Create App Like Zoom and Become a Profitable Tech Unicorn

The spread of the coronavirus outbreak has left businesses around the world counting costs. Many massive companies, like Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon have lost a combined $1.3 trillion in value since the market peaked. However, with millions stuck at home, the video-conferencing service Zoom has seen a huge increase in value. Its shares have more than doubled since January 1.

Zoom is currently worth $43 billion. The company is valued at 50% more than all major US airlines put together. All of them. The whole industry.

But, is it reasonable to create app like Zoom? Yes, in our opinion.

Zoom’s Pandemic Story

Over the last few months, Zoom has become one of the most popular tools of this stay-at-home era.

Even before the spread of COVID-19, Zoom was on a tear, with at least 81,000 paying customers. However, in March, the app reached 200 million daily users, 20 times more than its 2019-best of 10 million users at the year’s end. Now Zoom boasts over 100,000 corporate customers, including Samsung, Uber, Walmart, and Capital One.

Zoom is 2020s hottest yoga studio. Source: theverge.com

During this coronavirus pandemic, it seems like everyone is connecting through Zoom, including fitness and wellness organizations, businesses, martial arts classes, public and educational institutions and almost every software development company.

Currently, money truly is no object for Zoom. The company is boosting its 40-minute meeting limit in free basic accounts and lifting the limit for K–12 schools during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Why do Users Prefer Zoom over Hangouts Meet or Skype?

At first glance, there don’t seem to be any advantages to Zoom over Skype or Hangouts Meet, but let’s see if this is really true. Below, you will find the main reasons why users prefer Zoom.

Easy to Use

The Zoom platform is fairly easy to use and has a simple interface. Users don’t need to log in to attend a meeting.

Multi-Device

The Zoom communications app offers the best experience across Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Zoom Rooms, and SIP/H.323 room systems. It allows you to communicate with anyone at any time, no matter where you are.

Affordable

The free version of the Zoom app enables users to add up to 100 participants to a single call. Users can also enjoy unlimited one-to-one meetings and 40-minute group calls.

Bugless Experience

App updates are not always successful. So, the Zoom team responds to all user reports instantly to ensure that users have a bugless experience.

Magnifying Seamless Integration

The Zoom App Marketplace allows users to integrate Zoom with other services, including Slack and Google Calendar.

Fun and Engaging

Zoom is used not only for work but also for social gatherings. For example, many people are hosting birthday parties through Zoom during the lockdown.

Additionally, Zoom provides a variety of both funny and serious backgrounds that you can use to dazzle your colleagues, spice up a work meeting, or hide your messy house.

Zoom’s virtual backgrounds hide messy offices — allowing users to pick where they seem to appear

Marketplace of virtual events

OnZoom extension enables users to create, host, and monetize virtual events for a fee. Paid users can advertise their online events and sell tickets for them, allowing them to gain an audience around the world.

Zoom is in Everyone’s Living Room — But How Safe is It?

There can be no dispute that Zoom has allowed millions of people to gather together during the lockdown. However, its data and privacy measures have been questioned.

In the past week, thousands of Zoom video calls have been left exposed on the web. Some videos included personally identifiable information and deeply intimate conversations. This caused negative press reports of customer information leaks and security weaknesses.

Just a few days ago, SpaceX, Google, and NASA ordered staff to stop using Zoom because of its privacy gaps.

Now the company is freezing all new feature developments to focus on security and privacy.

How to Stay Secure on Zoom

Do you remember when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted a picture of a Cabinet meeting conducted via Zoom a while back? That picture included the ID number and all the nicknames. Please, never, ever do that.

Zoom calls are being hijacked by intruders, so keep your information private and secure to avoid becoming a victim.

Worried about Zoom’s Privacy Issue? Create a Zoom Alternative

Are you concerned about the Zoom privacy situation? Do you run a small business and want to stop wasting money on unnecessary monthly subscriptions? Do you feel like developing your own video conferencing software?

You may want to create an app that allows users to communicate via secure video calls. You should note, however, that the market is already overcrowded with video calling apps for Android and iPhones. So, you will have many competitors.

To win in this crowded market, you have to offer a better product and price than all your competitors. You also need to provide better cybersecurity and ensure top-notch video quality.

How to Create App Like Zoom

Zoom’s main features

Video Chat MVP Features

To test the potential of your idea, it’s better to create a video chat app MVP first, which consists of the following core features:

• Registration
• Profile management
• Contact list
• Video and voice calls
• Group calls
• Text chat
• End-to-end encryption
• Push notifications

Video Chat App Advanced Features

Features listed below allow one to make a video chat app that stands out.

• Screen sharing
• Virtual background
• Virtual noise cancellation
• Custom emojis and stickers
• Custom masks

What Technology Stack Does Zoom Use?

So, how is a video chat app like Zoom created? You first need to understand the tech stack.

In contrast to platforms like Skype, Zoom was developed with the cloud in mind. Zoom uses Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and its own servers to process hundreds of thousands of calls instantly with little to no delays.

Zoom’s system consists of the web, Android apps, and iOS apps that have been written in a mix of:

• Objective-C
• C++
• C#
• Java
• .NET
• HTML5/CSS3
• JavaScript

Originally, WeChat used HTTPS to transfer all the users’ data. Utilizing Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP), Zoom delivers an alternative to traditional on-premise PBX solutions. Call setup and in-call features are delivered via Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

Note that Zoom doesn’t support end-to-end encryption for video and audio content. Instead, Zoom video meetings use a combination of TCP and UDP. TCP connections are made using TLS, and UDP connections are encrypted with AES using a key negotiated over a TLS connection. This means that the Zoom service itself can access the unencrypted video and audio meetings’ content.

Zoom’s ecosystem of communication channel

This is how Zoom was created, but you are not obliged to use the same technologies for video-conferencing service development. If you want to receive a full tech stack for an app like Zoom, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@vironit.com.

Now, let’s take a closer look at app monetization, development time, and cost.

How Does Zoom Make Money?

Zoom targets businesses, SMBs, and large enterprises as well as customers in the education and healthcare fields (e.g., companies that offer telemedicine and telehealth services).

Zoom has adopted a freemium model to boost its business while engaging new users. The limitations of a free account don’t affect the user as they start using it. Later, they can upgrade the app to receive advanced functionalities.

Additionally, Zoom has a conference room solution called Zoom Rooms based on commodity hardware combined with Zoom software.

How Much Does It Cost to Create an App like Zoom?

In a nutshell, a Zoom-like MVP, depending on the scope of your requirements, can cost anywhere from $120,000 to $260,000 and take up to 5–6 months to develop.

Coronavirus: How Is the Outbreak Affecting You?

Are you using this opportunity to enhance your relationships with users? We want to hear how the coronavirus outbreak has affected your business. You can submit your story in the comments section or email us.