Despite concerns, Zoom sales boom amid Covid-19 pandemic

New Delhi, June 3 (IANS) Surrounded by concerns over privacy and security issues, video meet app Zoom has reported $328.2 million in revenue for its quarter that ended April 30, up 169 per cent (year-over-year) as more people join its platform in the social distancing times.

The San Jose, California-based company said that 769 customers contributed more than $100,000 in TTM (trailing 12 months) revenue which was up 90 per cent from the same quarter last fiscal year, as it saw 354 per cent (year-over-year) growth in nearly 265,400 customers with more than 10 employees joining its platform.

"We were humbled by the accelerated adoption of the Zoom platform around the globe in Q1. The COVID-19 crisis has driven higher demand for distributed, face-to-face interactions and collaboration using Zoom. Use cases have grown rapidly as people integrated Zoom into their work, learning, and personal lives," said Eric S. Yuan, Founder and CEO of Zoom.

While Zoom saw its popularity soaring in the last three months, governments and law enforcement agencies also sought clarification from the video meet app over data hoarding and cyber hoarding, along with issues of unauthorised access termed as "zoom-bombing".

After the Supreme Court in India sought the response of the Central government over a petition seeking a ban on Zoom, the video calling app claimed that it "takes user privacy, security, and trust extremely seriously."

"Zoom takes user privacy, security and trust extremely seriously. We have been focused on enhancing our commitment to security and privacy under our 90-day plan announced on April 1, and have made significant progress," the company said in a statement.

For its second quarter of the fiscal Year 2021, the company expects total revenue between $495 million and $500 million.

"Our primary grants in Q1 were toward organisations making a difference during COVID-19," said Yuan.

When the firm sold its first shares to the public last year, it was valued at $15.9 billion which went up to more than $58 billion on Tuesday after the results.

Zoom growth has led to several tech giants ramping up their video conferencing services like Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Facebook Messenger Rooms, among others.

Zoom recently announced that it will expand its engineering team with up to 500 new headcount based in Phoenix, Arizona and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the US.

"Given the scale at which we operate and the importance of the communications happening on our platform, there is no time for delay and no room for error," Yuan had said in a statement.

--IANS

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