Can One App Replace an Entire Office?
By: Microsoft Teams · Grade: Enterprise · Teacher: Mr. Nadella
1st
PLACE
Hypothesis
If a single application bundles video meetings, persistent chat, file sharing, telephony, and deep integration with an existing productivity suite (Microsoft 365), then it will achieve the fastest enterprise adoption during a global remote-work shift — even outpacing specialist tools.
Materials
1 Persistent Chat Engine (channels, threads, search) · 1 HD Video Module (up to 300 pax, Together Mode — launched 2020) · 1 Microsoft 365 Connector (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint) · 600+ Third-Party App Tiles · 1 Teams Phone Module · 1 Compliance Kit (HIPAA, GDPR, FedRAMP) · 1 Webinar Feature (launched 2021)
Procedure
Step 1: Bundle Teams free inside every Microsoft 365 subscription. Step 2: Sunset Skype for Business (completed July 2021), funnelling all users to Teams. Step 3: Add webinar capability and new Together Mode scenes. Step 4: Expand from 145M users (early 2021) by leveraging the M365 install base. Step 5: Measure daily active user growth across all enterprise segments.
Observations
Growth from pandemic continued into 2021 despite vaccination rollouts. Skype for Business sunset completed July 2021, forcing migration. 894% growth observed from March–June 2020 (Aternity data) — the compounding effect persisted through 2021. Teams Phone gaining traction. Webinars launched to compete with Zoom Events. EU antitrust investigation (Oct 2021) confirmed after Slack's complaint about M365 bundling.
Data & Results
Daily Active Users
145M → 250M (2021 growth: +105M, or +72%)
Revenue (M365 segment)
~$7.7 billion (estimated)
Growth Multiplier
9.3x since pre-pandemic (vs Slack's 2.7x, Zoom's 11.4x)
Fortune 100 Adoption
93% of Fortune 100 companies using Teams
Skype Sunset
Completed July 2021 — all users migrated
App Downloads 2021
~109M global (Q1-Q4 combined)
Entry Price
$4/user/mo (Essentials) · Free tier for personal use
Key 2021 Launch
Webinar capability, new Together Mode scenes, enhanced breakout rooms
Conclusion
Hypothesis: CONFIRMED. One app can replace an entire office — if it's bundled with the productivity suite 93% of Fortune 100 companies already use. Teams grew from 145M to 250M daily active users in 2021, adding more users in one year than most platforms have total. The Skype sunset and M365 bundling strategy created an adoption flywheel no standalone tool could match. The EU antitrust investigation (prompted by Slack) validates the sheer dominance of this approach. Weaknesses persist: resource-heavy client, complex setup, messaging less fluid than Slack. But for enterprise-scale all-in-one collaboration, the hypothesis holds.
10
SCALE
9
VALUE
7
UX
10
SECURITY
7
VIDEO
43/50
Does Popularity Equal Quality?
By: Zoom · Grade: Universal · Teacher: Dr. Yuan
1st
PLACE
Hypothesis
If a platform becomes the most recognised video conferencing brand on Earth during a pandemic (300M daily participants, household-name status), then it can sustain post-pandemic growth by expanding beyond video into phone, events, and apps — proving that popularity earned through quality can become permanent market leadership.
Materials
1 Adaptive Video Engine (best-in-class low-bandwidth handling) · 1 Zoom Phone Module (UCaaS — 2M seats by Sept 2021) · 1 Zoom Events Platform (launched 2021) · 1 Zoom Rooms Suite (hybrid meeting rooms) · $100M Zoom Apps Fund (announced 2021) · 1,500+ App Marketplace Tiles · 1 Failed Five9 Acquisition ($15B, contact centre play)
Procedure
Step 1: Maintain 300M daily meeting participants from pandemic peak. Step 2: Launch Zoom Phone (1M seats Jan 2021 → 2M by Sept). Step 3: Launch Zoom Events for virtual/hybrid gatherings. Step 4: Announce $100M Zoom Apps Fund to build ecosystem. Step 5: Attempt Five9 acquisition ($15B) for contact centre expansion (failed). Step 6: Measure revenue, customer count, and download trajectory.
