Zoom Phone; the new thing?

Below is a really good run-down article of the new Zoom “Phone” offering, along with links to other useful info like compatible phones.

It will be very interesting to see where this all goes over time because while vendors are playing nice with each other (i.e. integrating with each other’s services), the fact of the matter is they are all trying to get into each other’s businesses. Witness:

1. Microsoft offering voice services, pushing Skype for Business * Microsoft Teams, etc.
2. Cisco offering phones, and the Webex line of video and collaboration products and services.
3. Traditional phone companies like TPx Communications (formerly TelePacific) offering video, soft codecs, etc.
4. VOIP phone companies, like RingCentral, offering video.
5. Crestron Electronics now offering phones (and getting cozy with Microsoft on their Teams direction).
6. Zoom Video Communications now in the phone business.

Whichever way this plays out over the next three to five years, any competent integrator (like LightWerks) will need to choose their partners wisely AND become experts at integrating all these services…because their future will depend upon it.