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Zoom held its Zoom Perspectives analyst conference at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, giving analysts the opportunity to hear about the company’s latest AI developments. The central theme of the event was “conversation to completion.” Kicking off the event, Head of Market Insights and Analyst Relations, Cheri Hulse introduced Zoom’s strategic priorities, which would be reinforced throughout the event: Elevate Workplace with AI Drive growth of new AI products Scale AI-first CX Conversation to Completion CEO Eric Yuan explained the concept of conversation to completion, noting, “We focus on the conversation and aim for completion. Before the AI era, that wasn’t Zoom’s strength, but now with AI, everything is possible and we can focus on the completion part.” He added that Zoom is evolving from a collaboration- and communications-centric company into a conversation and completion company, with AI acting as the connector. Zoom continues to expand its product breadth and depth with a full enterprise software stack and one connected platform. This is a different architectural diagram than we've seen in the past, with Zoom's many apps on the top layer, above the semantic layer, considered "the brain of the system." Similar to a routing engine, the Orchestrator turns conversations into coordinated actions and determines what happens next and where work needs to be done. Memory connects all your meetings, chats, documents, interactions, remembering what was discussed previously and carries that forward into the current conversations. Zoom's federated AI brings it all together. CFO Michelle Chang expanded on the conversations to completion concept, describing Zoom’s vision for a system of action. In this model, work happens both inside and outside the organization and is brought together into a unified system that drives outcomes. According to Chang, Zoom is redefining modern work by turning conversations and unstructured context into action and monetization. By connecting internal collaboration with external interactions, Zoom aims to transform conversations into outcomes through embedded context. She explained, “With the system of action, Zoom moves into a differentiated position in terms of the value we provide to customers. We bring context into action and move into a whole new relationship, and into a richer relationship with our customers.” The System of Action for Modern Work Setting the stage for the rest of the sessions, CMO Kim Storin described Zoom’s system of action for modern work as a framework that turns live interaction into completed work. Built on Zoom’s integrated platform, the system captures context from conversations wherever work happens—both inside and outside the organization. This approach creates what Storin described as an execution surface that can observe and act on work in real time. AI then turns live context into completed workflows. For example, documents, presentations, and spreadsheets can be created directly within Zoom. The platform captures both the human-to-human interactions and the human-to-system and human-to-agent connections where work actually occurs. Storin explained that Zoom’s AI is embedded across the platform and captures context at the moment of interaction. Zoom’s federated AI model selects the most appropriate model for each task. As a result, the entire platform can be layered on top of this system-of-action concept. Storin also provided additional detail on the company’s strategic priorities. In this video interview, Storin discussed the key themes and messages from the event, as well as the Zoom Ahead marketing campaign. Scaling AI-First CX Analysts covering the customer experience market were particularly interested to hear that one of Zoom’s three priorities is scaling its AI-first CX strategy. While Zoom entered the CCaaS and CX market relatively recently, the company has moved quickly and now offers a competitive platform. As Chris Morrisey, GM of CX, pointed out, “At my first Zoom Perspectives two years ago, the contact center track was an interesting side conversation. Look at us today - we are a strategic pillar for the company.” The numbers reflect that momentum. Zoom CX grew in the high double digits in fiscal 2026 and surpassed $100 million in ARR. In addition, all of the 10 largest CX deals in Q4 2025 included paid AI. Like most contact center vendors, Zoom is focusing on customer experience rather than just CCaaS. The goal is to enhance human intelligence with AI-driven automation. Scaling AI-first CX involves building a system of action across customer experience workflows and customer-facing processes. It also means unifying virtual agents and AI-assisted human agents to improve service outcomes while reducing costs. Morrisey explained that the Zoom CX platform delivers the same scalability and reliability as the broader Zoom platform, orchestrating workflows and completing tasks across the organization. The system-of-action approach includes more communication channels and customer touchpoints, all powered by federated AI. Building on the conversation-to-completion narrative, Zoom CX completes the customer journey by either taking action automatically or enabling the human agent when an interaction is transferred. Another important part of the CX strategy is CX Insights, which recommends automation opportunities—such as high-volume use cases—and estimates the impact on staffing levels. These insights also tie into Zoom’s workforce management capabilities. In this video, Chris Morrisey explained what conversation to completion means in the context of Zoom CX and provided an update on the platform. Drilling down further into Zoom CX, Michelle Couture discussed the key CX messages from the event. She expanded on Connected CX, which has a shared intelligence layer that provides insights and guidance to drive more connected customer journeys Couture also highlighted updates to Zoom Virtual Agent (ZVA) 3.0, including enhanced natural language, new administrative capabilities, and KB Suggest, where the virtual agent learns from live human engagement calls and autocreates knowledge.   