Observations
Video usage remained high throughout 2021 despite vaccination rollouts — confirming Zoom is not purely a pandemic phenomenon. Zoom Phone doubled seats in 9 months (1M→2M). Downloads declined from 740M (2020) to 324M (2021) — normalisation, not collapse. 509,800 business customers with 10+ employees by Dec 2021. Revenue growth strong but decelerating from explosive 2020 rates. Brand recognition unmatched: "Let's Zoom" entered common vocabulary.
Data & Results
Daily Meeting Participants
300M (sustained from 2020 peak)
Business Customers (10+)
509,800 by December 2021
Zoom Phone Seats
1M (Jan) → 2M (Sept) — doubled in 9 months
App Downloads 2021
~324M (down from 740M in 2020, still massive)
Growth Multiplier
11.4x since pre-pandemic (highest of any platform)
Market Share
~55% of global video conferencing
Key 2021 Launches
Zoom Events, Zoom Apps Fund ($100M), Zoom Rooms expansion
Failed Acquisition
Five9 ($15B bid) — collapsed Sept 2021
Conclusion
Hypothesis: PARTIALLY CONFIRMED. Popularity earned through quality did sustain — 300M daily participants held steady, Phone doubled, and Events launched. Zoom proved it was not a pandemic flash. However, the Five9 acquisition failure ($15B) showed the limits of expansion beyond core video. Downloads declined 56% (740M→324M) — normalisation, not crisis, but a ceiling is forming. Zoom remains the #1 video platform globally (55% share) and the most instantly recognised brand in collaboration. The question for 2022: can expansion into phone, events, and apps prevent the Cruiser (Teams) from overtaking through bundling?
9
SCALE
7
VALUE
10
UX
8
SECURITY
10
VIDEO
44/50
Can a Messaging App Become a Nervous System?
By: Slack · Grade: Developer · Teacher: Prof. Butterfield → Mr. Benioff
3rd
PLACE
Hypothesis
If a messaging platform connects to 2,000+ external tools and gets acquired by the world's largest CRM company (Salesforce, $27.7B), it can transcend its original form — evolving from a chat app into the connective nervous system of the entire digital workplace, even while being outscaled by larger competitors.
Materials
1 Channel Messaging Engine (the gold standard for workplace text communication) · 2,000+ Integration Ports (GitHub, Jira, Asana, Figma, Notion) · 1 Slack Connect Module (cross-org channels) · 1 Workflow Builder (no-code automation) · 1 Salesforce Acquisition Receipt ($27.7B, completed July 2021) · 1 EU Antitrust Complaint (filed 2020, under formal investigation Oct 2021)
Procedure
Step 1: Complete Salesforce acquisition (July 21, 2021 — $27.7B). Step 2: Begin deep CRM integration with Salesforce ecosystem. Step 3: Expand Slack Connect for cross-organisation collaboration. Step 4: Continue EU antitrust complaint against Microsoft's Teams bundling. Step 5: Grow paid enterprise customers. Step 6: Measure whether acquisition accelerates or dilutes Slack's identity.
Observations
Salesforce acquisition closed July 2021 at $27.7B — the largest acquisition in Salesforce's history. Slack's growth multiplier (2.7x) was the lowest among top platforms (vs Zoom's 11.4x, Teams' 9.3x). Daily active users ~18M — dwarfed by Teams' 250M. However, Slack's influence in dev/creative sectors is disproportionate to its user count. IBM (350K employees) and Uber (38K) adopted Slack company-wide pre-pandemic. EU Commission formally investigating the antitrust complaint October 2021.
Data & Results
Daily Active Users
~18M (vs Teams 250M — a 14x gap)
Salesforce Acquisition
$27.7 billion — completed July 21, 2021
Integration Ports
2,000+ third-party connections
Growth Multiplier
2.7x since pre-pandemic (lowest among top 4)
Revenue
~$1.2B (growing 17%+ YoY)
Enterprise Customers
IBM (350K), Uber (38K), and thousands of dev teams
EU Antitrust
Formal investigation confirmed Oct 2021
Video Capability
Huddles (audio-first, ~15 video) — requires Zoom/Teams for large video
Conclusion
Hypothesis: PARTIALLY CONFIRMED. The $27.7B Salesforce acquisition validates the "nervous system" thesis — the world's largest CRM company paid a premium for Slack's connective role. The 2,000+ integration ports and Slack Connect cross-org capabilities are unmatched. But scale tells another story: 18M daily users vs Teams' 250M is a 14x gap. The 2.7x pandemic growth multiplier was the lowest of any major platform — Slack's base was already strong in tech before COVID, so the marginal boost was smaller. The EU antitrust complaint is the clearest admission that Slack cannot out-scale Teams through product alone — it needs regulatory intervention. Slack's future now depends on whether Salesforce's ecosystem can provide the next growth vector.
