CloudZoom Gives Developers More Video Control

Zoom Gives Developers More Video Control

Developer.com content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

Zoom has released an updated version of its video software development kit (SDK) that gives developers more control over how video is rendered within their applications when invoking the cloud service.

Previously, developers could only render video as it surfaced within a Zoom video conference. The Video SDK provided by Zoom now gives developers the ability to render video any way they best see fit, says Zoom CTO Brendan Ittelson.

The Video SDK can be accessed via the Zoom Developer Platform, which in addition to the Video SDK also provides access to application programming interfaces (APIs), chatbots, webhooks and other SDKs. The latest release of that platform also surfaces more detailed performance analytics to give developers additional insights into usage and performance of the applications they distribute via the Zoom App Marketplace. Those insights include user and account level subscription counts, active user and active account metrics, and API usage volumes with more capabilities planned, notes Ittelson.

The overall goal is to increase the level of observability that developers can leverage when invoking various cloud services that Zoom provides via the Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud, adds Ittelson. “There’s a rich arsenal of tools for developers to use,” he says.

There’s also a Buy Now option through which developers can create a Video SDK developer account immediately. There’s no charge to get started with up to 10,000 session minutes per month. Additional minutes will be charged on a per-minute basis from that point on. There’s also an annual volume plan that starts with a $1,000 annual commitment and includes 30,000 session minutes per month.

Video integration becoming expected in apps

As video conferencing becomes more pervasively employed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, more end users will expect a seamless video experience to be embedded within an application. Rather than requiring end users to exit an application to attend a separate video conference, the Video SDK from Zoom can be employed to enable end users to launch a video chat from directly within the application they are employing.

Of course, many developers have been employing Zoom as well as rival platforms such as Twilio. A battle for the hearts and minds of developers that employ these various services is now well underway.

Arguably, it’s now only a matter of time before video becomes embedded within every application. Working from home has transformed the application experience expectations of millions of end users. Applications that don’t provide embedded video capabilities to foster collaboration will soon seem antiquated.

In the meantime, developers should experiment with various communication mediums within their applications. Not every interaction is likely to require a full-blown video session. In a lot of cases a simple text message may still suffice. Regardless of what form of collaboration is employed, however, the value of any application is still going to be determined by the number of end users that actively employ it. Applications that provide multiple mediums through which end users can directly interact with one another are always going to be perceived to be more valuable than those that don’t.

Get the Free Newsletter!

Subscribe to Developer Insider for top news, trends & analysis

Latest Posts

Related Stories