Zendesk Strengths, Domain Expertise, and Key Differentiators
Zendesk is an American company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides software-as-a-service products related to customer support, sales, and other customer communications. The company was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2007.
Zendesk considers the principal competitive differentiators in their market to include:
• Enablement of customer communications across channels; • Solutions that are open and flexible;
• Time to value realization through ease-of-deployment and use; • Availability of self-service options;
• Data-rich analytics and performance recommendations; • Mobile and multi-device capabilities; • Proactive outreach tools;
• Product and platform solutions grounded in customer experience; • Customization and integration with third-party applications;
• Brand recognition and thought leadership; and
• Total cost of ownership for the customer (including software updates, ongoing maintenance, and consulting and system integration fees)
Zendesk Recent Developments
In February 2021, Zendesk announced the general availability of its comprehensive messaging solution as part of the new Zendesk Suite. The new package brings together all Zendesk’s service capabilities, including messaging, into one complete offering that brings radical simplicity to the enterprise software space. Zendesk’s powerful messaging tools are designed to give businesses the ability to have continuous, convenient and personalized conversations whether customers want to text, chat on their computer, reach out over WhatsApp, and more. Companies can now provide connected conversational experiences across web, mobile, and social channels that work easily out-of-the-box with built in automation and the power to scale to support modern enterprise needs. Zendesk’s messaging solution also offers advanced capabilities including proactive notifications, enabling specialized third-party bots, and allowing customers to transact directly within the conversation when browsing products, reserving seats, or making payments.
In August 2020, Zendesk debuted Explore Enterprise, the newest solution within its service-first CRM platform, which enables companies to analyze real-time data in order to understand changing needs. As global ticket volume reaches record highs, leaders can use Explore Enterprise to share relevant insights instantly with other teams and departments, helping them make faster decisions to improve their entire customer experience.
Zendesk Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Activities
In October 2021, Zendesk and Momentive have entered into a definitive agreement under which Zendesk will acquire Momentive, including its iconic SurveyMonkey platform. The terms of the transaction provide for Momentive stockholders to receive 0.225 shares of Zendesk stock for each share of Momentive stock, a ratio which represents an implied value of approximately $28 per outstanding share of Momentive stock based on the 15-day volume weighted average price of Zendesk common stock up to and including October 26, 2021. Zendesk expects the combination to be growth accretive in its first full operating year and accelerate Zendesk’s revenue plan to $3.5 billion in 2024, one year ahead of its previous target. The companies’ respective sizable customer bases and complementary capabilities are expected to provide significant opportunity for joint product adoption and increasing Momentive’s enterprise traction. Zendesk will reinvest savings from scale efficiencies into compelling growth opportunities to support the combination. Upon the close of the transaction, Momentive CEO Zander Lurie will continue to lead Momentive’s strong management team.
In 2018, Zendesk acquired Base, a startup that has raised over $50 million. While Base might not be as well known as Salesforce, Microsoft or Oracle in the CRM game, it has created a sophisticated sales force automation platform, complete with its own artificial intelligence underpinnings.
Zendesk Customers in ARTW Customer Database
Leveraging a rigorous data-centric research methodology, APPS RUN THE WORLD asks the simple question: Who’s buying Zendesk applications and why? And we provide the answers – supported by decades of research – to our clients around the world. Our Customer database has over 100 data fields that detail company usage of Zendesk and other enterprise apps by function, customer size, industry, location, implementation status, partner involvement, Line of Business Key Stakeholders and IT decision makers contact details. List of Verified Zendesk Support Suite customers.
Zendesk Overview
Ownership: - NYSE:ZEN
Number of Employees: 5450
Functional Markets: CRM,
Key Verticals: Aerospace and Defense, Automotive, Banking and Financial Services, Communication, Construction, Real Estate, Consumer Packaged Goods, Distribution, K514, Higher Education, Federal Government, State and Local Government, Public Safety, Healthcare, Life Insurance, P&C Insurance, Specialty Insurance, Leisure and Recreation, Hospitality, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Media, Faith-Based Nonprofit, Youth and Elderly Care, Special Cause Nonprofit, Oil and Gas, Chemicals, Professional Services, Retail, Transportation, Utilities,
Zendesk Key Enterprise and Cloud Applications
Zendesk Support Suite
Zendesk Revenues, $M:
| Type/Year | 2020 | 2021 | YoY Growth, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| Enterprise Applications Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| Cloud Applications Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
* Enterprise Applications Revenues = License + Support & Maintenance + SaaS
** All revenue figures are estimates based on public records, Cloud and Non-Cloud business models in Apps Run The World's vendor database, and annual survey results including vendor feedback.
