From the launching of a new product licence to more redundancies in the tech industry, here are some extracts from popular news stories this week.
Microsoft Releases Teams Premium with Features Powered by OpenAI
Microsoft has announced that the Microsoft Teams Premium licence is generally available to all customers following a preview phase.
- What Does ChatGPT Mean for Microsoft Teams?
- Microsoft Teams Round-Up: January 2023
- Appspace Prepares to Launch Microsoft Teams Integration
The newest licence is designed to offer customers familiar meeting solutions as well as webinars, virtual appointments, meeting intelligence, and more, which are often add-on products.
Nicole Herskowitz, Vice President Microsoft Teams, commented: “As we face economic uncertainties and changes to work patterns, organisations are searching for ways to optimise IT investments and re-energize employees to achieve business results.
“Now—more than ever—organisations need solutions to adapt to change, improve productivity, and reduce costs.
“Fortunately, modern tools powered by AI hold the promise to boost individual, team, and organizational-level productivity and fundamentally change how we work.
“This promise is rapidly becoming a reality. At Microsoft, we’re working to incorporate new, AI-powered capabilities across our consumer and enterprise products, including Microsoft Teams.
“As part of this continuous innovation, I’m excited to share that Microsoft Teams Premium is generally available.
“Built on the familiar, all-in-one collaborative experience of Microsoft Teams, Teams Premium brings the latest technologies, including Large Language Models powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3.5, to make meetings more intelligent, personalised, and protected—whether it’s one-on-one, large meetings, virtual appointments, or webinars.”
‘Opportunities on Stand-Alone UCaaS Products Are Increasingly Rare’ – 8×8 Interim CEO
Opportunities to innovate based on just stand-alone UCaaS products are becoming increasingly rare, according to Samuel Wilson, 8×8’s Interim CEO.
He made the comments during the company’s third-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings call, in which it was revealed that 8×8’s service revenue and total revenue had increased 18 per cent year-over-year.
The company saw its cash flow from operations during Q3 increase 72 per cent year-over-year to $15.5 million.
Wilson commented: “We continued to invest in innovation while reducing our service delivery costs and increasing operational efficiency across the organisation.
“As a result, customer retention was at its highest level in several years. GAAP and non-GAAP operating margins were at multi-year highs, and we generated solid operational cash flow.
“I believe our industry is at an inflection point. With our increased focus and investment in research and development, we can leverage our XCaaS first-mover advantage, accelerate CCaaS innovation, and become a true leader across customer experience communications.”
Using UC to Drive the Contact Centre
Wilson’s comments surrounding opportunities within the UCaaS space further emphasise the company’s XCaaS platform to drive customer-focused products as it looks for areas to innovate.
Describing the contact centre marker as “an inflection”, the interim CEO admitted the company has not taken advantage of its existing UC customer base, stating: “The first and most important thing, and we have not done a great job of this yet, is cross-selling our contact centre into that UC base.”
It appears that 8×8 will use its XCaaS platform to drive its current UC customer base into adopting CCaaS by innovating its features within its portfolio.
Cisco Shows Off Webex Interoperability for Microsoft Teams
Cisco has showcased a new range of collaboration devices for Microsoft Teams and unveiled a new microphone for hybrid working during ISE 2023.
The company has stated that its innovations are to help organisations achieve a ‘seamless’ hybrid work experience.
Cisco’s partnership with Microsoft will see the Teams platform run natively on Cisco collaboration devices, with certification expected in March 2023.
The Cisco Table Microphone Pro introduces spatial audio and noise cancellation, enabling distraction-free sound in hybrid meetings.
Jeetu Patel, EVP and GM of Security and Collaboration Cisco, commented:
“The future of work is now, and it’s hybrid, which requires a truly exceptional and inclusive experience that’s not confined by location, device, or meeting platform.
“Cisco is bringing true audio intelligence to its best-in-class devices and software with interoperability, flexibility, and security.”
Devices Certified for Microsoft Teams
Microsoft first announced that Teams Meetings were being made available on Cisco Meetings Devices during its Ignite 2022 event in October.
According to Cisco, the company has partnered with Microsoft to bring customers more choice, flexibility, and capabilities.
