What Does Verizon’s Ending BlueJeans Mean for SMBs?
Just three years after purchasing the BlueJeans video-conferencing service for $400 million, Verizon is shutting down the cloud-based collaboration platform. Verizon informed customers of the change in an August 8th email message.
The change will impact many businesses—potentially even those that weren’t using BlueJeans for audio, video and web-based conferencing. Here’s a collection of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), and corresponding answers, small and medium businesses (SMBs) can use to better understand the change and navigate accommodating any necessary corresponding adjustments.
What Is BlueJeans?
BlueJeans is a business-focused cloud-based audio- and video-conferencing software application and service that assisted collaboration between teams and employees working from different locations. The software platform also provided support for securely hosting large interactive events.
Why Did Verizon Buy BlueJeans?
Verizon purchased BlueJeans in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. At the time, businesses were scrambling to safely connect users and employees that found themselves suddenly having to work and collaborate remotely. The acquisition seemed, at least to many, a natural extension to Verizon’s worldwide data network. BlueJeans also strengthened the telecom company’s Unified Communications-as-a Service (UCaaS) lineup.
What Videoconferencing Platforms Compete With BlueJeans?
The BlueJeans business-focused videoconferencing platform competed with numerous audio- and videoconferencing solutions. Alternative competing services include those from Cisco WebEx, Google Meet, GoTo Meeting, Microsoft Teams, Whereby and Zoom.
Which BlueJeans Versions Are Affected?
According to the email message BlueJeans customers received in August, Verizon announced the company reportedly made the difficult decision to end the “suite of BlueJeans products.” BlueJeans versions include a free BlueJeans Basic plan and the subscription-based BlueJeans Pro and BlueJeans Enterprise products.
When Will BlueJeans Services Be Terminated?
According to industry reports, the free BlueJeans Basic plan and trial versions will end on August 31st, 2023. No specific dates were announced, as of mid-August, for premium BlueJeans versions. However, an official BlueJeans blog post dated August 16th stated “BlueJeans by Verizon products and services will be retired in the first half of 2024,” but the announcement also revealed timelines will vary.
Who Should BlueJeans Customers Contact With Questions?
The BlueJeans website encourages customers to contact Verizon’s support team with questions.
How Might Other Businesses Be Affected?
Even SMBs not using BlueJeans may be affected by Verizon’s discontinuing the BlueJeans videoconferencing platform. Suppliers, contractors, customers, vendors and other parties with which SMBs regularly interact may be caught flat-footed by the announcement and, at least for the short-term, prove unready to initiate or host an audio or videoconference. In such cases, your SMB may need to at least temporarily assist by offering to use its own alternative platform to initiate hosting audio and video meetings.
SMBs may also be impacted in a beneficial way. Savings, at least short term, may prove available due to competing audio and videoconferencing providers running sales promotions designed to gain new customers impacted by the BlueJeans shutdown.
Who Can I Contact With Other Videoconferencing Questions?
If you have other questions regarding audio and videoconferencing, or if you’re in need of a videoconferencing solution for your SMB, call Louisville Geek at 502-897-7577 or email [email protected]. We’re happy to put our expertise to work for you.
