Welcome back to another comprehensive roundup of the latest goings on in the UC&C industry.
This week saw Microsoft make its second biggest acquisition ever, as well as introducing the first Teams phone update for this year. We also saw Dell finally commit to spinning out its subsidiary VMware and a rundown of the best solutions for hybrid work.
Microsoft Acquires Nuance Communications
The tech titan acquired Nuance Communications for a cool $19.7bn, its biggest acquisition after the $26.2bn it spent on LinkedIn five years ago.
Nuance has specialised in voice recognition since its foundation in 1992, but the firm is perhaps best known for its work with Apple which led to the creation of Siri.
Microsoft and Nuance have also partnered in the past, particularly around healthcare initiatives. Nuance’s cloud-based healthcare offerings are also built on Azure.
“AI is technology’s most important priority, and healthcare is its most urgent application,” stated Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella.
“Together, with our partner ecosystem, we will put advanced AI solutions into the hands of professionals everywhere to drive better decision-making and create more meaningful connections, as we accelerate growth of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and Nuance.”
Best Meeting Room Solutions for Hybrid Work
With 75 per cent of respondents in a new survey reporting that they want to continue working from home for at least two days a week post-pandemic, it is becoming glaringly obvious that employers must deploy solutions that will meet the needs of the hybrid working world.
We provide a rundown of some of the best meeting room solutions – including Poly, Neat and LogiTech – that employers should consider when planning for a hybrid office.
Dell To Spin Out VMware
After nearly a year of speculation, Dell has confirmed its spinout plans for its subsidiary VMware, which it inherited in 2015 as part of its EMC acquisition.
The tech titan will sell off its 81 per cent stake in the virtualisation vendor, offering VMware’s shareholders a special dividend of between $11.5bn and $12bn at the close of the transaction, which is expected in Q4 of 2021. This would result in a payout of over $9bn for Dell, which it intends to use to pay down debt.
“By spinning off VMware, we expect to drive additional growth opportunities for Dell Technologies as well as VMware, and unlock significant value for stakeholders,” said Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies.
Microsoft’s First Phone Update of 2021
Microsoft recently unveiled its first Phones update for Teams this year. The update aims to improve the in-meeting experience, as well as offering other advanced improvements to help users with staying connected.
One of the new features was a direct request from customers, enabling them to remotely provision a phone from their Teams admin centre. Micrsofot Phones will also support specialised sign-in options for specific cloud.
Additional updates include the ability to transfer a call to work voicemail if a user needs to convey a message to someone else quickly and “opt-out” options for call queues.
Who Is The Godfather of UCaaS?
Vlad Shmunis, RingCentral founder and CEO, is one of the best-known names in the UC space. UC Today profiles him and his journey from Soviet-born immigrant to the US through his creation of RingCentral’s predecessor, Ring Zero Systems.
Shmunis has managed to grow RingCentral from a $5m entity to a $500m comms behemoth in little over a decade and last year was awarded UC Today’s UC Leader of the Year award.
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