Zoom Workplace No Zoom Perspectives event would be complete without a discussion about Zoom Workplace. In this video, Theresa Larkin, Head of Zoom Workplace & AI Product Marketing, discussed how the conversation-to-completion concept applies to the Workplace platform. Larkin explained how Zoom uses agentic capabilities to take actions such as triggering workflows, creating drafts, and building presentations. She also outlined Zoom’s agentic AI strategy and how the company combines structured and unstructured third-party data to trigger agent-driven workflows. In addition, Larkin highlighted new Workplace capabilities, including agentic features that enhance the meeting lifecycle. Closing Thoughts The conversation is no longer just about meetings and collaboration—it is about using AI and agentic AI to drive outcomes. Actions, task completion, and measurable results are becoming the key focus areas. Meeting summaries and interaction notes are useful, but the real value comes from what organizations do with that conversational data. This is where Zoom is placing its focus. Zoom occupies a unique position because it sits on top of many of the conversations organizations have internally and externally. These interactions occur across meetings, collaboration, calling, CX, workforce engagement (Workvivo), as well as events and webinars. Zoom is now extending beyond the conversation layer into completion capabilities, including the ability to create documents, presentations, and spreadsheets directly within the Zoom app. Another major focus is reducing friction by connecting signals that already exist across the organization and turning them into actionable insights. Conversations take place across many environments—meeting rooms, webinars, and in-person interactions—creating a large amount of unstructured data. Zoom’s AI analyzes this information, extracts insights, and then drives automation and action. One challenge Zoom—and many other vendors—faces is enabling channel partners to effectively sell AI capabilities. Selling AI and business outcomes is very different from selling a meeting license. Zoom is working to address this through partner enablement programs, including advanced analytics and profitability dashboards. One technique the company has found effective is providing trial licenses so partners can use the technology themselves and better understand its value. As Nick Tidd, head of global channel GTM, said about enabling partners to sell AI, “use it and they will come.” The messaging at Zoom Perspectives was clear: Conversation to completion A system of action built on Zoom’s embedded AI that brings context and understanding to the organization Differentiation through a unified platform that connects conversations happening both inside and outside the organization Zoom made a convincing argument for its system of action and conversations to completion approach. The company's focus and values have always been on simplicity and happiness (Work Happy). Hopefully Zoom can maintain these values while competing in the fast-changing agentic AI world.

At its Zoho Day analyst event in Austin, TX, Zoho marked several key milestones. The company celebrated its 30th anniversary and reported more than one million paying customers and 150 million users. For a privately-held company with a long-standing emphasis on engineering over marketing, these figures reflect sustained growth at scale. Strategic Context Vijay Sundaram, Chief Strategy Officer, outlined the trends shaping Zoho’s strategy: AI has moved from experimentation to operational deployment. AI is accelerating innovation—and raising expectations. Best-of-breed buying has created application sprawl; organizations now seek consolidation and a single system of record. Spending is under scrutiny; value is increasingly tied to measurable outcomes. Systems of record, APIs, and infrastructure layers have become strategic assets. Sundaram argued that AI and agentic systems are reshaping the SaaS model. Under traditional SaaS, economic, security, and operational risk shifted from customer to vendor. With AI and agentic systems, elements of that risk shift back toward customers—particularly as they design, train, and deploy their own agents. Customers are no longer just users of predefined workflows; they are designers of behavior. As control increases, so does responsibility. Organizations must determine whether they are prepared to manage that risk. Zoho is approaching these changes in several ways: ·       Maniacally focusing on value, by building a model that delivers value while giving customers the freedom to customize Serving as the corporate system of record, providing context, permissions, and