Zoom is working on its own email and calendar apps

December 27, 2020 Luisa Rey

Zoom is going to release its own office apps. The service is working on an email and calendar app to compete with Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace. They are expected to be released in the first quarter of 2021 at the earliest.

Office apps from Zoom

Everyone is familiar with the Zoom video conferencing service these days, and it is no coincidence. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom’s apps have been downloaded more than 500,000 times. Remote working is the norm and video conferencing play a major role in this. Zoom now wants to capitalize on that momentum by introducing a series of new services, The Information knows that.

People working closely with Zoom CEO Eric Yuan have told The Information that it is working on a web tool for emails. The company is also considering developing a calendar app in combination with this. It is important to note that Zoom reportedly does not just want to copy the services of Microsoft and Google, but rather is working on a product “of the next generation”. It is not yet known what that exactly means.

Slack competitor?

Zoom also wants to focus on new communication tools for companies. It is also not entirely clear how far-reaching Zoom’s ambitions are for this. It may be working on a competitor for Google Chat, Slack and Microsoft Teams. On the other hand, it can also be a tool to build a richer messaging service for video conferencing.

Zoom seems to want to play a more significant role when it comes to business software. How far it wants to go in competition with Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace remains to be seen. According to The Information, we can welcome the first software from the first quarter of 2021, but it may only be preview versions that will first be accessible to a smaller group of users.

Do you expect Zoom to really have the ambition to compete with ‘the big boys’ or is the company often looking for ways to add extra value to its video conferencing service? Let us know in the comments at the bottom of the article.