Use Zoom’s core technology to power innovative video-based solutions for any use case

As the theme of Zoomtopia 2015, Exploring New Dimensions, was all about bringing it together, and who better to do that than developers? Ultimately, you’re taking on the challenge of building these new dimensions, and we’re here to help. As a result, today we held the first-ever Developer Summit in our company’s history. I would like to thank all those who attended the event.

The Zoom conference included over 20 different sessions, including new and existing Zoom products and features, as well as real-world examples of how Zoom APIs and SDKs are being used by developers and Zoom partners. It is our hope that you left the event feeling inspired by your fellow developers and what they are creating!

I am going to give a rundown of some of the announcements that were made today.

New partnerships and features to help you build 

It’s very important to us to continue to provide you with the opportunity to create solutions across a wide range of industries and use cases, that’s why we prioritize the openness and flexibility of our developer platform over other features. Our team understands that scaling these solutions can be a challenge, as well as building the infrastructure to support them. We will continue to innovate and mitigate your concerns as a result of the outcomes of our new collaborations and features.

Build on top of Amazon Web Services from within Zoom Meetings

To help you innovate and bring your own solutions to market, our developer platform is needed to be able to work seamlessly with other leading service providers and technology vendors. As a result, we are planning to expand our work with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the near future.

There is a great deal of effort and money spent by developers to capture raw audio and video from Zoom Meetings for downstream analysis of live audio and video. Our team saw a unique opportunity to enhance the in-meeting experience by optimizing and simplifying the streaming of participant audio and video to AWS artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and analytics services, providing richer experiences in-meeting.

Taking advantage of the power of AWS, we have developed a cost-effective approach that provides additional capabilities while reducing development friction. By combining a Zoom Meeting SDK that is containerized with data streaming and AI/ML services provided by AWS, you can build a complete end-to-end solution. Would you like to find out more about the AWS + Zoom Beta program? Please complete the following form if you are interested in learning more.

A use case for building together: Palo Alto Networks 

It is becoming more and more common for people to communicate remotely. In light of the fact that so many employees use Zoom at home and within hybrid work environments, IT teams are devoted to ensuring that all users have an excellent Zoom experience. Several IT administrators and network admins have sought actionable data for a long time, and we have responded to this demand with the recent launch of our Quality of Service Subscription (QSS) service. In every meeting, webinar, and phone call, the QSS is able to provide an overview of the network traffic for every user, host, and participant in near real-time.

The Zoom QSS data points were integrated into the Palo Alto Networks product to give them an opportunity to take QSS one step further, and apply it to their own use case. As a result, Palo Alto Networks was inspired to take QSS one step further. With our new QSS data integration capabilities, Palo Alto Networks customers can now easily integrate our data into their existing infrastructure, giving them seamless access to workload insights as well as better network visibility.

It is a game-changer for developers and IT teams at large organizations, especially those at large companies using Palo Alto Networks as part of QSS integration.

Video SDK for Linux 

As a result of Zoom’s low-latency, high-quality video systems, our Video SDK lets you create powerful applications centered around Zoom’s video systems. We provide you with access to high-quality HD video and audio, as well as the signature Zoom features, which allow you to create native and engaging interactive experiences for your users. Our company has been expanding steadily over the past few years.

Take advantage of our upcoming Video SDK for Linux and extend the capabilities of your existing video SDK app on one of the best open-source platforms by using our upcoming Video SDK for Linux. The following are some examples of how this could be used:

• In this case, we are looking at utilizing a drone that runs embedded Linux to be able to take real-time video and audio captures, as well as the capability of live streaming what it is seeing to YouTube. Through the command channel, it is even possible to let someone else control it remotely from another location.

• From a Linux container running in the cloud, you can participate as a “virtual participant” in a Video SDK session.

• Using Video SDK to extend the AI and Machine Learning capabilities of a session, such as taking smart notes or coaching sales representatives.

The Video SDK for Linux is expected to become available in Q1 2023, and we are looking forward to seeing what you will be able to create with it.

Zoom Developer Platform enhancements 

There were more updates to come – we heard what you were asking for, and we are bringing them to you.

• Introducing admin-authorized apps: Our goal is to make admin-authorized apps available by the end of 2018. In Zoom, IT admins can pre-authorize apps for employees so they have ready-to-go apps within their Zoom account, ready for whenever they need them. We can help you build apps and integrations with our developer solutions that will increase awareness and distribution of the apps and integrations you build.

• One build flow to rule them all: Our new build flow will be available by the end of Q1 next year, and it will simplify the app-building process, increase app adoption and discoverability of new features by reducing engineering issues when introducing new features to the app. By creating one app, and granting it access to multiple functionalities, you’ll be able to give users across Zoom products the ability to install it once, and use it across all of Zoom’s products at the same time.

• Access Zoom Apps across our entire platform: We believe that you should be able to extend your Zoom App across the entire Zoom product line by using the Zoom Apps software development kit (SDK). The Zoom Apps platform is growing every day to include a variety of features including Meetings, Webinars, Team Chat, Zoom Rooms, and more. As soon as Q1 2023 rolls around, you’ll be able to use Zoom Apps to create an innovative office environment for your team, allowing you to share Zoom Rooms, control controllers, kiosks, and use Zoom Rooms Digital Signage to personalize your workspace.

• Monetize your apps via our App Marketplace: We’re working on making it possible for you to monetize your apps on our App Marketplace to have another opportunity to expand your business and customer base. In the near future, we will be able to offer you a variety of pricing plans and usage models to choose from according to your business needs.

Watch the keynote presentation from the Developer Summit on demand here and get the scoop on all updates to the developer platform as part of the Developer Summit.

Spotlighting developers and Zoom partners

The Developer Summit was not only a great event to make such a number of announcements, but also a great opportunity to host some of our partners. With the help of our developer platform, they were able to demonstrate how they are addressing their customers’ needs and growing their businesses by using our technology to respond to those needs.

There are several unique use cases for our Video SDK, including use cases by Tribe Fitness, HackerRank, and Home Live, ranging from remote-first interviewing web applications in addition to real estate virtual viewing solutions.

During the demonstration, Current Health, an ISV partner of Zoom, demonstrated how our Meeting SDK is being used both by healthcare providers and patients in the context of scheduled visits and ad hoc calls.

As a result of Hermis’ help, attendees were able to get a better understanding of the key differences between Standard Mode and Collaborate Mode in the Zoom App. Through the use of Zoom Apps for Webinars and breakout rooms, Welo reimagined how events were facilitated. With our Zoom Apps SDK, Twine developers were able to enhance the power of their breakout rooms, and make them more powerful.

It has been revealed that Nylas has released their API platform, which will make it easy for developers to distribute invitation links for Zoom Meetings and Webinars, as well as invite links for Meeting SDKs and Video SDKs to participants via the Nylas Calendar and Email APIs.

Lastly, Prezi did not disappoint with their presentation on how to use the Layers API to build immersive applications for video presentations and shared some of the best practices that they have learned from working with it. The Layers API is used by Prezi for the purpose of bringing presentation content right into the video feed of the caller, so that other users on the call do not have to switch between the slides and the presenter to follow what the presenter is saying.

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