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Where did Zoom (video conferencing software) come from?

domstah

domstah

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
98
ATX
I don't think I live under a rock, and the company I work for aren't the best at adopting new software in a timely, but ever since January, the meeting software Zoom is everywhere.

We were using WebEx and Skype for Business, now we exclusively use Zoom. I've been interviewing at several places, and it seems everyone is using Zoom.

Not complaining about the software, seems solid enough - but how has it taken over videoconferencing so quickly? Who makes it?
 
mbpm

mbpm

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,602
Dunno, but I just used to for a remote class.

Seems to work alright. Better than skype.
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,084
SV darling. Great stock. Great product. It's a standalone company, started by someone from the original Webex team.

Much better than Webex or GoTo Meeting.
 
andymcc

andymcc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,304
Columbus, OH
The firm I work for pays a lot for webex shit and tons of our employees started just using Zoom instead because of the buzzworthy it is.
 
totofogo

totofogo

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,543
Chicago
The only reason I knew about it was because of their sketchy practices installing local web servers on macs, and now it's everywhere
 
finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
Been around for a long time, especially if you work in tech. Used by lots of smaller to medium sized startups, especially.

But make no mistake, WebEx, as much as I dislike the product, is largely popular and unfortunately a market leader. It has also seen a huge surge of usage in the last few weeks given the situation the world is in.
 
Falcon511

Falcon511

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,152
Its been around since 2011 and its made by Zoom Video Communications. I believe its one of the few that is HIPAA complaint so if you are going to discuss PHI you should use it.
 
Dinda

Dinda

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,411
I knew about i for a while, but never used it until a few days ago, now i have daily meetings with it.
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,084
finalflame said:
Been around for a long time, especially if you work in tech. Used by lots of smaller to medium sized startups, especially.

But make no mistake, WebEx, as much as I dislike the product, is largely popular and unfortunately a market leader.
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It's because Cisco is pretty entrenched in the enterprise space.
 
Conkerkid11

Conkerkid11

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
13,957
entremet said:
SV darling. Great stock. Great product. It's a standalone company, started by someone from the original Webex team.

Much better than Webex or GoTo Meeting.
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Just had to use Webex today, and I definitely agree with this.

I had to submit a request to make an account two days ago.

They just told me today to expect an email with my username and password 24-48 hours from now. Absolutely insane account creation process for an app that works as poorly as it does.
 
CrunchyFrog

CrunchyFrog

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,457
I work analytics for a large healthcare system. Webex had been our default until relatively recently when we started transitioning to Zoom. But especially in recent weeks Webex's service has been pretty poor. Zoom has a way better interface anyway.
 
Fat4all

Fat4all

Woke up, got a money tag, swears a lot
Member
Oct 25, 2017
92,758
here
zoom is compatible with a bunch of other software out the gate

they've been improving it a lot over time, adding integration with slack and whatnot

its pretty easy to use and set up as well, which is a plus
 
Praxis

Praxis

Sausage Tycoon
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,240
UK
I have had two meetings with it in the past few days, software and setup is simple for people that aren't tech savvy at all.
 
bangai-o

bangai-o

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,527
That is what I have been wondering when I was forced to use it last week. I was all, "Why are we not just logging into Google Hangouts?"
 
grang

grang

Member
Nov 13, 2017
10,066
I'm a hero in my office because of Zoom, I'm an admin assistant at a non profit where we have been working from home for the last week. I swear if everybody wasn't dependent of me setting up their Zoom meetings, I'd be absolutely useless, but now I'm the most essential of everyone because no one wants to bother to learn this extremely simple shit.
 
LebGuns

LebGuns

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,127
Zoom is able to track how long you are paying attention to the video conference, and where what windows you are using. It has tracking software embedded, so becareful. Also maybe why companies are preferring it over others as they come to understand that people actually do work from home and don't need adult supervision.
 

Deleted member 4274

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,435
Hilarious thread. I was JUST thinking about this. Where the fuck these niggas come from? Lol. Started seeing reviving virtual meeting requests from a training vendor with zoom attached and being like "what the fuck?" I will say, it took about 6 months for the meetings to work but right now, it's far better than WebEx... wish my company used Zoom.
 
