Zoom's head of India and SAARC says that Indian soonicorns and unicorns are back to their spending ways, after a lull during the funding winter
As the world gradually transitions back to office work, Sameer Raje, general manager and head of India and SAARC for Zoom, spoke to Outlook Business about the company’s evolving strategy. He discussed how Zoom is adapting its offerings to align with changing customer needs, its focus on India as a key market, and other significant developments shaping the company’s future.
As the world fully transitions back to the office, how is Zoom reinventing itself to meet the evolving needs of the modern workplace?
I have to take you a few steps back. We are no longer looking at Zoom as just a video conferencing standpoint. It has completely changed today to become one app, which is a full collaboration package. There are two parts, one is the employee experience EX and another is the customer experience called the CX. Zoom has evolved into a comprehensive platform with two main offerings: Zoom Workplace, which includes meetings, chat, email, calendar, and productivity tools, and business services focused on virtual agents, webinars, events, and contact centres, all integrated into your preferred applications with AI embedded features. Our customers are using Zoom to manage virtual receptions, set up kiosks even pre book parking slots. The use case is only increasing, as we recently introduced 3,000 new features.
But video conferencing still remains a major chunk of your business, do you look at it changing in the next 5 years?
Our transformation is significant. Five to seven years ago, we were a video-first collaboration company, but today we are an AI-first platform. One key innovation is our employee engagement platform, Workvivo, which we acquired a year or so ago, which acts as a private social network within the organisation. It allows employees, especially frontline workers, to engage, contribute, and connect with company values and leadership messages.
This platform includes features like messaging, training, and recognition, all integrated to promote engagement. It’s now one of our most sought-after products, with companies like Meta recommending it for migration. Additionally, our platform has evolved beyond meetings, now offering email, calendars, schedulers, tasks, and document management, allowing users to track everything discussed in one place. So, as the workforce needs changes, we upgrade ourselves ahead of it.
Right now, what are your top focus sectors in India, are they the top 100 countries or SMBs? Who do you think is willing to spend more on AI adoption?
In India, the SMB segment is large and diverse. We also have a significant number of edtech startups and unicorns in general, while the enterprise sector has fewer but larger deals. This balance drives our focus across both segments, with dedicated teams in each. Over the last 2 years, we've seen a shift in spending patterns, particularly among unicorns and startups.
There was an uncertain period, there was a dip in investment for some time, but it is coming back, and unicorns are spending as much as they were spending two years ago. This shift reflects a growing focus on digital transformation and enhanced productivity, with AI becoming a key area of investment.
With all these developments happening, how do you look at India as a market for Zoom?
India is one of the most significant markets for Zoom, outside of the US. We have recently launched the Zoom Phone in India as well. Now Workvivo is also available in India and our majority of our clients are using it and giving us great feedback. We are working with a wide range of clients starting from big corporations to SMBs to startups. We also have a significant manpower in India now.
We recently did a survey where we found that Indian companies and their managers are more likely to adapt and implement AI and other advanced technologies. The other countries covered in this survey include US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Singapore, Australia and Netherlands, Italy, Spain etc., so, this gives us even more reasons to focus and invest ourselves in India.
What are your plans of R&D investments in India?
We have two key centres in India. One is in Bangalore, which serves as our global support centre. This tech hub is dedicated to supporting the Zoom platform worldwide, with a large portion of the support team based there. The second centre is in Chennai, where our R&D efforts are focused. The Chennai centre is primarily engaged in developing new products and exploring emerging technologies, with a significant emphasis on our contact centre solutions, which are a major focus for us right now. We are also working with the public sector, and the government support has been there, right from launching CoWin, it will only go ahead.
How has the edtech sector evolved over time amidst all of this?
There was a time when edtech companies faced challenges, especially with physical classrooms, as they realised the need for a shift. However, things have now come full circle. Coaching institutes and organisations have embraced the idea of reducing physical classrooms. For example, one tech company CIO shared how they had thousands of physical classrooms across the country pre-pandemic, but today they have zero.
When asked about the impact on students, they said the reach has increased, resulting in more students rather than fewer, similar to how banks are reducing ATMs due to UPI. While there was initial uncertainty and pushback, particularly with schools transitioning online, the edtech sector, especially higher education, is thriving. Many institutions have fully embraced virtual classrooms, and this segment continues to grow.