5
SCALE
7
VALUE
10
UX
8
SECURITY
3
VIDEO
33/50
Is Zero Friction the Ultimate Feature?
By: Google Meet · Grade: Education · Teacher: Dr. Pichai
2nd
PLACE
Hypothesis
If a video platform requires zero downloads, launches from a browser with one click, and integrates natively with the world's most popular email service (Gmail), then it will achieve the highest growth rate in the market — proving that simplicity and accessibility matter more than feature count in a crisis.
Materials
1 Browser-Native Engine (no downloads, no installs — unique in the fleet) · 1 Gmail Launcher (one-click meeting start) · 1 Google Calendar Connector · 1 Google Docs Co-Editing Module (real-time in-meeting) · 1 Noise Cancellation Filter · 1 Google Workspace Bundle (Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides) · 1 Free Tier (60 min, 100 participants — the most generous)
Procedure
Step 1: Offer free Meet access to all Google account holders (enabled 2020, continued 2021). Step 2: Rebrand and consolidate from Google Hangouts to Google Meet. Step 3: Integrate deeply with Google Workspace (Gmail scheduling, Calendar join, Drive recording). Step 4: Target education and emerging markets where Gmail dominance provides built-in distribution. Step 5: Measure search share growth and download trends.
Observations
Google Meet's search share grew from 21.1% (2020) to an estimated 28%+ (2021) — the highest annual growth rate of any platform. Combined Zoom/Teams/Meet downloads reached ~200M in Q2 2021 (down from 479M in Q2 2020 — normalisation). 62% of students prefer Google Meet over Zoom (38%). Google Meet dominates in 28 countries by search volume. Mobile-first: 64% of Meet sessions start on smartphones/tablets — highest in the fleet. Google Chat still immature as a messaging companion.
Data & Results
Search Share Growth
21.1% → ~28%+ (highest growth rate in fleet)
Countries as #1
28 countries (by search volume)
Student Preference
62% prefer Meet vs 38% Zoom
Mobile Usage
64% of sessions on mobile (highest of any platform)
Free Tier
60 min, 100 participants (most generous video free tier)
Entry Price
$6/user/mo (Workspace Starter)
Download Required
None — fully browser-native (unique advantage)
Unique Feature
Google Docs real-time co-editing during meetings
Conclusion
Hypothesis: CONFIRMED. Zero friction is the ultimate feature for education and emerging markets. Google Meet achieved the highest growth rate of any platform (21.1%→28%+ search share), dominated the student demographic (62%), and led mobile usage (64% of sessions). The browser-native architecture and Gmail integration proved that in a crisis, the platform requiring the fewest steps to join wins the most new users. Weaknesses remain: fewer advanced features, smaller participant caps (100 on free), narrow integration ecosystem, and Google Chat is not yet competitive with Slack or Teams for messaging. But for the question this project asked — is zero friction the ultimate feature? — the data says yes.
7
SCALE
9
VALUE
9
UX
7
SECURITY
7
VIDEO
39/50
"The greatest experiment of the pandemic wasn't medical — it was the simultaneous, global, unplanned migration of every office worker to digital collaboration. These four projects document what happened. The data is clear: there is no single winner. There is only the right tool for the right hypothesis."
— Head Judge, Hybrid Academy
All product names are trademarks of their respective owners · Scores are editorial assessments as of 2021
For informational purposes only · Not professional procurement advice · No actual science fairs were held
The Great Remote Work Science Fair · Hybrid Academy · Spring 2021
🔬 Published by the Department of Collaboration Research 🔬