Switch Guide: Moving from Zoom to Bongo Video
Zoom became the default video platform during the pandemic, but it's a US company that routes traffic through US servers and has faced ongoing scrutiny over data practices. Bongo Video is a Canadian-built video platform specialized for video interviewing, asynchronous assessments, and hiring workflows — purpose-built for HR and talent acquisition teams. If your organization uses video primarily for recruiting, onboarding, and training rather than general meetings, Bongo is purpose-fit in a way Zoom isn't. And your candidate data stays in Canada.
What You'll Gain
- Canadian data residency: Video recordings, candidate responses, and assessment data stored on Canadian infrastructure.
- Purpose-built for hiring: Bongo's async video interviewing and structured assessment tools beat Zoom's general-purpose approach for talent workflows.
- Asynchronous video: Candidates respond to your questions on their schedule — no scheduling coordination required.
- Structured evaluation tools: Built-in rubrics and scoring for fair, consistent candidate evaluation.
- Canadian support: Support team in your timezone familiar with Canadian employment law considerations.
What You Might Miss
- General-purpose meetings: Bongo is specialized for talent workflows, not general team meetings. You'll still need a video conferencing tool for day-to-day meetings.
- Universal recognition: Everyone knows how to join a Zoom call. Bongo requires candidates to familiarize themselves with a new interface.
- Webinar features: Zoom Webinars has no equivalent in Bongo.
- Phone dial-in: Zoom's PSTN dial-in for poor internet connections has no Bongo equivalent.
Migration Checklist
- Audit your Zoom use cases — Separate your team meetings (which you may keep in Zoom or move to another tool) from your hiring/HR video workflows (which move to Bongo).
- Export your Zoom recordings — Download all cloud recordings from the Zoom admin portal before cancelling. Store in your document management system.
- Set up Bongo account — Work with Bongo's onboarding team to configure your assessment templates and interview workflows.
- Integrate with your ATS — Bongo connects with major applicant tracking systems. Configure the integration to push candidate data automatically.
- Build your assessment library — Create video question banks for each role type you hire for regularly.
- Train your hiring team — Run a 60-minute training session on Bongo's evaluation interface before going live.
- Pilot with one role — Run your next open requisition end-to-end through Bongo before full deployment.
Data Export Tips from Zoom
In the Zoom admin portal, go to Account Management → Reports to export usage and meeting reports. Cloud recordings are downloaded from Account Management → Recording Management — you can bulk download or access individual recordings. Note that free Zoom accounts only store recordings for 30 days; act promptly to export anything you need to retain.
Timeline Estimate
Most HR teams complete the Bongo setup in 2–3 weeks. The technical integration with your ATS is typically done in a day. The longer work is building your question library and training your interviewers. Expect your first fully-Bongo hiring cycle to feel slightly slower — by the second cycle, teams typically run faster than they did with Zoom scheduling.