Cisco covers lost ground by introducing virtual backgrounds in Webex, Fuze gains a new patent for address book management while 8×8 and Aryaka partner to deliver cloud UCaaS over managed SD-WAN.
Cisco Plays Catch-Up With Teams & Zoom, Intros Virtual Backgrounds in Webex
Cisco has rolled out a new background feature in Webex that will enable its users to blur out or change the background aesthetics in video calling. With the new feature, the tech giant is keeping up with the likes of Microsoft and Zoom
Users can blur the background with setting or choose a Webex preset and apply it as a background. Virtual backgrounds have become an in-demand feature and are widely sought after to ensure user’s privacy, whether working from homes or anywhere else.
While competitors like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Zoom allow users to upload their own custom images as backgrounds, Webex users can only choose from the app presets.
Cisco rolled out virtual background feature for both desktop (Mac and Windows) and mobile (iOS and Android) applications.
Learn More: Microsoft Teams Turns Focus to Engagement, Virtual Avatars & More With New UpdatesOpens a new window
Fuze Patents New Address Book Management Technology
Fuze has been awarded a new patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent helps in advanced address book management and will be implemented on Fuze platform.
With this new patented technology, Fuze will be able to source publicly available information pertaining to contact, biographical information stored in address books of users. The technology accepts new data type sourced from a public channel and matches with other available attributes of the data type to ensure relevant information is being augmented.
According to Rob Scudiere, president and chief operating officer at Fuze, “As the global shift towards remote work continues to unfold, workers’ reliance on tools that provide seamless communication workflows is increasingly vital.†He further added, “This new patent enriches user address books to create a web of information that enhances collaboration and productivity.â€
The patentOpens a new window is summarized as:
“A server comprising a processor circuit and a database may receive address book data comprising information associated with at least one contact from a communication device via a network. The processor circuit may identify information associated with at least one contact in the database and/or from public data. The processor circuit may add the identified information to the address book data. The processor circuit may store the address book data with the added information in the database and send the added information with or without the address book data to the communication device via the network.â€
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8×8 Partners with Aryaka, Deliver Cloud UCaaS Over Managed SD-WAN
8×8 and Aryaka have joined forces to bring together two of the most sought after tech-enabled solutions required for the mobile, distributed workspace. 8×8 will deliver its UCaaS solution, 8×8 Open Communications Platform over Aryaka’s managed software-defined networking (SDN) service.
This is not the first time the two companies have teamed up. In 2017, the companies joined hands to deliver 8×8’s UCaaS solution over Aryaka private network. The current partnership will leverage Aryaka’s SD-WAN to create new cloud accessibility functions for 8×8 Open Communications Platform.
Ghassan Abdo, Research Vice President, Worldwide Telecom, Virtualization & CDN at IDC, “We are living through unprecedented times that require enterprises to accelerate the move to an online digital business and support the massive growth of remote workers. SD-WAN together with cloud communications and collaboration is a great choice to support this new digital economy and address the need for a massively distributed and remote work environment.â€
Aryaka’s 4th Annual Global State of the WAN reportOpens a new window sheds light on the significance of SD-WAN for cloud performance and accessibility. The report indicates that complexity of cloud-apps continue to impact performance for 32% respondents, and that set-up and management is a challenge for 48% of respondents. A key takeaway is that 41% of these respondents are looking to implement and integrate SD-WAN with cloud apps.
Learn More: Why SDN + Unified Communications Are a Perfect Match for Workplace DigitalizationOpens a new window
OpenText Brings its Digital Content Management to Microsoft Teams
OpenText has integrated its Content Services solution with Microsoft Teams. The solution’s content governance and control capabilities can be used by enterprises and other businesses that use Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Teams has witnessed a massive surge in numbers, with 75 million daily active users in April. The large-scale adoption of Teams by businesses posed an opportunity for managed collaboration solutions providers to hop on the platform and create new opportunities for growth.
Lou Blatt, CMO at OpenText said, “Microsoft Teams has become critical infrastructure for organizations that have rapidly moved to remote work. As more work moves to digital collaboration environments, integrating Enterprise Content Services into Teams makes it easier to access relevant documents while maintaining information governance and compliance policies.â€
With the integration of OpenText Extended Enterprise Content Management with Teams, users can streamline business processes with relevant content. Some of the key capabilities include:
- Access and centrally govern customer content within the Teams environment
- Automate the creation of a Team specific to an OpenText business process
- Synchronize Teams membership with OpenText content management systems
- Archive Teams content to OpenText utilizing governance best practices
- Retire Teams and dispose of non-crucial content automatically using OpenText Extended ECM
A spokesperson for OpenText said they will continue to expand integrations with Microsoft products to accelerate OpenText Anywhere strategy on Azure.“Organizations have changed the way they communicate and collaborate. Our integration with Microsoft Teams means that organizations can bring the same collaboration to repeatable business processes that they are using for their ad-hoc business processes today. At the same time, OpenText provides a systematic way to manage the lifecycle of Teams and maintain control of enterprise content. By combining the communication and collaboration of Microsoft Teams with OpenText’s expertise and deep understanding of content management, governance and archiving, organizations benefit from truly secure collaboration at scale,†shared Stephen Ludlow, Senior Vice President, Product Management, OpenText with Toolbox.
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