Welcome back to our weekly roundup of the hottest happenings in the UC&C space.
This week saw LinkedIn add video functionality to its platform, Cisco revealed that it was now seeing eight billion calls a month on Webex, and Zoom upped its investment in Neat by $30m.
LinkedIn Launches Video Meetings
In an effort to bolster productivity on its app and website, LinkedIn has launched native meeting functionality. This allows users to hold meetings without leaving the business networking platform.
Users can initiate a video call by clicking the camera icon in the top right corner of a messaging window with another LinkedIn member.
The added feature is designed to boost the productivity that can happen within the LinkedIn app or website.
In a note on its engineering site, LinkedIn stated: “From an initial job search to a 1:1 conversation, we wanted to drive the productivity of our members end to end while keeping them safe.
“By adding video conferencing as a part of the messaging experience, members can connect virtually while maintaining the context of their existing conversation.
“Now, members can easily schedule free video meetings with their network without the need to download a client or sign up to any service”
UK VoIP Providers Targeted by DDoS Attacks
At least three UK VoIP providers have been hit by a DDoS attack, according to the Cloud Communications Alliance (CCA).
In an email earlier this week, CCA said it has learned of a “sophisticated, specific and ongoing attack”, believed to be from Russian cybercriminal organisation REvil.
Two of the providers are Poole-based Voip Unlimited and London-based Voipfone who reported their respective attacks at the same time. The third provider was not named.
Voip Unlimited Managing Director, Mark Pillow, told The Register:
“UK Comms Council have communicated to us that other UK SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) providers are affected and identified them as a criminal hacking organisation called REvil who appear to be undertaking planned and organised DDoS attacks against VoIP companies in the UK”
Webex Hits 8 Billion Monthly Calls
Cisco revealed this week that its Webex platform is seeing eight billion calls a month.
The platform was recently rebranded as the Webex Suite, bringing together calling, messaging, meetings, events, and technology from recently acquired companies Slido and Socio.
Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Cisco Security and Collaboration, stated:
“With the move to hybrid work and increasing pressure to delight customers, there’s never been a greater need to unify communications across the entire workforce”
“As enterprises look to migrate calling solutions to the cloud, Webex Calling offers the leading end-to-end, secure calling experience that makes unified communications a reality.”
Neat Receives $30m Extra From Zoom
The video conferencing vendor has invested an extra $30m in Neat, bringing its total investment the video hardware firm to $41m.
Oded Gal, Chief Product Officer at Zoom, said the vendor is “tripling down” on its partnership with Neat.
“What does this mean for our customers? Only that we’re tripling down on this partnership, and that you stand to benefit.
“Neat’s devices are an outstanding complement to Zoom’s communications platform and help deliver an optimal Zoom Rooms experience for our users”
What’s New in Teams This Month?
UC Today’s Rob Scott sat down with Microsoft MVP, Tom Arbuthnot, to discuss the latest updates to Teams in September.
The duo chatted about Microsoft 365’s price increases, the vendor’s hiring of a former Uber exec in an effort to grow the platform among the consumer base, and much more.
