2021 Zoomtopia Innovation Award Winners

We’re so excited to bring you the Zoomtopia Innovations Awards at this year’s Zoomtopia, where we highlight inspiring and innovative ways our customers are using Zoom. This annual contest recognizes Zoom customers that embody innovation, inspiration, and creativity in their use of our platform. 

We’d like to congratulate this year’s overall winner, GS1 Australia, as well as our runner-up, Musicians on Call. 

Here are more details on this year’s winners in each category:

As a non-profit that develops global standards for business communication with over 2 million user companies, GS1 Australia has been leveraging Zoom for seamless communication and collaboration since 2018. GS1 deployed Zoom to empower its remote workforce and continue serving its customers during the pandemic, and as the company has implemented its new hybrid working model, it has used the platform to transform its operations once again.

From converting its auditorium space into both a production studio and Zoom Room to using the Virtual Receptionist feature to protect the health and safety of their receptionists and visitors, GS1 is leveraging a number of Zoom solutions to create a true ‘work-from-anywhere’ workforce. 

During the height of the pandemic, safety and quarantine guidelines left patients isolated from their loved ones, visitors, and volunteers during an incredibly difficult time. In an effort to create connection and deliver a memorable experience to these patients stuck in isolation, Musicians on Call leveraged Zoom to deliver live performances to patients at home and in hospitals. 

Musicians on Call were able to create countless heartwarming moments for patients, including a call from Sia to a young cancer patient on his last day of treatment and a performance of one of Lauren Daigle’s songs by a recent brain surgery recipient for the artist herself. And with other performances from Jason Derulo, Andy Grammer, Darius Rucker, and the Goo Goo Dolls, Musicians on Call has played a significant role in spreading joy to patients during this unprecedented time. 

As a global financial services and asset management firm, Fidelity International is constantly striving to streamline its operations and improve service delivery to its clients. With this goal in mind, Fidelity International leveraged Zoom’s APIs to create the Workplace App.

The Workplace App uses location services as well as Zoom and codec APIs to identify which meeting room an employee is in and automatically starts the meeting with a single tap. Fidelity employees can also easily schedule ad-hoc meetings with the “10 minute catch up” feature, which uses an integration with Microsoft Outlook to query employees’ calendars, find available time slots, and automatically create a meeting ID. 

Stories are a critical aspect of building relationships and socialization, and the Life Story Club recognizes just how powerful storytelling can be, especially in times like these. The Life Story Club hosts a variety of weekly storytelling clubs for older adults through the Zoom platform, helping group members socialize and rekindle existing relationships within their community. 

To create these storytelling communities, trained Life Story facilitators work with senior care organizations providing direct services to their clients, including public libraries, retirement communities, and city agencies throughout New York City. And with 86% of participants reporting that these storytelling clubs helped them to meet new people and 91% reporting it helped them appreciate their life experiences more, it's clear that Life Story Club has created a unique space for connection. 

 Determined to create an ideal hybrid classroom that could create an engaging and effective learning environment for both in-person and remote students, Cornell University quickly deployed Zoom Rooms across its campus. 

With dedicated monitors providing a constant gallery view of online students and a touch panel interface to manage shared content, professors provided an effective online learning environment while still providing an engaging experience for in-person students. 

Creating connections in the digital space has never been more essential, and Warmly has helped to enhance those interactions with the development of a Digital Business Card. Using solutions from the Zoom Developer Platform, Warmly created an in-meeting integration that allows users to create a virtual background that shares more about themselves with a single click. 

Users can also add their pronouns and a breakdown of how to pronounce their name, helping them express themselves and feel comfortable in meetings. 

The development of new cancer treatments is no easy task. Immunicom, an immunotherapy biotech startup, has been hard at work creating new, cutting-edge products to help turn the tide in the battle against cancer. 

Immunicom has leveraged whiteboarding in Zoom Rooms to collaborate on new products, save notes and designs, and share information with coworkers to develop critical cancer therapies. This close collaboration and teamwork have sparked impactful results, as Immunicom’s newest immunotherapy product has received U.S. FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for the treatment of cancer. 

When lives are on the line, having access to the most up-to-date information and a real-time view of the situation is critical. To give first responders and other emergency personnel the information they need to save lives, the Oceanside Police Department is using remote-controlled drones alongside Zoom. 

With the ability to access shared content on their mobile devices in real-time, emergency personnel can view drone footage and ​​immediately collaborate on life-critical incident response, helping them to find and help those who need it more quickly. 

To see how our customers are using Zoom to connect, collaborate, and get more done together, visit our customer stories page.