Zoom’s chief product officer supports meeting in person and shows how Zoom can help. The interview illustrates how company leaders keep their products relevant.

In a BBC interview, Smita Hashim explains that even Zoom employees work hybrid schedules. The article author explains the company’s goal:

According to the company, this means Zoom's business is about far more than video call. It wants to be regarded as a workplace company—and known for Zoom Workplace, its suite of collaborative tools.

Hashim knows she won’t convince people to WFH forever, so she needs to show the company’s adaptability. Her communication is best illustrated in the answer to this question:

How much is Zoom wanting to shake off the remote working tag? Do you want to be known more for hybrid working—or something else?

We love that Zoom is well known to so many, and they use us for connecting all the time. But we see the future of Zoom as really an AI-driven open collaboration platform that modernises the work experience. We've gone in this direction based on customer feedback. We've always had video calls, and built in phone infrastructure, chat capabilities and now Zoom AI Companion. Our AI works in the background to even recommend a desk for employees to sit near their teams for their office days.

That last sentence seems odd but is explained by Zoom’s new AI-enabled Intelligent Director. Cameras are placed around a room, so people sitting together at a table appear as though they’re on individual laptops. Seems weird. I’ve certainly been in meetings with people who are on laptops and Zoom, so the effect seems to be the same.

In addition to analyzing how well Hashim met her objectives, students might talk about how they have used Zoom in the office and how it could be used more effectively.

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