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

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.

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.”

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.