What a week it’s been in the UC space!
Microsoft Ignite took place this week, and one of the major stories to come from it was the introduction of voice to Dynamics 365, creating an “all-in-one digital contact centre solution”. We also gathered all the biggest announcements from last week’s WebexOne event, and UC Today hosted its first ever UC Partner Awards!
All the News from Microsoft Ignite
A number of major announcements were made at this year’s virtual Microsoft event. The most notable was the news that Dynamics 365 was getting voice functionality to create an “all-in-one digital contact centre solution”. Built on the same platform that powers Teams, the new voice channel means Dynamics 365 Customer Service can now deliver a 360-degree view of a customer across all channels.
Jeff Comstock, Vice President, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, stated:
“With the new voice channel, we are delivering an all-in-one digital contact centre solution that brings together contact centre channels, unified communications, leading AI, and customer service capabilities together into a single, SaaS solution, built on the Microsoft cloud”
Elsewhere, the tech titan also revealed that mixed reality was coming to Teams. Microsoft Mesh is a VR and AR platform that was announced at this year’s first Ignite event earlier this year.
The new offering, Mesh for Teams, will bring Teams functionality, such as virtual meetings, chat, and document sharing to Mesh’s holographic platform. It is set to launch in the first half of next year.
Katie Kelly, a Project Manager at Microsoft working on Mesh for Teams, said: “To start, we will take audio cues so as you talk your face will animate. You’ll also have animations that bring additional expressivity to the avatars. Your hands will move.
“There will be a feeling of presence even though it’s as simple as being able to take your audio and manifest that as facial expressions. That’s the first release.
“The ambition is to closely follow that with Microsoft’s plethora of AI technologies so that we can use the camera to insinuate where your mouth is and mimic your head and facial movements”
Microsoft Loop was also announced at the event. Billed as the “next big breakthrough in Microsoft 365”, Loop is built around a digital canvas and components that span the Office app portfolio and is designed to enable project collaboration in the era of hybrid working.
Microsoft also announced that interoperability between Azure Communications Services and Teams will become generally available from December.
October’s M&A Spree
UC Today’s Marian McHugh discussed the notable acquisitions that were made last month in the UC space. Many of the deals that were struck last month were unique in that they were done by firms that have already announced multiple purchases this year so far, such as Babble, Wavenet, and Onecom.
Adam Zoldan, Director at Knight Corporate Finance, told UC Today:
“The four most active buy-and-builders Arrow, Babble, Focus, and Wavenet all announced acquisitions in October after also completing deals, illustrating the extraordinary drive and depth of funding of their private equity-backed management teams to significantly grow these businesses”
UC Partner Awards Winners!
This week saw UC Today host our first ever UC Partner Awards.
We were overwhelmed with the number of applicants for the awards and our independent panel of judges had a tough task on their hands selecting the winners. Winners included Zoom, Anywhere365, net2phone, and Gamma. Watch highlights of the event here.
The Collaboration Announcements from WebexOne
Last week’s WebexOne event was notable for the major news that it had launched Webex Go and Webex Hologram. But other collaboration news included the launch of Webex Desk Mini, described as the “ultimate home collaboration tool” by Snorre Kjesbu, Vice President & General Manager of Webex Devices..
The device has a small base to fit any space with a touch screen that sits just above the user’s laptop, along with a handle for portability. It is available in a number of colours.
Kjesbu stated:
“This is cutting edge technology and timeless aesthetics that meets functionality, like smart cooling air vents that remove the need for a fan and make the product absolutely quiet”
Cisco also announced Webex now has an app built for iOS, enabling users to use it on their iPads.
UC Trends on Collaboration
Our UC Trends feature is back to prepare the industry for what to expect in an ever-evolving industry. Over the next month, we will release exclusive content in the form of round tables and video interviews on specific topics.
We’re kicking things off with the topic of collaboration, and we spoke with executives from Radisys, Mitel, Avaya, Fuze, and Akkadian Labs about the significant customer trends they’ve seen this year, what trends in the collaboration technology space they see emerging, and the challenges customers face going into 2022.