governance for AI. Driving customization through platform approach that allows customers and partners to build applications within a unified ecosystem. ·      Enabling massive automation with AI/agents The objective is to expand customer control without increasing operational exposure. Addressing Fragmentation Mani Vembu, CEO – Zoho Division, highlighted the core problem of enterprise software: enterprises run too many disconnected applications, systems are difficult to change, and each new tool often adds complexity rather than reducing it. The best-of-breed procurement model has led to fragmented architectures, overlapping vendors, and limited incremental value. AI amplifies this issue. Without unified systems, shared data models, and consistent knowledge structures, AI outputs are costly and inconsistent. Fragmentation exists at three levels: applications, middleware, and data. Users must navigate multiple systems, and IT retains limited centralized control. Vembu noted that mid-to-large enterprises average roughly 275 SaaS applications, while IT directly manages only a subset. Fragmentation, he argued, ends when software is designed as an integrated system rather than assembled from components.   AppOS To address this, Zoho introduced AppOS, a unified business application operating system. AppOS provides: A shared data foundation. Common business and process models. Built-in workflows and automation. Identity, permissions, and governance by default. Applications are built natively within the platform rather than integrated after the fact. Key implications: Data is structured consistently across applications. Business rules execute uniformly. Teams retain application-level control within centrally enforced standards. Applications can evolve without architectural rework. For customers, this translates to reduced time to value, lower total cost of ownership, and predictable governance.     Vertical Integration Zoho is also pursuing vertical integration across the technology stack. The company operates its own operating system, database (optimized for GPU workloads), internally developed LLMs and SLMs, and is developing proprietary hardware (details remain under NDA). This “delayering” approach spans: User experience Orchestration and execution Software infrastructure Hardware infrastructure By controlling the stack, Zoho aims to improve cost efficiency, performance, and data sovereignty. It also enables tighter integration between AI models, data, and applications. Zoho manages its own data centers and supports cloud, hybrid, and on-premises deployments—an increasingly relevant capability as data sovereignty requirements expand globally. In a discussion on AppOS and vertical integration, Chanadrashekar LSP, Managing Director, Zoho Canada, described Zoho’s evolution from a platform foundation  toward horizontal applications in HR, finance, and other domains. He explained that AppOS, once released, will serve as a platform layer that exposes core capabilities to partners and system integrators, enabling development of industry-specific solutions.     Zoho CX Within customer experience, Zoho emphasized orchestration across teams and workflows. The company’s CX focus includes: Unified CX work orchestration across customer-facing teams. Native, embedded AI for contextual intelligence. Personalization across stakeholders. A system of execution aligned to operational workflows. Modular architecture. Solution-oriented pricing. To get more insights into Zoho CX, I spoke with Dlip Nagarajan, Head of Product, Zoho CRM, and PVK, Head of Market Strategy, Zoho CX on CX Strategy  Cliq Zoho Cliq, the company’s team collaboration application, supports messaging, chat, voice and video calls, and meetings, didn’t get much attention on the stage, but is a key application for many customers. In a discussion with Shanthana Laksmi, Senior Marketing Analyst at Zoho, she noted that Zoho’s focus was on deeper AI integration into collaboration workflows. AI capabilities are being embedded directly into user workflows to act as proactive assistants. Zoho has also expanded workflow automation and unified related capabilities within the platform.   Customer Perspectives Customer sessions remain a core element of Zoho analyst events. I had the opportunity to speak with two customers who shared their experiences at the event. Newcross Healthcare Solutions Mo Umerji, Head of Enterprise Architecture, described Newcross’s use of Zoho One applications, including CRM, Creator, Recruit, Analytics, Campaigns, DataPrep, Expense, Desk, FlowMail, People, Sign, Survey, Contracts, Vault, and Cliq. Umerji emphasized that AI augments users rather than replaces them, noting “AI isn’t a replacement for a person. It’s about giving the user more power and more information to improve how they operate and how quickly they can do things." By building its healthcare application (Karivo) on Zoho Creator, Newcross can keep their data secure and centralized while reducing costs. Integris Credit Union Jeff Anderson, Vice President of IT, discussed Integris Credit Union’s use of Zoho applications, including CRM, Analytics, Directory, Expense, Cliq, Projects, Vault, Desk, Flow, SalesIQ, Campaigns, Assist, Bookings, DataPrep, Mail, Calendar, and Forms. Following a merger, Integris needed to integrate 30 applications, including Zoho and its in-house core banking system. Anderson explained that Zoho Analytics provides visibility into member