Zendesk Revenue Breakdown By Type, $M:
| Type | License | Prof. Services | Hardware | Support & Maintenance | SaaS | PaaS | IaaS | Other (Non Enterprise Application Revenues) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of Total Revenues | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | 100% |
| Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
Zendesk Enterprise Applications Revenues By Functional Markets, $M:
Zendesk Enterprise Applications Revenues By Verticals, $M:
Zendesk Revenues By Region, $M
| Region | % of Total Revenues | 2021 Total Revenues, $M | 2021 Enterprise Applications Revenues, $M | 2021 Cloud Applications Revenues, $M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| EMEA | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| APAC | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| Total | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
Zendesk Direct vs Indirect sales
| Region | Direct Sales | Indirect Sales | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type % | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
| Revenues, $M | Subscribe | Subscribe | Subscribe |
Zendesk Customers - Breakdown by Geo, Size, Vertical and Product
List of Verified Zendesk Customers
No. of Zendesk Customers: 173600
No. of Zendesk Enterprise Applications Customers: 173600
No. of Zendesk Cloud Customers: 173600
No. of Zendesk Cloud Subscribers: x
As of December 31, 2020, Zendesk had an aggregate of approximately 173,600 paid customer accounts using our solutions. This includes approximately 88,100 customer accounts for paid subscription plans for Zendesk Support (other than legacy Starter plan) and approximately 39,000 customer accounts for paid subscription plans of Zendesk Chat. In addition, Zendesk had approximately 46,600 paid customer accounts on our other solutions, collectively, as of December 31, 2020. Prior to purchase, Zendesk generally provides their prospective customers with the opportunity to try fully-functioning versions of their solutions for a free trial period. This is a central part of their business model as they believe customers should have the right to try solutions before being locked into a subscription. Providing their customers with a free trial period exposes customers to their brand and establishes a relationship that can facilitate further adoption of their solutions as organizations grow in size and their needs become more complex.
Zendesk customers are located in over 160 countries and territories and represent organizations across a broad array of sizes, industries, and geographies.
Among its customers are: Alfa-Bank, Yext, Bukalapak, PayJoy, Olala Homes, Azimo, DYME, Stoiximan, Modsy, Mailchimp, University of Louisville, Stanley Black and Decker, Tesco, Vimeo, State of Tennessee, Instacart, Ingersoll Rand, Mediaocean, Starling Bank, Slack, MakeSpace, and others.
Zendesk Market Opportunities, M&A and Geo Expansions
Zendesk is building on its customer experience (CX) leadership by becoming a Unity Verified Solutions Partner. Being a Verified Solutions Partner (VSP) means Zendesk has been verified by Unity to ensure its SDK is optimized for the latest version of the Unity editor, providing a seamless experience for Unity developers. The partnership with Unity, the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content, will provide integrated customer support functionality that can be set up in minutes, directly within some of today’s most popular games, such as Angry Birds 2 and Pokemon Go. Zendesk joins Unity’s Verified Solutions Partner program as the first native customer support SDK that has been verified to ensure compatibility and stability with the Unity platform.
In May 2019, Zendesk acquired Smooch, an omnichannel messaging platform, which companies customer care teams can use to interact with people over messaging platforms like WhatsApp, WeChat, Line and Messenger, as well as SMS and email. It had also been a longtime partner of Zendesk’s, powering the company’s own WhatsApp Business integration and other features. The two already have some customers in common, including Uber. Other Smooch customers include Four Seasons, SXSW, Betterment, Clarabridge, Harry’s, LVMH, Delivery Hero and BarkBox.
In October 2019, Zendesk launched Gather, a product that enables companies to provide trusted and transparent support to customers through online community forums. Gather creates a space where customers can engage with each other and company experts to offer guidance and insight beyond what a single customer support agent might be able to handle.
