Zoom separates by account, and by the numbers you have to port.

Section 01

Account inventory and target account strategy.

Zoom separation starts with an inventory of the seller account. The buyer needs the licensed users and which move to Newco, the product mix across Meetings, Webinars, Zoom Phone, Rooms, and contact center if in use, the phone numbers and call routing, the recordings and their retention, the connected apps and integrations, and the room hardware tied to the account. Zoom often spans video, telephony, and conferencing, so the inventory covers more than meetings.

The seller typically runs Newco users inside a shared account alongside the rest of the seller business. The clean end state is a dedicated Newco account contracted directly with Zoom. A shared account is acceptable only as a bridge during the TSA, never as a steady state, because the seller controls administration, recordings, call routing, and who can read Newco communications data.

Target account strategy depends on the product mix. A Meetings only footprint is a straightforward user move, while a Zoom Phone deployment introduces number porting and carrier coordination that drive the timeline. The decision is settled early because Zoom Phone is the long lead workstream and it must start before the rest of the move.

A clean inventory drives the downstream sequence: the contract, the account build, the user and license move, the number porting, and the app cutover. The pattern aligns with the broader Slack separation work where the same collaboration discipline applies.

Section 02

Contracting and the Zoom commercial.

Zoom is licensed per user by product, with Zoom Phone adding number and calling plan charges. The seller agreement does not transfer in a carve-out. Newco signs a direct contract sized to its headcount and the products it actually uses. The risk is that Newco inherits the seller product mix, paying for Webinars capacity or contact center seats the standalone business will not use. The buyer scopes the Newco product set from the user inventory before negotiating.

Zoom reads a carve-out as a buyer that needs its workforce on calls. Leverage comes from a credible alternative, whether a competing communications platform or a leaner product set, and from the user commitment. The buyer negotiates porting support and a transition window into the contract so users and numbers can move in an orderly way rather than under deadline pressure.

Where the seller continues to host Newco communications through a TSA period, the pricing is cost-plus or fixed-fee with a defined exit ramp. The seller cannot mark up a per seat subscription it already holds, and the TSA defines recording retention, who administers Newco users, and how recordings and call data are returned at exit. The discipline mirrors the broader TSA license consolidation work so Newco eliminates duplicate communications spend at exit.

Implementation, where a partner is engaged, is fixed fee for defined deliverables with disciplined change control. A communications move has a finite scope, so it is contracted against named users, numbers, and integrations rather than open ended consulting time.

Section 03

Users, licenses, and the Zoom Phone port.

The Newco account is built and users are provisioned from the Newco directory with the right product licenses. User settings, recording defaults, and security policy are configured to the Newco standard rather than copied from the seller. Where users are reassigned from the seller account, the buyer confirms each user lands on the Newco account with the correct license and that their personal meeting settings are sensible.

Zoom Phone is the long lead workstream. Moving phone numbers to a Newco account or a new carrier runs on telecom timelines measured in weeks, with porting paperwork, carrier coordination, and a scheduled port date. The buyer starts porting early, validates the number list and the responsible carrier, and plans the call routing, auto attendants, and queues in the Newco account so calls land correctly the moment the port completes.

Recordings and scheduled meetings need explicit handling. Recordings stay under the seller's retention unless moved, so the buyer decides what Newco needs and exports it. Recurring meetings hold seller meeting IDs that become invalid after the move, so the buyer reschedules them on the Newco account and updates calendar invites so links stay live.

The number porting discipline aligns with the broader carve-out telephony and network plan where business numbers and routing are treated as critical infrastructure.

Section 04

Identity, apps, and the integration estate.

Identity is the foundation. Single sign on and user provisioning are reconfigured against Newco's identity provider so users authenticate into the Newco account and deprovision cleanly. Where the seller managed Zoom identity through its directory, the buyer rebuilds the connection so Newco controls access rather than depending on the seller.

