s4svisuals - Fotolia
Zoom lets developers use its video within their apps
Developers will pay by the minute to use a nonbranded version of Zoom. The new licensing could help Zoom boost the slowdown in customer subscription growth as the pandemic wanes.
Zoom has made it possible for developers to embed a nonbranded version of its video conferencing platform within their applications and websites. The move could allow Zoom to increase the use of its product significantly.
The new licensing lets developers pay by the minute for the amount of time their customers use the service after the first 10,000 minutes per month. Until now, developers had to be Zoom subscribers to launch the service and couldn't change the software's interface. Zoom announced the latest license this week with a new Video SDK.
According to Brendan Ittelson, CTO at Zoom, the Zoom developer community continues to grow. There has been increasing demand for a fully customizable way to embed video.
"They want the video technology and foundational elements in their own platform but don't necessarily want the Zoom user experience or some of the Zoom user elements," Ittelson said.
The latest offering could help Zoom continue growing its subscriber base as the pandemic wanes and people return to the office. During the pandemic, the use of Zoom soared as COVID-19 forced people to work from home. Since June, the number of Zoom customers with more than 10 employees has risen from 265,400 to 467,100.
The new licensing makes Zoom an option for software built for specific industries, such as retail, financial services and telehealth. Embeddable, nonbranded video conferencing is also used in social media apps and gaming.
Zoom gives each developer 10,000 minutes per month at no charge. After that, each minute costs $0.0035. Developers also have the option of paying $1,000 annually for 30,000 minutes per month and $0.003 per minute over that amount.
Zoom has been courting the developer community for a while to increase its customer base. Last October, it launched a marketplace for third-party applications that plug into Zoom to provide additional services. The company also launched a developer website this week for accessing APIs, SDKs and documentation.
"This is a continuation of a trend you're seeing with Zoom to really push themselves into the developer space," Metrigy analyst Irwin Lazar said.
Maxim Tamarov is a news writer covering mobile and end-user computing. He previously wrote for The Daily News in Jacksonville, N.C., and the Sun Transcript in Winthrop, Mass. He graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in journalism. He can be found on Twitter at @MaximTamarov.
