Video calls have proven essential for connecting workers during the pandemic, but video calls also have drawbacks, with many workers complaining about hours spent on camera in a seemingly endless stream of meetings.
As a result, asynchronous video emerged as an alternative to real-time conversations that require both parties to be present at the same time. And startup Loom has been one of the market leaders with its app, which allows users to create short videos, or looms, that can be sent to colleagues and viewed at their convenience. (Think Instagram Stories or TikTok for workplace communications.)
The app has proven its worth, with the company now claiming 14 million users, though it doesn't provide details on daily or monthly active usage rates. It has also attracted substantial funding, with $203 million to date and a reported valuation of more than $1500 billion.
The company on Wednesday unveiled a substantial update to its platform aimed at creating a more collaborative environment and making content easier to discover and access.
Le plus grande changement est l'ajout du Loom HQ, un écran d'accueil personnalisé dans le navigator et l'application de bureau qui affiche le contenu recommandé pour les utilisateurs, como les vídeos "tendances" qui ont été publiées publicamente au sein d 'an organization. It is also possible to "follow" colleagues to see when they post new content, while new search capabilities allow users to find videos using hashtags, as well as tagged keywords from automated video transcripts.
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Loom's asynchronous video platform gets a variety of updates, including "HQ," which can make important content appear more easily.
“The goal is to proactively bring you the content you need to know most, based on your role, who you follow and what you do at work,” said Anique Drumright, vice president of products at Loom.
The home screen not only provides a more efficient way to find information in a business, but also serves as a "digital water cooler" that can connect workers, Drumright said.
This could be especially helpful for those who work remotely and may miss out on the more casual interactions that are often taken for granted in an office. She quoted a Loom employee who usually posts about work-related topics, but once recorded a short video offering a tour of his houseplants. Within 24 hours, 15 new trades appeared while others shared similar videos.
"Every company has an organic culture that is actually very difficult to recreate in a hybrid remote environment," Drumright said. "I think asynchronous video and Loom HQ can play a huge role in recreating those moments."
The latest updates see Loom "mature into a full-fledged collaboration app for teams," said Angela Ashenden, principal analyst at CCS Insight. "This is a big update for the tool and signals the company's ambitions in the business collaboration space, building on some of the €130 million in funding it raised last year.
“As we move into an era of hybrid work, the need for asynchronous collaboration becomes even more important, balancing the real-time interaction of in-person and video meetings to enable employees to collaborate effectively without having to work. necessarily the same. at the same time as their peers.
While Loom wants users to spend more time in its app, it remains committed to integrating with customers' existing technology stacks, Drumright said; users can continue to send and access videos on other platforms, like Slack channels, for example. This has been a priority for Loom, which last year created an SDK that allows providers, such as work management app Trello, to integrate asynchronous video capability into their own software.
Among other updates announced this week is an improved notifications page that makes it easier to view comments and replies to videos without having to go back to the individual video. The ability to automatically download content from the Zoom video conferencing app is also in development, with support for other platforms in the works, Drumright said.
Although Loom is one of the pioneers, it is far from the only asynchronous video tool on the market. In addition to other startups with a similar bent, companies like Slack, Dropbox, Zoom, and Cisco have all built out asynchronous video capabilities in the last couple of years.
Loom's latest updates help strengthen the company's position as others enter the space, said Raúl Castañón, principal analyst at 451 Research, a division of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“While there is overlap, recently announced product updates show that Loom is still a standalone tool,” he said. "The updates build on and extend the use cases that set Loom apart from other vendors that offer asynchronous video capabilities.
“Specifically, video management and the new home screen together provide a layer of content management; these capabilities will become essential as user-generated video content continues to grow,” said Castañón.
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