Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Zoom's Moment of Truth: Scaling Under Ra...

Sun, Bo

Case

Zoom's Moment of Truth: Scaling Under Radical Uncertainty

Sun, Bo

GEM-0236 | Published March 25, 2025 | 6 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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It is March 2020, and Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (Zoom), is experiencing a staggering increase in users of its software due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This case begins as Eric Yuan, founder and CEO, is reading yet another report of an unauthorized participant breaking into a Zoom meeting—an act known as “Zoom-bombing”—reflecting increasing customer concerns about the platform’s security and data privacy. In addition, Yuan faces competition from Microsoft and Google, who offer their own videoconferencing technology in a market that has suddenly become critical. Yuan must address both the immediate challenges and competitive landscape and find a way to establish Zoom as a platform that ensures security without complicating the user experience—all during a period of radical uncertainty about whether the demand for videoconferencing is a temporary phase or permanent shift. This case examines how competitive dynamics and network effects influence strategic responses to uncertainty and is ideally positioned midcourse in an MBA course on managing uncertainty, after students have covered basic frameworks.

Analyze the rationale for each uncertainty management approach; examine how competitive interactions affect uncertainty management strategies; and learn how different starting positions—in terms of resources, capabilities, and strategic focus—shape companies’ ability to respond to uncertainty.