Big UC News from Microsoft, Google, Avaya, and Poly

Microsoft Teams Integrations and Certifications   

Poly has expanded its Microsoft Teams Rooms suite on Android. The Poly G700 video conferencing system has been Teams certified, and the Poly Studio X70 video conferencing bar’s certification will follow soon. Both solutions add greater flexibility to deliver Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android in large and customised spaces. The Poly Video OS 4.0 software update, expected in November, will make Teams available on Poly Studio X70 and G7500.   

The re-certified Poly Studio X30 and X50 video bars are designed for Microsoft Teams on Android 10, and they will be available to customers via the Poly Video OS 4.0 update due in November.

Microsoft CEO Reveals Cloud Innovations at Ignite 2022 

Microsoft’s CEO revealed the latest innovations to Microsoft Cloud at Microsoft Ignite 2022.   

Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, divided the new updates into “five key imperatives”: Microsoft Azure, automation and AI, cloud developer platform, Microsoft 365, and security.   

Microsoft Ignite is an annual Microsoft conference geared towards IT professionals. Nadella provided the opening keynote to this year’s conference, which sought to highlight the ways in which Microsoft Cloud is helping its customers.   

Nadella said: “Organisations in every industry are turning to you and your digital capability to help them do more with less so that they can navigate this change and emerge strong.   

“You are the change agents who make doing more with less possible less time, less cost, less complexity, with more innovation, more agility and more resilience.   

“Doing more with less doesn’t mean working harder or longer. It’s not going to scale. It means applying technology to amplify what you can do and, ultimately, what an organisation can achieve amidst today’s constraints.   

“Over the past few years, they have talked extensively about digital transformation, but today we need to deliver on the digital imperative for every organisation.   

“It all comes down to how we can help you do this with the Microsoft Cloud. No other cloud offers the best of category products and the best of suite solutions. That is what we will focus on at Ignite this week as we walk through the five key imperatives.”

Microsoft 365, Teams & Viva   

One of the five critical areas for Microsoft Cloud is its communication and collaboration segment, which includes the Microsoft 365 platform, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Viva. 

Host of Google Workspace Updates Revealed at Cloud Next ’22 

Google has unveiled a host of updates to its Workspace platform during Google Cloud Next ’22. 

The new features have been designed to bridge connections between those who are operating in the hybrid workplace and make collaborating easier. 

Aparna Pappu, GM and Vice President, Google Workspace, said: “For most organizations, the physical office is no longer the centre of gravity for work. 

“As they look to establish a hybrid workplace that’s energized with ideas and a drive for succeeding together, many are finding that their legacy tools just aren’t meeting their needs. 

“Google Workspace is the most popular productivity tool on the planet — relied on by more than 3 billion users.

“To help organizations thrive in a hybrid world, we’ve invested heavily in immersive connections, our approach to bringing people closer together through our communication products, and smart canvas, our next-generation collaboration experience, while enhancing our cloud-first security model to help people work safer.” 

Immersive Connections 

Google has announced several new features to Google Meet with the aim of bridging the gap between people who are working from different locations. 

The company has stated that the new experiences deliver “immersive connections” to make video calls feel like users are engaging in person.