behavior, churn, asset and loan aggregation, delinquency, and portfolio value. Key Themes Several themes emerged: ·      Platform over portfolio : Zoho is positioning itself as a unified application platform rather than a suite of loosely connected tools. With AppOS serving as the architectural foundation providing unification, rather than fragmentation, Zoho makes it easier for customer and partners to build custom app or customize existing Zoho apps using the same coding tools, with everything built on the same foundation. ·      Verticalized stack : By controlling hardware, infrastructure, database, operating system, and AI models, Zoho improves cost efficiency, optimizes performance, while better supporting data sovereignty by design. Zoho is in a unique position, as most competitors can’t provide this full stack at the cost and efficiency of Zoho. ·      Embedded AI : AI is integrated into the platform rather than layered on top. Internally developed LLMs and SLMs can be trained and deployed for specific customer requirements, with an emphasis on efficiency and latency control. ·      Data sovereignty and deployment flexibility : With owned data centers and support for cloud, hybrid, and on-premises models, Zoho addresses regulatory and geographic constraints. ·      Customization at scale : AppOS is intended to enable customers and partners to build vertical and team-specific applications using a shared foundation. Zoho’s goals for the event were to: ·      Strengthen its enterprise story year after year ·      Provide a clear understanding of the customer outcomes they want to create ·      Share its vision and strategy during this volatile, fast-changing time Based on what we heard at the event, the company succeeded in these areas.

Mitel’s introduction of Mitel WX (Workforce Experience) signals a meaningful shift in how enterprise communications are built and used. Instead of focusing primarily on meetings and messaging for desk-based employees, WX is designed as a communications framework that embeds real-time, voice-first interactions directly into day-to-day workflows. It brings together frontline, mobile, office, and contact center workers into a single, role-aware experience, while supporting flexible deployment across cloud, hybrid, edge, and on-premises environments. This isn’t a rebrand or incremental upgrade—it’s a rethink of how communications should work across a diverse, distributed workforce. What stands out is the focus on the 80% of workers who don’t sit at a desk. In industries like healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and field services, employees are constantly on the move and need immediate, often hands-free communication that fits into how they actually work. Mitel WX addresses this by tailoring the experience based on role and context, and by embedding communications directly into operational processes. Add in AI-driven workflow automation and low-code tools, and the platform starts to look less like a traditional UC solution and more like a system for getting work done faster and with fewer steps. From a market standpoint, this reflects a broader shift toward workflow-centric communications. Platforms like Microsoft Teams have set the standard for knowledge worker collaboration, but they’re still largely centered on meetings and chat. Mitel is taking a different approach—leaning into voice, real-time coordination, and deeper integration with business processes, especially in environments where timing and context matter. At the same time, WX doesn’t force customers to choose; it works alongside these platforms, extending their value rather than replacing them. For Mitel customers, that translates into a practical path forward. WX allows organizations to modernize without a disruptive rip-and-replace, while maintaining control over deployment, security, and data. It also creates a more consistent experience across all worker types, reducing fragmentation and reliance on workarounds like personal devices. The net effect is better coordination, faster response times, and more connected operations overall. If Mitel executes well, WX could position Mitel less as a traditional UC vendor and more as a leading provider of communications that directly support how work gets done.

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Latest Events BC Strategies Expert analysis, insights, and opinions Recent Events Inside Enterprise Connect 2025: Conversations, Insights, and Industry Trends A Farewell to the Gaylord Palms In this article, BCStrategy Expert Blair Pleasant covers key announcements and news, and offering valuable insights through informative vendor interviews she conducted at Enterprise Connect 2025. Read More A Congregation of Thoughts Read BCStrategy Expert Kevin Kieller's high-level impressions and takeways from Enterprise Connect 2025. Read More Key Takeaways - Part 1 Join BCStrategies Experts Kevin Kieller, David Danto, Thomas Brannen, Jon Arnold, Melissa Swartz, Robert Harris, and Steve Leaden as they share their key takeaways from Enterprise Connect 2025, highlighting the most surprising revelations, compelling insights, and overarching themes shaping the event. View Here Key Takeaways - Part 2 In this podcast, BCStrategies Experts Blair Pleasant , David Maldow , and Martha Buyer discuss their key takeaways and insights from Enterprise Connect 2025, offering thoughtful observations on the event's most impactful moments. View Here