Tbm24

Tbm24

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,306
Provisioning webex is a pain isn't he ass and using it not always smooth. Zoom is by far the easiest I've ever used and works amazing. Have routinely had calls with 80+ employees at the startup I work for without a hitch. This includes both coasts of the US and our Berlin office. Best part is only the host needed a paid account.
 
HomerSimpson-Man

HomerSimpson-Man

Member
Oct 30, 2017
3,629
Well dang.

Someone had put in a ticket to use it this week and I had no idea what it was since we have been using Webex and Skype for Business, and only recently started using Teams.


LebGuns said:
Zoom is able to track how long you are paying attention to the video conference, and where what windows you are using. It has tracking software embedded, so becareful. Also maybe why companies are preferring it over others as they come to understand that people actually do work from home and don't need adult supervision.
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I found out recently that Webex can do the same thing regarding if you have the Webex app up during recent training.
 
Lkr

Lkr

Member
Oct 28, 2017
9,519
totofogo said:
The only reason I knew about it was because of their sketchy practices installing local web servers on macs, and now it's everywhere
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Was gonna say the thing was literally malware last year. Had to remove it from all macs and make sure it didn't reinstall itself again
Webex is usually a mess, MS Teams works best for me
 
ChrisR

ChrisR

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,795
I hate the fact that we use it at work. Teams works better, and has video chat built in. I bang my head on my desk every time I launch it.

edit: It totally has a terrific purpose, bringing people outside your circle in for a meeting, but if everyone is already using teams for chat at work WHY force this new app on me.
 

Chakoo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,840
Toronto, Canada
Zoom has been around for a while and it's amazing. IMO best conferencing app when it comes to video quality, ease of use and how taxing it can be on your system.
 

Deleted member 4274

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,435
LebGuns said:
Zoom is able to track how long you are paying attention to the video conference, and where what windows you are using. It has tracking software embedded, so becareful. Also maybe why companies are preferring it over others as they come to understand that people actually do work from home and don't need adult supervision.
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As a training manager, this appeals to me, LOL. That said, WebEx and gotomeeting have the same functionality.
 
elenarie

elenarie

Game Developer
Verified
Jun 10, 2018
9,809
It came from Skype for Business being so garbage. Microsoft completely dropped the ball on everything Skype branded.

No wonder they are killing it off and replacing it with Teams.
 
Wrexis

Wrexis

Member
Nov 4, 2017
21,247
domstah said:
I don't think I live under a rock, and the company I work for aren't the best at adopting new software in a timely, but ever since January, the meeting software Zoom is everywhere.

We were using WebEx and Skype for Business, now we exclusively use Zoom. I've been interviewing at several places, and it seems everyone is using Zoom.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you're using WebEx and Skype for Business, you're pretty out of date.

It's Slack/Teams/Zoom these days. I mean Skype for Business is dead as of next year.

Skype for Business – Death Exaggerated, but on Life Support

Despite Microsoft's plan to pull the plug on Skype, many enterprises and consumers are still using it.
www.nojitter.com www.nojitter.com
 
Evolved1

Evolved1

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,619
I'd never heard of it, but just today learned we'd be using it for some class trainings that have been changed to distance learning due to the virus. I work for the state, so I guess it's pretty popular.
 
Lexad

Lexad

Member
Nov 4, 2017
3,046
First used it last year for my part time MBA when we were snowed in. Exclusively using it for my last quarter
 
Semiregular

Semiregular

Member
Mar 11, 2020
20
My company just switched from WebEx to Zoom. Its actually a nice switch, much easier and quicker to use.
 
dhlt25

dhlt25

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,816
it's been out for a while but recently picked up steam. I still have a soft spot for ringcentral tho
 

Deleted member 82

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,626
I used Zoom once to make some sort of webinar. Functionally, it worked alright, but I didn't especially care for the UI and all the features. I found it pretty stressful to use live.

I just wish Discord had some kind of business theme you could use to look more professional. Setting up a server is so easy and hassle-free. Works well enough most of the time too, and doesn't require you to install anything on your computer or to even create an account. It's so much better than many paid solutions. Certainly way better than Skype. And ad-free too. I'm sure it wouldn't be reasonable for big corporations with high security needs and stuff, but for most small businesses it's ace.
 
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