Analysts, Channel Call Zoom's Five9 Acquisition 'Complete Surprise,' 'Logical Move'

The industry has been pointing toward consolidation between UCaaS and CCaaS providers.

July 20, 2021

8 Slides
Acquisition fish eating little fish
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By Edward Gately and James Anderson

Zoom’s nearly $15 billion Five9 acquisition had analysts and the channel buzzing Monday. The owner of a consultancy said it took her by surprise, while one analyst predicted it earlier this summer.

The companies disclosed the $14.7 billion all-stock transaction Sunday evening. Through the Five9 acquisition acquisition, Zoom can extend its global communications network with a cloud-based contact center as a service.

Eric Yuan, Zoom’s founder and CEO, called the Five9 acquisition a “no-brainer.”

Zoom and Five9 initiated a technology alliance in 2019. It provides integration with Zoom Phone and the Five9 contact center.

Jay McBain is Forrester’s principal analyst of channel partnerships and alliances.

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Forrester’s Jay McBain

“This is a complementary acquisition for Zoom, allowing them to further build out the UCaaS/CCaaS platform,” he said. “Five9 has a strong channel and robust customer base it has acquired over the past 20 years. One of the risks is that this will be Zoom’s first billion-dollar acquisition (15 times over), and bringing together a 30% growing business [Five9] with one that is on a 400% growth rocket ship [Zoom] will be interesting to watch.”

We recently compiled a list of 20 top UCaaS providers offering products and services via channel partners.

Zoom was a newcomer on the latest Omdia UCaaS Scorecard of North America providers.

Scroll through our slideshow above for more comments from analysts and the channel.

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