Zoom calls India one of its most critical markets
Zoom considers India one of its most critical markets, citing the country's talent pool, innovation ecosystem and growing adoption of artificial intelligence, a top company executive said.
Velchamy Sankarlingam, Zoom's President of Product and Engineering, said India's scale, skilled workforce and strong educational institutions, combined with the significant presence of American and European multinational companies in the country, make it a priority market for the video-communications firm.
"India, we consider as one of the most critical markets," Sankarlingam told PTI in an interview in New York. He said Zoom has representation from nearly every team in India and views the country as a testing ground for new products, citing its linguistic diversity as a key factor.
Zoom operates two technology centres in India, in Bengaluru and Chennai. The Bengaluru centre, focused on research, development and engineering support, opened in July 2020, while the Chennai centre, dedicated to Zoom Contact Center development and support, launched in April 2022. The company also runs two data centres in the country, located in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Sankarlingam pointed to eyewear retailer Lenskart as an example of Zoom's impact in India, saying the company used Zoom Contact Center to address an uneven distribution of optometrists across regions by enabling remote eye tests via video for customers.
He said Zoom has invested heavily in its phone and contact centre offerings in India, noting the company was the first to launch Zoom Phone in the country. The service was expanded last year to Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Licensed by India's Department of Telecommunications, Zoom Phone is now available across six telecom circles, including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, covering major business and technology hubs.
Zoom Contact Center in India offers an AI-first, omnichannel contact-center-as-a-service platform optimised for video, supporting voice, video, virtual agents, social media, email and messaging app channels, according to the company.
Sankarlingam said these segments are growing well in India among both multinational and domestic businesses, adding that AI adoption in the country has been strong. He said Zoom currently supports five or six Indian languages, including Hindi, Gujarati and Tamil, and is working to expand AI-based language support further.
He said Zoom works closely with regulators and policymakers to ensure Indian customer data can be stored within the country when required, and that the company is also expanding its channel reach across India and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Sankarlingam said Zoom's broader focus is on what the company calls "conversation to completion," aimed at making work easier through tools such as ZoomMate, with further expansion expected into other business verticals.
Earlier this month, Zoom marked its 15th anniversary, with founder and CEO Eric Yuan ringing the Nasdaq bell to commemorate the occasion. In a blog post, Yuan said the company was founded on the belief that simplicity and human connection could succeed, crediting its team, customers and users for that success. He said the company's next chapter would focus on ensuring AI made work "not only easier, but more human and enjoyable."
