Image Courtesy: Aroged
Zoom, a video conferencing platform, has announced the acquisition of cloud contact centre software business Five9 for $14.7 billion. “We are always searching for new ways to improve our platform, and the inclusion of Five9 is a natural match that will provide even more enjoyment and value to our customers,” Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said in the release. He also stated that the agreement will bring additional corporate clients to Zoom’s customer base and that Five9 is “complementary” to Zoom Phone’s cloud infrastructure.
According to the terms of the agreement, Five9 will become an operational subsidiary of Zoom, and CEO Rowan Trollope will join the business as a president reporting to Yuan. Five9’s full-year sales increased by 33% year on year to $435 million in 2020.
Five9 is Zoom’s first billion-dollar purchase, and it comes at a time when the business is trying to build on the momentum it garnered during the coronavirus epidemic, as people worked and went to school remotely amid lockdowns. Many people are now returning to work in offices, at least part-time. “Over the last year, the trend toward a hybrid workforce has intensified, accelerating contact centres’ transition to the cloud and boosting consumer demand for customised and personalised experiences,” Yuan wrote in a separate blog post about the transaction.
Zoom’s stock price has more than quadrupled since pandemic lockdowns began last year, although growth has begun to ebb significantly. Zoom’s revenue increased 326 percent in 2020, while it increased 191 percent to $956 million in the first quarter of 2021.
