Zoom expands cloud based phone service in India with AI contact centre
Before this, Zoom Phone was approved to operate in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. With this update, the service now covers six telecom regions across the country. Many businesses are moving away from traditional phone lines and switching to cloud-based systems that bring calls, messages, and video together in one place.
Paid Zoom users can add Zoom Phone as an optional feature to their existing plan. It works alongside a contact centre platform and Zoom Workplace. There's also an AI assistant that creates quick summaries after calls, pulls out tasks from voicemails, and sorts important messages.
Along with Zoom Phone, Zoom has launched a Contact Centre in India. This lets customers reach businesses through calls, video, social media, email, and messaging apps, all handled within Zoom's local data centres. This setup suits sectors like healthcare, government, and finance where strict rules apply.
Businesses can link Zoom Phone with the Contact Centre so their support agents can easily manage and transfer calls. Agents also get access to details like user extensions and direct numbers, helping route calls smoothly. Zoom also offers a 'Bring Your Own Carrier' option, letting companies keep their current phone providers while moving to Zoom's cloud platform. This makes switching easier and helps avoid disruption.
The Contact Centre can measure customer satisfaction and analyse call sentiment. Zoom says these tools help teams work better, support flexible working, and improve how companies connect with customers. It shows how India is shifting toward smarter, cloud-based communication systems.
Zoom Phone and Zoom Contact Centre are built to work smoothly together, helping businesses communicate better and support teams with different working styles. This integration is designed to help companies across India improve how they connect with both customers and employees, making collaboration and engagement a lot simpler in day-to-day operations.
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Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Rethinking Internal Communication for the Modern Office
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Internal Communication plays a critical role in shaping the employee experience, building leadership credibility, supporting change management, and reinforcing an organisation's values at scale. Great organisations are not built on processes alone. They are built on belief, and belief is built through communication. When IC works well, it goes beyond informing. It aligns, it energises, and it makes people feel seen and heard. Though organisations have varied designs and forms, ideally, the corporate communications function should report directly to the CEO or sit close to top leadership. When communication is strategic, not reactive, it becomes a competitive advantage. Be it External or internal. Focus on Message, Not Medium Today's workplaces are saturated with platforms, emails, chats, intranets (web and app), virtual townhalls, digital noticeboards, collaborative tools, and more. Each of them serves a purpose. But platforms are not the strategy. They are just enablers. Let us consider a few examples: Organisation-wide emails: Still widely used but often overlooked due to inbox fatigue. Relevance and brevity matter more than meeting tools like Teams or Zoom: Great for collaboration, but not ideal for platforms like Yammer, Viva Engage, Workplace or Slack: Useful for dialogue but often suffer from low adoption or fatigue due to fragmentation of apps: Basically, used as portal apps for apps that matter, like attendance or business/utility apps, etc. Instead of chasing the next best tool, what truly works is clarity of intent. Who are we speaking to? Why should they care? What do we want them to feel or do? The medium is important, but the message must lead. Crafting Formats That Resonate A blanket approach rarely works. Different demographics respond to different formats. A good IC strategy speaks to employees in the way they prefer to be communicated with. Some formats that are gaining traction include: Leadership/industry-specific podcasts for passive engagement during commutes or memes, and short explainers for younger audiences who process visual cues newsletters or desk drops that create a tactile moment in a digital world. Digital newsletters are gaining popularity, thanks to their much lower cost, ease and speed of distribution. Be it flipbooks or HTML ones, but printed ones seem to be more popular. Remember, artefacts of communication are essential!QR-linked video messages (in addition to email links) that provide instant access to stories in motion. Plus, people love QR codes. Short reels that tease or amplify key campaigns and drive engagement with longer content. The format is not just a vehicle; it carries the tone and emotion of the message. What Gets Measured, Gets Improved It is tempting to judge communication by how often it is sent. But frequency is not effectiveness. True success lies in engagement. Open rates, click-throughs, feedback polls, and even passive sentiment analysis can reveal what resonates and what does not. A recent report by Gallagher's State of the Sector 2024 shows that only 42 per cent of organisations consistently measure IC effectiveness. Yet, 74 per cent cite employee engagement as a top priority. There appears to be a disconnect between intent and insight. Metrics matter not for vanity but for direction. They help us listen better. Building a Culture of Conversation Internal communication should never be a monologue. The most impactful organisations do not just cascade messages from the top. They foster a culture where feedback, dialogue, and stories from the grassroots are valued just as much as leadership messages. From leadership blogs, video interactions, and cross-functional spotlights to user-generated content from employees, IC has the power to celebrate the everyday and spotlight the extraordinary. And when employees feel heard and represented, they are more likely to be engaged, productive, and loyal, especially when content is co-created along with them. Because ultimately, IC is not about channels or campaigns. It is about people. And when people feel connected, included, and inspired, they bring their best selves to work. Internal communication is not just a department. It is a mindset. One that sees employees not as audiences to be managed, but as co-creators of culture. One that values simplicity over jargon , conversation over instruction, and authenticity over polish. When done right, internal communication does not just transmit information. It transforms intent into action. It gives voice to purpose. And it becomes the quiet force behind extraordinary workplaces. (The author is head – corporate communications, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. Opinions are personal.)
