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.
Managing Director, Mark Lee, told UC Today that part of the refresh was to establish the company’s reputation as a managed service provider and that the GCI name was heavily linked to its past as a data networking business.
“The original GCI company was very much a data networking business and that’s what it is synonymous with,” he said.
“But as a result of the evolution of our business, we are now much more than just a data networking company – we’re a managed services business.”
Cisco Joins Forces With NHS East London
The pandemic has had a detrimental effect on the mental health of many people and Cisco joined forces with NHS East London to enable it to virtually serve the 6,500 people who avail of the Trust’s Wellbeing Service.
However, one in seven service users did not have access to laptops or digital communication or have the space to access the Trusts services alone. NHS East London and Cisco worked together to create digital pods on-site for patients who needed to travel to the centre. In this COVID-safe space, patients can access a screen equipped with the Webex video platform and stable connectivity and connect to consultants and specialists in a separate room.
Microsoft Teams Specialists Discuss the Highlights of This Year’s Microsoft Ignite
Industry specialists are still digesting the news to come out of this month’s Microsoft Ignite. In this UC Today roundtable, we gathered the thoughts of six industry experts on what the key takeaways were from the event.
Our round table panellists are: Philipp Beck from Luware, Cynthia Smith from EPOS, Marcus Schmidt from Intrado, Micah Singer from TeamMate Technology, Andy Elliot of AudioCodes and Gary Forrest from Pure IP. The six share their views on the introduction of the Operator Connect feature for Teams, which will allow businesses to directly enable PSTN calling from their existing carriers in the Teams platform, as well as the launch of mixed reality meeting platform Mesh.
What were your favourite stories from the last week? Join the conversation with us on social media to discuss the latest announcements!
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