It’s once again time for another roundup of the most intriguing happenings to make the news over the past seven days.
It’s been another busy week in the unified comms space. Tensions between RingCentral and Zoom continue to simmer as the former succeeded in getting a restraining order against the latter, comms giant GCI unveiled its brand new moniker and we revealed how using several Microsoft Teams features can help improve productivity while remote working.
We've gathered a collection of our must-read stories from the past seven days.
RingCentral Granted Restraining Order Against Zoom
Many were surprised last week to hear that video conferencing supremo Zoom was suing RingCentral, alleging that it was doing a “classic bait and switch” with its new video offering. RingCentral has been using Zoom technology as part of its video offering for several years, but recently launched its own proprietary tech, RingCentral Video, and has since said it will be moving customers away from the Zoom-powered offering in favour of its own-brand solution.
The saga continued this week as RingCentral was granted a court-ordered temporary injunction against its technology partner, allowing it to continue to sell its Zoom-powered Meetings product. RingCentral welcomed the injunction, stating that it believes in “giving customers choices”.
The restraining order is due to end on Thursday and Zoom said it “remains confident” in its position, despite the setback.
Microsoft Makes Teams More User Friendly For Remote Working
Just two short years ago, Microsoft reported that Teams had around 16 million DAUs. Now recent reports suggest that figure sits at around 115 million. Like many collaboration providers, this acceleration in usage can be attributed to the need to work remotely as a result of the pandemic. Microsoft has been busy updating the platform over the last 12 months to make it even more friendly to WFH users.
This month saw it release PowerPoint Live which allows for more real-time engagement with presentations during meetings. This month also saw it roll out a dark mode theme on iOS and Android to help reduce users’ exposure to blue light. Other recent updates include Together Mode for video calls, virtual commutes that close open tasks and initiate guided meditations and the Planner tab for easier project organisation.
GCI Rebrands as Nasstar
One of the biggest ICT service providers in the UK has given itself a brand-new name: Nasstar.
Private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners became a majority shareholder of the firm in 2018, providing it with a £60m war chest for M&A. Since then, GCI has acquired Modality Systems and Nasstar in 2019.
