Video communications giant Zoom has announced it is to buy cloud contact centre provider Five9.
The all-stock transaction, valued at approximately $14.7bn, will see Five9’s contact centre as a Service (CCaaS) solution, which features a suite of applications for the management of omni-channel customer interactions, combined with Zoom’s communications platform. Zoom said the tie-up would allow it to offer a holistic customer engagement solution.
Capitalising on Rapid Growth
Zoom explicitly tied the deal to its rapid expansion in the past year and a half, aided by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It said the purchase was an opportunity to secure its continuing growth with a presence in the contact centre market – which it valued at $24bn.
“We are continuously looking for ways to enhance our platform, and the addition of Five9 is a natural fit that will deliver even more happiness and value to our customers,” said Eric S. Yuan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Zoom.
“Zoom is built on a core belief that robust and reliable communications technology enables interactions that build greater empathy and trust, and we believe that holds particularly true for customer engagement. Enterprises communicate with their customers primarily through the contact centre, and we believe this acquisition creates a leading customer engagement platform that will help redefine how companies of all sizes connect with their customers. We are thrilled to join forces with the Five9 team, and I look forward to welcoming them to the Zoom family.”
The move represents the most significant step into the contact centre industry for Zoom to date, having previously partnered with the likes of Talkdesk and Genesys, both contact centre leaders, via product integrations. Also relevant to the deal is Zoom’s existing Zoom Phone offering – a cloud phone system that is frequently utilised in the contact centre space.
“Businesses spend significant resources annually on their contact centres, but still struggle to deliver a seamless experience for their customers,” said Rowan Trollope, Chief Executive Officer of Five9.
“It has always been Five9’s mission to make it easy for businesses to fix that problem and engage with their customers in a more meaningful and efficient way. Joining forces with Zoom will provide Five9’s business customers access to best-of-breed solutions, particularly Zoom Phone, that will enable them to realize more value and deliver real results for their business. This, combined with Zoom’s ‘ease-of use’ philosophy and broad communication portfolio, will truly enable customers to engage via their preferred channel of choice.”
Once the acquisition closes, Five9 is to become an operating unit of Zoom, with Rowan Trollope continuing to serve as Five9 CEO as well as a President of Zoom.
