Business Intelligence Weekly. The creator and journalist behind the digital publication, Andrew Ellenberg, is President & Managing Partner of Rise Integrated, an innovative studio that creates, produces, and distributes original multimedia content across digital touchpoints. To submit story ideas or ask about custom multimedia publishing, call 816-506-1257, email [email protected], or read more of his work in Forbes. To learn about his company check out this profile story.