Zoom Video Communications is exploring new age technologies to tap into the hybrid working model that is set to take shape with the fading of the pandemic and people getting back to office.

Sameer Raje says, “plans were afoot to go beyond being just video calling application to a collaboration platform.”

“The new age technologies that are being explored to add features to the Zoom platform would make it more cool, accessible and more relevant, as the world gets back to work in office in some form or the other. It could be avatars, it could be a virtual world, it could be virtual interaction, it could be IoT, or multiple other things,” says Raje.

Last week Zoom Introduced the avatars feature, which will replace a user's appearance during a video call with that of a virtual animal that mirrors his or her head movements and facial expressions.

“The market is changing and any organization will have to evolve around that, businesses are talking about getting collaboration embedded into their workflows that is what we are doing. We are no longer just a video-calling application; we are a complete collaboration platform,” Raje adds.

The Nasdaq-listed video-communications company posted revenue of $4.099 billion, up 55 percent, last year. But, Zoom, which became a household name during the pandemic, has seen growth slow in the last few quarters. During November 2021-January 2022 (the company’s fiscal year ends in January), its revenue rose 21 percent to $1.071 billion, which was a deceleration from 35 percent growth it reported in the previous quarter and 36.7 percent in the January 2021 quarter. The stock too has slumped over 38 percent year-to-date.

“If you want to tap into the talent pool in cities and towns, especially in remote areas, you definitely need good infrastructure, good connectivity and a good presence there. That sometimes becomes a challenge in our country. And that's something which we need to do, and I'm not even talking about the far north-eastern states. It gets even harder in those regions,” adds Raje.