Hans India
4 days ago
- Hans India
Zoom rolls out new agentic AI offerings to save time and drive connections
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Additionally, the Custom AI Companion add-on is now available for online purchase, enabling small business owners to leverage AI Companion across third-party video conferencing platforms like Google Meet and others, customize meeting summary templates, create custom avatars, and connect third-party apps to boost productivity and help them get more done so they can focus on building and growing their business. With the Custom AI Companion add-on, users can now connect to 16 third-party apps. Visi t the Zoom website to learn more about how app integrations with the Custom AI Companion add-on can boost efficiency. AI Companion uses agentic AI capabilities to maximize efficiency, helping users save time and get more done without leaving Zoom Workplace. With the Custom AI Companion add-on, users can already connect to apps like, andto deliver powerful indexing, enterprise search, and ticketing capabilities. 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With connections to third-party applications like Asana, they can automatically have projects updated in Asana without leaving the meeting. like consultants and freelancers can simplify workflows and save time beyond Zoom Meetings, Zoom Phone calls, and in-person meetings by using AI-generated meeting summaries across third-party meeting platforms like Google Meet and others. With connections to third-party applications like Asana, they can automatically have projects updated in Asana without leaving the meeting. Sales professionals can nurture relationships with prospects and clients while reducing admin time by automatically updating sales records in CRMs based on the conversation. can nurture relationships with prospects and clients while reducing admin time by automatically updating sales records in CRMs based on the conversation. Educators can go beyond meeting summaries and lecture plans to reliably generate summaries and takeaways with custom summaries that can be shared with students to reinforce learning and create personalized videos using Custom Avatars for Zoom Clips to connect with students in different languages. With the Custom AI Companion add-on, small businesses can connect AI Companion to these 16 apps, plus tailor AI Companion skills to address their unique needs and drive efficiency across their organizations: Work across platforms: Zoom is an open platform, and AI Companion can attend third-party meetings, including Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, with Cisco Webex support coming soon. AI Companion can join meetings on a user's behalf to automatically transcribe, summarize, and deliver actionable follow-ups. Zoom is an open platform, and AI Companion can attend third-party meetings, including Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, with Cisco Webex support coming soon. 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Hosts will also be able to share the assets with participants via the meeting card in Zoom Calendar (coming later this month), and participants can request access to the meeting card via the Zoom Calendar event. Users can access meeting summaries, transcripts, recordings, and event details from the meeting card in the calendar event and via email. Hosts will also be able to share the assets with participants via the meeting card in Zoom Calendar (coming later this month), and participants can request access to the meeting card via the Zoom Calendar event. Seamless sharing: AI Companion can be configured to automatically share meeting summaries to third-party platforms, like Microsoft Teams (coming soon) and others, to update counterparts and refresh customer records with the latest conversation highlights. Zoom Workplace powers collaboration and productivity Zoom Workplace continues to accelerate collaboration and help users ideate, create, and deliver effective work effortlessly on a single app. Track edits and publish externally in Zoom Docs: Easily track content changes to docs, highlighting content additions, deletions, replacements, and formatting with specific styles. Users can also now publish Zoom Docs as public webpages, accessible to anyone, whether they are logged in or not. Easily track content changes to docs, highlighting content additions, deletions, replacements, and formatting with specific styles. Users can also now publish Zoom Docs as public webpages, accessible to anyone, whether they are logged in or not. Stitch, combine, and create longer clips: Merge multiple Zoom Clips into one seamless video without external apps, preview and make adjustments before finalizing edits, and preserve original content without overwriting original assets. To learn more about Zoom Workplace, visit the Zoom website.
