Zoom Rooms go as a service with hardware partners DTEN, Neat, Poly and Yealink
Zoom Video Communications has teamed up with four video conferencing hardware makers to launch Zoom Hardware as a Service designed to make Zoom Rooms and Zoom Phone more available to enterprises.
The hardware providers in the package are DTEN, Neat, Poly, and Yealink. The hardware and Zoom bundles give tech buyers a monthly fixed price that varies by system and support by Zoom. Neat and DTEN have already designed hardware systems revolving around Zoom, which has become a household name with growth to match following the remote work shift during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zoom's move comes after Lifesize launched a Rooms-as-a-service effort in December and then updated its admin console with analytics in January. Lifesize's Rooms-as-a-Service plans start at $99 a month for a software-hardware bundle for huddle rooms and go to $199 a month for top-of-the-line conference rooms. Lifesize integrates its own hardware and software.
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The upshot here is that most video conferencing and collaboration players in hardware and software are likely to offer as-a-service plans. Vendors such as Cisco's WebEx are likely to offer subscriptions and look for Microsoft Teams to partner with its hardware ecosystem and companies such as Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Google Meet is already bundled with G Suite as a subscription but could leverage hardware partners as could Amazon Chime.
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Zoom's Hardware as a Service (HaaS) pricing varies depending on hardware. For instance, Zoom Phone hardware runs from $5.99 per device for the Poly VVX 250 to $50 a month for the Yealink CP960. Zoom Hardware as a Service doesn't include software license costs.
On Zoom's recent earnings conference call, Zoom Phone was cited as a product that was seeing strong demand.
The Zoom Rooms Hardware as a Service plans are pricier than Zoom Phone options. Pricing for Zoom Rooms hardware range from the Neat.bar with Neat.Pad controller at $110 a month per device to Poly systems that range from $100 a month to $150 a month. Software licensing costs aren't included. Here's a look at the options.
Zoom HaaS like other as-a-service efforts provides low upfront costs and predictable budgeting as well as the ability to scale up or down and get managed support.
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