An Open Letter to Zoom Management

Dear Zoom Management:

You may remember me. In case you don't, here's a brief refresher on how we met five years ago.

On April 1, 2020, I signed a contract to write Zoom For Dummies. My acquisitions editor (AE) at Wiley initially conceived of a 200-page book fast-tracked for a summer publication date. Given Zoom's insane popularity at the time, no one wanted to miss out on potential sales. I needed to produce the entire manuscript within 60 days.

Game on.

Much More Than Skype 2.0

As I dug into Zoom, it quickly became apparent that 200 pages was wholly insufficient. Zoom For Dummies needed to be longer than my publisher envisioned initially envisioned—much longer. Zoom undoubtedly functioned as a better, more modern version of Skype and Webex. Its videoconferencing helped countless organizations keep the lights on during unprecedented times. We used this feature to socialize and connect with our loved ones.

Still, videoconferencing represented just the tip of the Zoom iceberg. There was so much more to your useful, rock-solid suite of communications tools:

1. Zoom's core product also let users chat with—and send files to—others in their workspace. In this way, it reminded me of the popular instant message tools of the 90s.
2. Third-party apps extended Zoom's native power.
3. Zoom Webinars let people host large meetings.
4. Zoom Phone allowed anyone to make affordable and reliable international calls via voice over internet protocol. Vonage users know what I'm talking about here.
5. Zoom Rooms. Execs at your company generously gifted me one of these large, wall-mountable iPads. I was able to write that chapter with firsthand experience using the product.

Zoom Rooms is particularly instructive for our purposes. It was then—and remains now—a standalone app. I wasn't in the room when Zoom engineering and product folks made that decision. If I had to guess, though, everyone realized the silliness of including every conceivable Zoom product and feature in a single app.

Someone forgot that lesson, but we'll return to that point later.

Course Correction: Revisiting the Book's Length

For Dummies books on software applications need to provide step-by-step directions and screenshots. No human being could adequately explain all of your products' features in such a short text. When I explained as much to my AE, he agreed. He approved additional chapters on each of these topics. The May 31, 2020, deadline, however, remained firm.

I busted my ass and cranked out 111,000 words and all the screenshots. A few members of your senior team proved immensely helpful. One even reviewed the security and privacy chapter to ensure that I stuck the landing.

Ultimately, Zoom For Dummies came in at nearly 400 pages—twice my AE's original estimate. Why your sales and marketing teams didn't buy copies of it by the truckload to give to different groups continues to mystify me.¹ But hey, I wasn't making bank as your chief marketing officer.

Zoom: The Last Five Years

Much has happened in the past since mid-2020. Organizations are attempting to force employees back to the office. AI is everywhere. Rush announced a 2026 tour. (Boom.) Perhaps most germane here, like Peloton, Zoom's no longer the belle of the ball.

Since my book dropped in August 2020, your company has changed many existing features and added some impressive new ones. Notable ones include:

• Zoom Docs, including databases.
• Zoom Hub as a central asset manager, to use your verbiage.
• Zoom Mail and Calendar.
• Zoom Spaces for collaboration.
• Zoom Tasks.
• Zoom Scheduler.
• Zoom AI Companion 3.0.

These moves make sense. The fact that you're continuing to add to your suite of tools makes me think that we're on the same page: rapid AI advancements mean that most niche software vendors will soon perish. Offer everything, and you become too big to fail.

But there's a problem.

Spiraling Out of Control

In the unlikely event that Wiley asked me to pen an updated version of Zoom For Dummies today, I'd immediately pass. The idea of writing a single book describing everything in the Zoom universe is risible—even if you announced another feature freeze. By the same token, only Chuck Norris could write a mammoth tome on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 Copilot.

It's probably easier for me to list the things Zoom doesn't purport to do these days. Here's just a partial list of products and services from your website:

I doubt that I'm telling you anything you don't know. You have to realize that the Zoom app has become nearly unusable. There's way too much going on. Maybe you're even rebuilding it as I type these words.

Navigation Nightmares

You probably grouped all products and features into a single app to minimize user context switching. To be sure, it's an admirable goal. If I'm being kind, though, I'd describe the current Zoom experience as confusing. Put differently, the guy who wrote the definitive guide on your product five years ago sometimes struggles to find settings and features, but this post isn't about me. Plenty of others feel the same way.

“Please surround my app with random icons,” said no one ever. If there's a method to your default icon locations, I sure as hell can't figure it out. At least you offer users the option to customize the UI. I'm guessing that only a small percentage of your users know they can remove and rearrange superfluous icons.

Zoom in-app ads add even more clutter to an already disjointed user experience.

Of course, you're probably well aware of this problem. On the off chance you're not, though, contrast your product's current UI with the simple, clean ones of Notion, ChatGPT, and Claude:

The difference is stark. Zoom doesn't just need a new coat of paint. It has morphed into a Frankenstein app, and using it is downright painful.

Equal-Opportunity Hallucinator

Deloitte’s irresponsible use of AI serves as a valuable and embarrassing reminder of its limitations.

Phil SimonPhil Simon

The Solution: Kill Frankenstein

Imagine a counterpart for Microsoft 365 Copilot today: a single UI or portal to access Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and OneNote. Ditto for Google Workspace or Apple's iWork.

Yikes.

Zoom's status quo simply is untenable. The product will only become more confusing as it adds more features and products.

Separate the current, bloated offering into multiple streamlined apps. I don't know the right number, but it exceeds one. Yeah, change is difficult, but your users will ultimately thank you.

Sincerely,

Phil Simon

Footnotes