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Here we are in June 2020 folks and what a year it's been so far. We’ve seen a massive surge in homeworking technology and as we start to recover from the effects of the pandemic, the industry is showing no signs of slowing.
This month we’ve been delving into all things team collaboration as our editorial focus topic. A big shout out to SCB Global for being this month’s headline sponsor who is making the journey to Microsoft Teams simple with their OPTO4Teams solution.
Whilst I have you, submissions for UC Awards 2020 ended on the 12th June so thank you to everyone who’s applied. Watch out for the shortlist announcement on the 17th of July.
Plenty of big news this month, here are the top 10 most popular stories:
Microsoft Will Soon Enable 49 On-Screen Attendees
Tired of only being able to see a handful of people in your video call? That issue might be coming to an end. Microsoft recently announced that it’s going to be expanding its current video grid layout, which only features 9 people. According to Microsoft, the roadmap for Teams includes a plan to increase the number of people viewable in a call at the same time to 49.
This will be a massive enhancement to Microsoft’s video conferencing experience. The upgrade will put Microsoft in line with Zoom, which has always stayed one step ahead of Microsoft when it came to multi-window video experiences. Check out the full report on the upcoming changes to Microsoft Teams here.
Avaya Announces $628 Million Revenue
Here at UC Today, we’ve been following the Avaya story avidly for the last few years, watching as the brand evolves to suit a new landscape in the cloud. In recent years, Avaya has put more time and effort into building its position in the SaaS landscape. Just recently, in 2020, Avaya launched its UCaaS offering: Avaya Cloud Office.
As the world continues to transform, with more demand for remote and software-based tools than ever before, Avaya’s journey into the cloud couldn’t have come at a better time. In our recent report, we discovered that Avaya has definitely reaped the rewards of a more flexible cloud delivery strategy. The revenue that Avaya announced in it’s most recent earnings report was $628 million. You can discover more insights here.
Don't miss Avaya's Cloud Office virtual event which launches on the 30th June. It's a free 5-day event and will also be made available on demand for 30 days after that. Across the week you will get the chance to explore their new Avaya Cloud Office solution, so register now.
Microsoft Reveals June Update
As the company leading the way to the future of enterprise collaboration, Microsoft always rolls out new and improved methods for teams to stay connected when working remotely. The most recent update from Microsoft Teams arrived for June, providing things like Microsoft’s policy-based recording API, intended to improve team compliance.
Our very own Rob Scott caught up with Microsoft MVP Tom Arbuthnot to discuss some of the latest releases from Microsoft Teams this month. Check out the latest video for an insight into everything from Microsoft’s purchase of MetaSwitch, to the news that arrived from the Build online event. You can see the full vlog here.
Should Slack Purchase Fuze?
Slack is one of the most popular ways for team members to collaborate in the digital landscape. However, this tool also lacks some of the most crucial tools that come with other leading services. For instance, there’s no service for native video conferencing or calling. You can’t have a complete unified communication and collaboration experience with Slack alone.
That’s why the Founder and Principal Analyst of ZK Research, Zeus Kerravala, believes that it might be time for Slack to buy themselves a UC solution. In particular, Zeus thinks that Slack could benefit from buying leading cloud communication company, Fuze. What would it mean for Slack to have its own communication tools? See whether you agree with Kerravala’s assessment here.
Zoom & Genesys Join Forces
Cloud contact centre leader, Genesys is one of the first companies to integrate with the Zoom Meetings and Zoom Phone solution, in a recent partnership. In a strategy intended to improve collaboration experiences, the companies will be working together to offer Zoom PBX performance to Genesys customers. Clients will be able to access both Zoom for video collaboration, and the Genesys cloud contact centre, with AI-enhanced self service tools.