The integration estate is the part that quietly breaks. Zoom connects to calendars, the meeting scheduler, recording and transcription tools, contact center routing, and line of business apps. Each integration is reconnected in the Newco account and reauthorized against Newco systems. The calendar integration matters most, because a broken calendar connection leaves meetings without working join links.

Room hardware needs its own plan. Zoom Rooms devices are tied to the account and must be reprovisioned to the Newco account, which for physical conference rooms means a coordinated reconfiguration so meeting rooms keep working. The buyer inventories room devices and schedules their move with the rest of the cutover.

The identity discipline connects this work to the broader access program that governs every application the workforce signs into.

Section 05

Cutover, validation, and stabilization.

Cutover moves users, numbers, and integrations from the seller account to the Newco account. Because telephony cannot tolerate downtime, the runbook sequences the Zoom Phone port carefully around a scheduled window, with the meeting and app moves coordinated so users land on a working Newco account. The buyer plans the port date, the user activation, and the integration reconnection as a single orchestrated event with a fallback if the port slips.

Validation confirms the account works for real use. Users can sign in and host meetings, inbound and outbound calls route correctly on ported numbers, auto attendants and queues behave, and calendar links resolve. The buyer places test calls to ported numbers and joins test meetings before declaring the move complete, because a phone system that does not route calls is a Day One failure.

Stabilization runs two to four weeks. Call routing issues, missing licenses, and unconnected integrations are triaged within agreed service-level commitments. The buyer monitors call quality and meeting usage to confirm the workforce has moved. Only after a clean window does the buyer certify communications for TSA exit.

Decommissioning the seller account access is explicit. Once the Newco account is live, the numbers are ported, and the TSA tail closes, the seller removes Newco users and confirms recording return and retention so Newco communications data no longer persists in the seller environment.

Section 06

Cost discipline and where carve-outs go wrong.

Zoom separation cost is driven by the per seat product mix and by the porting and integration effort. The discipline is to size the Newco product set to actual need rather than inheriting the seller mix, drop unused capability like Webinars or contact center seats the standalone business will not use, and treat the move as a chance to rationalize the communications footprint.

The common failure mode is underestimating Zoom Phone. Number porting runs on carrier timelines that do not bend to the deal clock, so a buyer that starts porting late strands business phone numbers at cutover. Buyers that treat Zoom Phone as the long lead workstream avoid the painful discovery that the meeting move was easy but the phones went dark.

The common oversight is the calendar and room integrations. The fix is to reconnect and test every integration, especially calendars and Zoom Rooms, before declaring the move done. A PMO maintains the dependency map across communications, identity, telephony, and the calendar estate, escalating blocks inside forty eight hours.

A clean Zoom separation produces a Newco that owns its own account, its own numbers, and its own recordings, with communications that work from Day One. The discipline runs through the TSA exit acceleration program under a Fixed Fee plus Portfolio Retainer engagement model.

FAQ

Questions buyers ask about Zoom separation.

Does Newco need its own Zoom account?

Yes. The clean end state is a dedicated Newco account that Newco contracts directly with Zoom, with its own users, licenses, and phone numbers. A shared seller account is acceptable only as a bridge during the TSA, because the seller controls administration, recordings, and the bill.

What is the long lead item in a Zoom Phone exit?

Number porting. Moving Zoom Phone numbers to a Newco account or a new carrier runs on telecom timelines measured in weeks, with paperwork and carrier coordination. A buyer starts porting early so business phone numbers are not stranded at cutover.

What happens to existing Zoom recordings and scheduled meetings?

Recordings stay under the seller's retention unless moved, and scheduled meetings hold seller meeting IDs that become invalid after the move. The buyer decides what recordings Newco needs and reschedules recurring meetings on the Newco account so calendar invites point to live links.

How long does a Zoom separation take?

Zoom Meetings can move in weeks, but Zoom Phone number porting and the integration estate extend the timeline. Most buyers plan two to four months so the meeting, phone, and app cutover aligns with identity separation.

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