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Indian Express
Who is Soham Parekh, techie behind ‘Soham-Gate' who allegedly juggled multiple startup jobs and fooled YC founders
The Internet has been buzzing with shock and disbelief after a bombshell accusation surfaced against an Indian techie, Soham Parekh, who has allegedly been juggling jobs at multiple startups simultaneously. The story erupted earlier this week when Suhail Doshi, founder of Playground AI and ex-CEO of Mixpanel, called him out on X, setting off a firestorm in tech circles. Doshi claimed that Parekh, believed to be operating out of India, has been quietly collecting paychecks from as many as four to five startups, many of them funded by Y Combinator, at the same time. The revelation has not only raised eyebrows over hiring practices in the remote work era, but also sparked larger concerns about how easy it is to slip through the cracks in the startup world. 'PSA: there's a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3-4 startups at the same time. He's been preying on YC companies and more. Beware,' Doshi warned, sharing what he said was Parekh's CV–an impressive-looking document that, according to Doshi, is mostly smoke and mirrors. 'Probably 90% of it is fake,' he alleged, pointing out that many of the listed links no longer even exist. What makes the situation even more confounding is that despite multiple red flags and formal complaints, Parekh reportedly continued to land new roles with little difficulty. In a follow-up, Doshi added, 'I want to also say that I tried to talk sense into this guy, explain the impact and give him a chance to turn a new leaf because sometimes that's what a person needs. But it clearly didn't work.' Probably 90% fake and most links are gone. — Suhail (@Suhail) July 2, 2025 Parekh's career path, as outlined by an AI industry executive, reflects an impressive academic and professional trajectory. He earned a Master's degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech in 2022, following a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai in 2020. Professionally, Parekh has held a string of senior roles, mostly remote. His résumé features stints such as a Senior Software Engineer (contract) at DynamoAI starting January 2024, a Senior Fullstack Engineer at for a year before that, and similar roles at Synthesia and Alan AI. He also participated in GitHub's Open Source Fellowship during the summer of 2020. There aren't any confirmed photos of Parekh in the public domain, but screenshots from Zoom calls—shared by frustrated employers—have surfaced online. One founder, upset by what they called misleading hiring practices, wrote: 'He lies about his location. We thought we were hiring someone in the US. Even sent a laptop to a US address. Got it back! Allegedly it was sent to his 'sister'.' This allegation, coupled with the growing conversation around remote work transparency, has sparked a fresh round of questions in the startup ecosystem—especially around international hiring at high-profile accelerators like Y Combinator. He lies about his location. We thought we were hiring someone in the US. Even sent a laptop to a US address. Got it back! Allegedly it was sent to his 'sister.' — Suhail (@Suhail) July 2, 2025 Founders who've interacted with Parekh echoed similar stories. Flo Crivello, founder of Lindy, tweeted, 'Fired this morning. He did so incredibly well in interviews, must have a lot of training.' Nicolai Ouporov, CEO of Fleet AI, said Parekh had worked with them too, noting 'he's been doing this for years.' Michelle Lim of Warp added that her team hired Parekh for a trial, but cancelled it immediately after learning of the accusations. Joke aside, the real lesson from Soham is we as an industry ought to do way more public shaming I personally know 4 people(!) who got scammed by him We'd have gone for another month if it wasn't for @Suhail So: I will now post publicly when I'm screwed over by someone in a way… — Flo Crivello (@Altimor) July 2, 2025 We just signed him up for our work trial next week. Saw this tweet. Cancelled work trial. Thank you for sharing! — Michelle Lim (@michlimlim) July 2, 2025 Suhail also wrote, 'Not a joke. This is happening real time. This is the 3rd DM today about someone firing him.' and called the entire thing as, 'Soham-gate.' Not a joke. This is happening real time. This is the 3rd DM today about someone firing him. soham-gate — Suhail (@Suhail) July 2, 2025 Until now, Parekh has stayed silent publicly, but Suhail Doshi revealed that he had reached out to him in private. In a message Doshi shared, Parekh seemed remorseful and uncertain about his future, asking, 'Have I completely sabotaged my career? What can I do to improve my situation?' He also added that he was willing to 'come clean.' Soham has reached out. His primary question: 'Asking this as genuine advice since I do really love what I do, have I completely sabotaged my career? What can I do to improve my situation? I am also happy to come clean' Vox Populi, Vox Dei — Suhail (@Suhail) July 3, 2025 An X account under the handle @realsohamparekh has surfaced, claiming to be the genuine Soham Parekh and actively commenting on the controversy. There's a lot being said about me right now, and most of you don't know the full story. If there's one thing to know about me, it's that I love to build. That's it. I've been isolated, written off, and shut out by nearly everyone I've known and every company I've worked at.… — Soham Parekh (@realsohamparekh) July 3, 2025 However, as of now, the identity behind the account–and even the real identity of Parekh himself–remains unverified.
