The new ROI of collaboration platforms

In brief

• Despite record investment in collaboration tools, productivity gains remain elusive.
• One-platform consolidation can often create friction instead of efficiency.
• True collaboration ROI comes from adoption, experience, and measurable outcomes — not license counts.
• New research conducted by Deloitte and commissioned by Zoom reveals how leaders can close the gap between collaboration platform investment and value.

For years, organizations have invested heavily in collaboration technology, yet few can prove that those tools have made their people more productive.

Deloitte and Zoom’s latest research, The Productivity Payoff of Next-Generation Collaboration, shows most organizations still struggle to connect their collaboration platforms with measurable outcomes. IT leaders face pressure to consolidate tools and control budgets, but in the rush to streamline, many have introduced new friction instead of removing it.

The message is clear: the value of collaboration platforms is being defined the wrong way. Productivity is still unsolved, but it doesn’t have to be.

Success has been measured by activity — meetings held, licenses issued, or uptime maintained — when what really matters is momentum: stronger adoption, faster decisions, and more time for meaningful work.

Deloitte’s research reveals three truths shaping the next era of enterprise collaboration:

• Meeting friction is everywhere. Employees spend nearly 25 hours a week on average preparing for, participating in, or following up on meetings. That’s a full three days per week spent on coordination rather than creation.
• Next-gen features deliver measurable ROI. Organizations that actively leverage AI-powered capabilities like automated meeting summaries, intelligent recaps, and integrated workflows save three hours per week on average. That’s time they can invest in higher-value, strategic work.
• Forced consolidation creates inefficiency. Despite efforts to simplify stacks, 90% of users report using multiple platforms, and self-select based on intent and participants. Trying to standardize on a single platform reduces flexibility, and productivity suffers.

The takeaway: success comes from adoption, unlocking next-gen features, and measuring outcomes, not cutting tools or forcing uniformity. 

The future of collaboration won’t be defined by how many tools you have, but how your teams use them to get work done. When collaboration feels intuitive, adoption follows, and productivity accelerates. According to Deloitte, enterprises adopting next-generation capabilities could reclaim an estimated three hours per employee every week, equivalent to $134 billion in potential productivity value across large U.S. organizations. This suggests the biggest ROI does not come from consolidation but from adoption.

The most successful organizations are shifting their focus from usage metrics to outcome metrics: hours returned to employees, decisions made faster, and higher engagement across teams. Leaders who embrace this mindset can transform collaboration platforms from a cost center into a productivity engine that compounds value across the organization.

People choose Zoom because it feels effortless. Simplicity and intuitiveness aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re the difference between tools people tolerate and tools they truly adopt.

AI is accelerating this shift by making collaboration value measurable. AI helps teams see the time they save, the friction they remove, and the focus they get back.

Zoom AI Companion* can bring this to life by automatically summarizing meetings, capturing key actions, and turning discussions into momentum. Each of these micro-efficiencies adds up to a macro advantage: a measurable return on investment.

While some other platforms are only beginning to offer AI capabilities, Zoom is already defining what’s next: AI that works everywhere you work. AI Companion extends beyond Zoom Workplace to connect insights across apps — from Microsoft Teams meetings to Word documents — bringing unified productivity to your entire digital workspace.

Deloitte’s findings confirm it: those who integrate AI into their collaboration workflows make decisions faster and report higher employee satisfaction.

We’re at a turning point in how we define collaboration value. It’s no longer just about cost savings or consolidation, but about outcomes, adoption, and human connection.

The question for IT leaders isn’t “How many tools do we have?” but “How much value do our people get from the tools we use?”

Collaboration platforms have evolved from an IT necessity to a business growth driver. Built for people and designed AI-first, Zoom helps organizations turn connection into measurable productivity by reducing friction, simplifying workflows, and returning time to teams.

Productivity may still feel unsolved, but with the right combination of simplicity, adoption, and AI, it doesn’t have to be. Because when collaboration just works, people can do their best work, and that’s where real ROI begins.

*Zoom AI Companion is available with eligible paid Zoom Workplace plans. May not be available for all regions or industry verticals.