In November 2018, Zendesk launched Sunshine, an open and flexible customer relationship management (CRM) platform built completely in the public cloud on Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS). Zendesk Sunshine enables businesses to connect and understand all their customer data, wherever it lives and gives their developers the ability to build and deploy customer apps and services faster. Sunshine is built entirely on open standards, with the security, scalability, and reliability of AWS built into its core.
Earlier the same year in May, Zendesk launched The Zendesk Suite, a new omnichannel offering that brings together the most popular customer communication channels in one simple package and price to help companies provide a consistent and connected customer experience.
In September 2018, Zendesk acquired FutureSimple Inc, the company behind Base.
Zendesk Risks and Challenges
There are a number of established and emerging competitors in the broad market of customer engagement software. This market is fragmented, rapidly evolving, and highly competitive, with relatively low barriers to entry in some segments. For small to midsized organizations, Zendesk often compete with general use computer applications and other tools that organizations have adapted for managing relationships with their customers, including shared accounts for email communication, phone banks for voice communication and text messaging, shared accounts for social messaging, and pen and paper, text editors, and spreadsheets for tracking and management. In addition, Zendesk competes with a number of other software as a service, or SaaS, providers with focused applications competitive to one or more of our product and platform solutions that their potential customers may elect to use in lieu of Zendesk solutions, and such providers may be able to offer their products at a lower price due to the focused nature of their applications. For larger organizations, Zendesk competes with custom software systems and software vendors geared towards larger organizations, including salesforce.com, Inc. and ServiceNow, Inc., each of which may have greater operational flexibility to bundle competing products and services with other software offerings, or offer them at a lower price than our current Zendesk Suite offering, which will negatively affect Zendesk's competitiveness for that offering. Other established SaaS providers not currently focused on the functionality that Zendesk solutions provide may expand their services to compete with Zendesk as well. Further, large enterprise software vendors have a greater ability to aggressively price their product at a level below their typical selling price in order to gain market share, decreasing Zendesk's ability to compete successfully with such vendors in certain regions. Additionally, some existing and potential customers, particularly large organizations, have elected, and may in the future elect, to develop their own internal customer support software system. Pricing pressures and increased competition generally could result in reduced sales, reduced margins, losses, or the failure of our solutions to achieve or maintain more widespread market acceptance, any of which could harm our business.
Zendesk Ecosystem, Partners, Resellers and SI
In November 2020, Zendesk has expanded capabilities to its service-first CRM solutions that help companies provide real-time support across messaging channels on web, social, and mobile. A key enabler of these capabilities is a strategic partnership — among the first of its kind — with WhatsApp that empowers companies to immediately engage with customers, share information, and respond to questions across WhatsApp, and Facebook’s other messaging services on Messenger, and Instagram as well. Over 34,000 forward-thinking Zendesk customers have already shown strong demand for Facebook’s messaging channels by adding WhatsApp and/or Messenger to their support offerings. According to insights from research by Zendesk and ESG, companies with the best customer experiences (CX) invest in offering more channels to their customers, with CX-focused organizations showing they are much more likely to have embraced messaging apps (89 percent) and social media (87 percent) than their competitors.
In January 2020, Zendesk launched the Sell Marketplace apps, which provides companies’ sales teams with a central place to access critical customer information from additional tools in the sales stack.
In October 2019, Zendesk launched a new Zendesk Partner Program to provide the skills, tools, and support Zendesk’s global ecosystem of partners need to help their customers deliver a better customer experience. The program is designed to enable partners to build an industry-leading customer experience practice and rewards partners based on competencies and results with a comprehensive certification program and incentives.
In September 2019, Zendesk extended it's reach in APAC with the expansion of its Singapore office. Zendesk sells mainly directly, throught it's sales workforce.
Zendesk Cloud Infrastructure Insights
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Research Methodology
Data used in research reports are derived from publicly available documents, continuous surveys of applications vendors, customers, resellers, Independent Software Vendors, systems integrators and other verifiable sources.
Vendor shares and market forecast results are based on a combination of existing databases as well as demand side and supply side research conducted throughout the year with validation from vendors, customers, channel partners and documentations such as earnings releases and 10Q and 10K filings, vertical industry studies, regional and country-level statistics from public and private institutions(i.e. colleges, universities, government agencies and trade associations).
For additional information on our methodologies, here's the link:
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