Google Unveils Gemini Business and Enterprise AIs for Workspace
Google has unveiled Gemini Business and Enterprise subscription plans for Google Workspace users.
Gemini Business and Enterprise grant customers access to Google’s most advanced AI models, namely Gemini Ultra, which is the most capable of Gemini’s three iterations. Gemini will be natively embedded into the Workspace experience. Gemini for Workspace also introduces a new standalone feature enabling users to engage in secure chats with Gemini, fortified with enterprise-level data protection measures.
Gemini Business is an affordable entry point for organisations seeking to leverage Gemini’s advanced capabilities within Workspace, regardless of their size. Priced at $20 per user per month with an annual commitment, this plan includes features such as “Help me write” in Docs and Gmail, Enhanced Smart Fill in Sheets, and image generation in Slides, empowering them to streamline their workflows effectively.
A partial rebranding of Duet AI for Google Workspace, Gemini Enterprise, priced at $30 per user per month with an annual commitment, delivers all the functionalities of Gemini Business with expanded usage allowances. Moreover, it incorporates advanced features for AI-driven meetings, enabling Gemini to translate closed captions across over 100 language pairs and, soon, facilitate meeting note-taking.
RingCentral Boasts of Five-Figure UCaaS Seat Wins
RingCentral boasted of several high-profile UCaaS wins this week as it reported its quarterly earnings.
The vendor indicated a sales increase of nine percent year on year for the quarter ending 31 December 2023, above the midpoint of its guidance.
On an earnings call with investors, returning CEO Vlad Shmunis underlined the growth RingCentral has seen in the enterprise space, which is outpacing the wider business. Figures released ahead of the call showed that annualised recurring revenue (ARR) among enterprise customers topped $1bn for the first time.
Shmunis added colour to these figures by revealing UCaaS contract wins, albeit without naming the customers.
One is the Fortune 100 insurance provider that purchased 20,000 UCaaS seats to connect its distributed broker network made up of thousands of field offices. Another one is a global 500 retailer that purchased 18,000 UCaaS seats to power communications across its more than 2,000 stores.”
Shmunis also referred to a 15,000-seat deal won with Ikea in conjunction with Vodafone, with which RingCentral partners in Europe.
Microsoft’s Power Automate Update Could Turbocharge Copilot
Microsoft is introducing a Power Automate plugin in Copilot in Windows that could upgrade the Copilot experience with significant new automation capabilities.
Microsoft Power Automate is a versatile tool designed to automate repetitive tasks efficiently. Whether working with Microsoft-made apps, third-party services, or web platforms, it can intelligently record steps and create flows, simplifying the process of regular tasks.
After installing Power Automate and activating its plugin with Copilot in Windows, users can leverage automation features for Excel as well as file management that improve upon the Copilot feature set that is currently available.
Microsoft cited some compelling examples of how transformative this update might be for the Copilot experience, including being able to automate writing emails to teams wishing them a happy weekend, listing the top five highest mountains in the world in an Excel file, renaming all PDF files in a folder to add the word final at the end, moving all word documents to another folder, splitting a PDF by the first page for the user.
Vonage, AWS Partner on Comms APIs to Foster Innovation
Vonage and AWS have partnered on communications and networking Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to foster innovation.
A collaboration between Vonage, a subsidiary of Ericsson, and AWS aspires to merge Vonage’s platform, which leverages communication and network APIs, with Ericsson’s cutting-edge 5G network capabilities and the extensive suite of AWS services.
The partnership seeks to expedite the accessibility of smart solutions to millions of developers within the AWS community through the AWS Marketplace.
Niklas Heuveldop, Vonage CEO and Head of Business Area Global Communications Platform, Ericsson, said:
By working with AWS, we will accelerate our ability to embed communications and network APIs in applications and deliver new product offerings for AWS and Vonage customers. With network APIs, we are exposing new capabilities from within the 5G network that have never been available before, allowing existing applications to be enhanced with network information and enabling the development of a new class of applications.”
Vonage and Ericsson have prioritised API development and democratisation so far in 2024, with Verizon and the company also partnering to deliver advanced 5G APIs to developers. Last week, the two businesses announced a memorandum of understanding involving introducing Verizon network APIs to Vonage’s platform, empowering developers to access network services and capabilities.
