Verizon set to take on Zoom with purchase of BlueJeans

Prior to the lockdown, at the end of 2019, Zoom boasted around 10 million daily users, but this skyrocketed to 200 million around the start of April.

 

It has not been smooth sailing though, with the platform coming under serious scrutiny for its lack of security, as well as allegations of selling private data. 

 

Perhaps it is the shaky ground upon which Zoom finds itself that has inspired massive US operator Verizon to purchase one of its major rivals, BlueJeans Networks.

 

The specifics of the deal are currently unknown, but the agreement is reportedly for less than $500 million.

 

“Collaboration and communications have become top of the agenda for businesses of all sizes and in all sectors in recent months,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business.

 

Verizon plans to integrate BlueJean’s video conferencing platform with the rest of its 5G portfolio, hoping to target “high growth areas such as telemedicine, distance learning, and field service work” according to the press release. 

 

BlueJeans brings with it some hefty business of its own, already counting Facebook and LinkedIn among its clients. 

 

This purchase, expected to finalise in Q2 of this year, will only further position BlueJeans as a rival of the much larger Zoom. With the negative press surrounding Zoom at the moment, it seems there is certainly an opportunity for BlueJeans to siphon off a considerable amount of platform’s business, but whether it can ultimately compete in a broader sense remains to be seen – the public has proven time and time again that it values simplicity and familiarity over security, so it seems hard to imagin.

 

Nonetheless, this seems a timely purchase when considering the remote working landscape, both currently and the one that the pandemic is likely to leave behind.