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by partiallypro 2244 days ago
Probably less than that. The reason it's so popular is that it's easy to install, requires no sign up...and you can record the meeting. Skype, Teams, Hangouts, Slack, etc all have difficult processes to join a meeting (or signup/signin/install programs to get to it.) I honestly think that is why Zoom has succeeded. Then of course there are the caps on meeting space, but I don't think that is the main reason for its success. Almost all boils down to the amount of friction to actually get into something. Microsoft, IMO is the one that really bungled this. They should be dominating the space. They should just roll out something called "Teams Meet" that is effectively Zoom, where people can join from Teams (you're signed in) or a small program that requires no signup/sign in. Doesn't take a genius to figure out the appeal.
2 comments

We used Zoom over Meet for 2 reasons. One, it had a big board where you could see all or most participants at once. Two, you could have larger meetings for free or a low cost vs. Meet. Recording ease was a big motivator but not a final deal breaker. Since then, Hangouts has added a big board style view that I've yet to test fully. On our next company meeting I will try out Hangouts and see.
Microsoft is the most disappointing. Skype for Business is literally the worst product of this type ever. I’d rather use ICQ from 1997.

Teams is much better, but is the weirdest product ever. AFAIK, it consists of two voip products, bundled with a thickish client for SharePoint.