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Zoom continues to be the most popular videoconferencing software on the planet. We explore how the platform has changed and explain how to get the premium version at a discount
Zoom has become the must-have videoconferencing software of recent years, with a global market share of around 56%, according to Statista. It has 300 million daily meeting participants from across the world, across industries and across sectors. Zoom, in simple terms, dominates the world of videoconferencing and has become a necessary tool in the modern workforce.
The pandemic precipitated the massive take-up of videoconferencing. Office work, overnight, ceased to be the norm. And in the new world, in which working from home has become a standard feature of working life, tools like Zoom have thrived, allowing workers to transcend physical limitations and meet each other at any time, any place, with a simple click of the button.
But Zoom in 2025 provides so much more than that. The software has sophisticated features that improve meetings, boost productivity, drive collaboration, and so much more. In this article we explore the videoconferencing monolith and explore how you can gain discounted access.
Zoom is the most popular providers of video conferencing software. The app provides videoconferencing and chat services through a cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform.
Zoom can be downloaded as an app and installed on a PC or mobile device. The software was initially developed for the corporate world, but its popularity with the general public skyrocketed during the initial months of COVID-19. The platform has proved so popular that the word ‘Zoom’ has entered the public vocabulary, not just as a noun but also as a verb.
The basic features of Zoom are well known – and broadly utilised. But the more sophisticated features, as we’ll explore below, have long been ignored. Let’s start with the basics.
The primary virtue of Zoom is the core functionality, which is designed to enhance the virtual meeting experience. At its core, Zoom offers high-definition video and audio, ensuring that clear communication features in every meeting. The platform supports up to a hundred participants in a single meeting, with the Basic and Pro versions, but Business and Enterprise versions allow between 300-500 participants, with potential add-ons stretching that limit to 1000 participants.
Zoom has screen sharing capabilities, which means you can present information on the screen that colleagues can follow. That works well for presentations, training sessions, and webinars, but also allows you to make the most of collaborative platforms such as Miro, Mural, or ClickUp.
You can use the breakout room functionality, which allows meeting hosts to divide participants into smaller, sperate groups for more focussed discussions. Breakout rooms are particularly useful if you plan to put on workshops, or larger internal meetings. They are effectively digital versions of splitting off into groups, which you can use for effective ideation.
The chat function is useful, especially in large meetings. Too many people talking can derail the speaker or presenter, leading to a sort of stop and start progress that stretches meetings longer than necessary. The chat function allows the presenter to continue, while everyone still has the opportunity to contribute at any given time – and other attendees can continue to engage.
You can record sessions, react with emojis at any given moment to voice approval – or disapproval – without interrupting, create virtual backgrounds, customise your profile, and so much more.
These features are the basics – and are commonly used by people on Zoom.
Zoom offers advanced features, many of which are underutilised. The ‘Apps’ option allows you to integrate apps to enhance your Zoom experience. These include built-in Zoom apps, such as a Timer, Music to play in the background, the opportunity to take a group photo, and so much more.
But there are hundreds of brilliant apps that you can integrate. You can implement artificial intelligence (AI) notetakers such as Fathom, or integrate collaborative platforms such as Figma. There are networking tools, games, project management options, e-commerce products, educational devices, HR resources, as well as apps on health and wellbeing. All of the above could energise your Zoom meetings, helping them to become more interactive and valuable.
You can also make use of the whiteboard. The seldom-used feature allows people to draw, write, create shapes, develop designs, and produce mind maps. The features basically allows you to effectively collaborate on a visual level. For teachers and trainers, the whiteboard helps to explain complex concepts, solve problems, and even work through equations. Presenters can draw diagrams, highlight key points, and guide students through interactive processes.
Zoom in 2025 will produce even more advanced features, drawing on AI. It will introduce Zoom Docs with an AI Companion, which allow users to create collaborative docs using meeting summaries, transcripts, templates, and more. The AI companion can help draft messages, summarise threads in chat, and improve brainstorming. It can gather, share, synthesise information from multiple sources, streamlining routine but time-consuming tasks for users.
Zoom is currently the most popular videoconferencing platform. But the future features will go much further, making Zoom even more valuable to organisations across the world.
You can get a discount on various premium versions of Zoom on the Charity Digital Exchange. We can offer a 50% discount on a one-year subscription for Zoom Workplace Pro or Business. Find out more about how you can access the incredible discount by clicking the link below.
Access the premium version of Zoom at a discounted price
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