Zoom buys start-up Workvivo. The acquisition bears little relation to Zoom’s actual core business and shows that the company wants to be more than a meetings specialist.

Zoom buys Irish start-up Workvivo. Workvivo is a platform that encourages communication and employee engagement within an organization. We saved quite a bit by calling the platform a kind of Facebook for businesses, but both the layout and the inclusion of a newsfeed with posts and comments are very reminiscent. It is the goal of Workvivo to give employees a feeling of connectedness to each other and to their company.

corporate culture and commitment

The attentive reader will note that none of these things are “video calls.” Zoom’s acquisition comes as a bit of a surprise in that regard. It shows that Zoom wants to be more than a video conferencing application. With the takeover, Zoom wants to become a much broader platform that takes care of the entire digital aspect of hybrid working. Video calls are an important part of this, but so are other forms of communication and engagement.

It is intended to integrate Workvivo with the Zoom platform. This appears to be a drastic integration that will transform Zoom as much as Workvivo itself. The Workvivo team will be given a place within Zoom, but what current Workvivo customers can expect isn’t entirely clear. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. The purchase price is unknown.