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Its certainly been a strange few weeks for many of us, as we struggle to adapt to a world where remote working is no longer the trend of the future, but the reality of right now. Now that May is here, it feels as though many companies are getting back into the swing of things, finding new and creative ways to keep moving in uncertain times. With companies like Zoom, Microsoft, Cisco, and many others offering easy ways for us to stay connected, we’re beginning to get back on track.
Just before we get started, a big shout out to NICE Nexidia for being our headline sponsor for our Analytics focused month on UC Today. Across May we’ve been shining a light on call and interactions analytics and speech technologies. Be sure to check out our Analytics category and find our latest and greatest stories.
Cisco Loses Another Executive
Cisco might have its eye on the future with things like cognitive collaboration tools and partnerships with Microsoft, but it seems that something is stopping the company’s execs from staying put. Over the last month, Cisco has lost three major players in its C-Suite. Another of Cisco’s top executives, Vasili Triant, abandoned ship this month to become UJET’s new Chief Business Officer.
Over March 2020, Cisco racked up an impressive 14 billion meeting minutes, but that success hasn’t stopped other leaders from leaving the company. Amy Chang and David Goeckeler said so long to the organisation recently too. Check out the full story here.
Cisco Webex vs. Zoom
Speaking of Cisco, it offers one of the market-leading solutions for collaboration in the current landscape. With Cisco Webex Teams and Meetings, you can unlock powerful interactions for your team members in no time. However, there are plenty of other competitors on the market that can deliver sensational results too.
In our recent comparison, we put Cisco and Zoom head-to-head to see which one comes out on top when it comes to things like security, experience, and general feature set. If you’re looking for the perfect collaboration tool for your team, check out our comparison piece here.
Introducing the New Jabra Headset Range
There are few things more important than a good headset to communication these days. That’s particularly true in an environment where more people are working away from the office, and need extra help staying focused with distractions all around them. Fortunately, market leader Jabra is here to help. The company recently introduced a new Evolve2 range of headsets, designed to boost concentration and clarity in any workspace.
The Jabra headsets come with advanced features, like the ability to cancel up to 50% more noise than their counterparts and deliver 40% better audio transmissions. Other features of the Evolve2 range included monitoring and analytics capabilities, leading performance and sound, and even market-leading busy signals too.
Google Searches for UC Surge Across UK
It’s no secret that the world of work has changed rapidly in the last few weeks, with more companies working from home and embracing cloud connectivity than ever before. According to a recent report by the digital marketing company, Semetrical, there has also been a significant upturn in the number of people searching for unified communications technology recently too.
The agency said that it looked at keywords relevant to the core products and service offerings provided by companies in the IT and communications industry. The results of the research found that UC and IT conferencing solutions have become a leading priority for UK businesses since the pandemic. However, there’s also been a more significant global trend of companies flocking to the cloud too.
Facebook Launches Messenger Rooms
As collaboration tools gain more focus than ever before, everyone seems to have their toe in the meeting space right now. Market leaders like Zoom and Microsoft could have another competitor on the horizon now, as Facebook recently introduced its new Messenger Rooms. The Messenger Rooms solution allows for group calling capabilities that support up to 50 people at once. This makes it a strong competitor against Zoom, which also provides for meetings between large groups of people.
Facebook seems to be taking advantage of some of the concerns that people have had about using Zoom following the Zoombombing incident. The company has promised to protect users from unwanted people dropping into conversations with extra security measures.
RingCentral and Nice inContact Partner Up
A leader in the cloud communication landscape, RingCentral recently announced its new partnership with cloud contact centre innovator, NICE inContact. The two companies, committed to supporting to digital transformation initiatives around the world, have begun to work together on a new offer. This special solution will help organisations to rapidly transition their workforce into a secure and efficient remote environment, ideal for the age of distance working.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced countless companies to send their team members home, the demand for cloud communication strategies has been greater than ever. RingCentral and NICE InContact are ensuring that teams can access the same must-have functionality wherever they are. Check out the full story here.
Microsoft Teams Releases May Update
As the world of work continues to evolve, moving away from the traditional office and into the realm of the remote, Microsoft has been at the forefront of this new landscape. Microsoft Teams has been emerging as the go-to solution for enterprise collaboration for a while now. The recent slew of updates introduced to the service for May 2020 ensures that the company can continue to stay one step ahead of the competition.
In this video session between Rob Scott and Microsoft MVP Tom Arbuthnot, the pair check out some of the best new features on Teams. The discussion includes 3×3 video grids, custom backgrounds, the hands-up feature, and even a host of new security improvements.
Video Collaboration RoundTable 2020
Video collaboration isn’t just something that’s “nice to have” in the modern work-from-home environment. If companies want to ensure that their employees stay productive and engaged wherever they are, they need to embrace a video-first culture. In fact, by the end of 2027, the video collaboration market is set to hit an $11.56 billion valuation!
We caught up with some of the market leaders in the video conferencing market to see where this incredible industry is headed. Check out our roundtable for insights from RingCentral, Vonage, Lifesize, Enghouse Interactive, Crestron, and Avaya! Here, you’ll learn everything you need to know about adoption, future trends, and impending opportunities in the video space.
RingCentral and the Return to Work
As the world continues to deal with the changes caused by the COVID-19 virus, many businesses are beginning to consider what might happen once businesses are permitted to return to the office environment. RingCentral, one of the market leaders in cloud communication and collaboration, believe that we’re entering a new age with the way that we work. The pandemic has promoted a vast social experiment, forcing companies to consider what’s possible on the cloud.
According to RingCentral, going “back” to work is likely to be an exciting experience. There’s a good chance that the US will return to the office on a state-by-state basis, and many companies will need to re-assess how many people they need to have “on-premise” in their landscape. Check out the discussion here.
Maintel Introduces Microsoft Teams Connector
To help more people embrace the benefits of truly collaborative experience in the workplace, market leader of cloud and managed IT services, Maintel has just introduced a new solution. The ICON Teams connector is a multi-tenanted service that will help today’s businesses to maintain a complete phone experience within their Microsoft Teams environment. As companies continue to unlock the power of Teams, this new service could be the key to maintaining productivity.
The ICON Teams connector stands out as a highly flexible solution for anyone who wants to build their workplace within Teams, without relying on Microsoft calling plans. You can check out the easy-to-initiate service from Maintel here.
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