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Category: BusinessCommunicationTrends

BusinessCommunicationTrends

  • Zoom In Hot Water Over Censorship On Behalf of Beijing

    Zoom In Hot Water Over Censorship On Behalf of Beijing

    Zoom has found itself in hot water again, this time over suspending accounts at the request of the Chinese government.

    In a blog post, the company details how it was approached by Chinese officials regarding multiple accounts that were hosting large meetings commemorating the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. In three of the four instances, Zoom suspended the accounts due to a large number of the participants being from mainland China.

    The company points out that all three of the suspended accounts have since been reactivated, and outlines the mistakes it made in how it handled China’s requests, as well as what it is doing to prevent this situation in the future. Specifically, while the company must comply with local laws, Zooms says that it should not have taken action that impacted those outside of China by shutting down the meetings and suspending or terminating the three accounts.

    Instead, Zoom says it should have blocked participants by country or let the meetings run. Currently, the company does not have the ability to block participants by country, but rightly acknowledges it should have anticipated such a need.

    In the meantime, the company says it will no longer allow requests from the Chinese government to impact users outside of China, and will update its policies for handling such matters.

    On the technical side, the company is working on the ability to block participants by country.

    “Zoom is developing technology over the next several days that will enable us to remove or block at the participant level based on geography,” reads the blog post. “This will enable us to comply with requests from local authorities when they determine activity on our platform is illegal within their borders; however, we will also be able to protect these conversations for participants outside of those borders where the activity is allowed.”

    Despite these steps, US lawmakers are already asking for clarification from Zoom regarding this fiasco, according to Reuters.

  • AWS Deploys Slack Across Workforce

    AWS Deploys Slack Across Workforce

    Slack has scored another major win, as Amazon Web Services (AWS) has adopted the messaging platform for all its employees.

    The deal is part of a collaboration between the two companies, with Slack continuing to use AWS as its preferred cloud provider. Meanwhile, AWS will deploy Slack to all its employees to help teams communicate more efficiently.

    As part of Slack’s ongoing reliance on AWS, the platform will migrate to Amazon’s Chime voice and video calling service to power Slack Calls. The company assures customers they will not notice any difference in the short-term. In the long-term, using Amazon Chime to power Slack Calls will enable the company to add more features and advanced capabilities.

    “The future of enterprise software will be driven by the combination of cloud services and workstream collaboration tools,” says Stewart Butterfield, the co-founder and CEO of Slack. “Strategically partnering with AWS allows both companies to scale to meet demand and deliver enterprise-grade offerings to our customers. By integrating AWS services with Slack’s channel-based messaging platform, we’re helping teams easily and seamlessly manage their cloud infrastructure projects and launch cloud-based services without ever leaving Slack.”

    The partnership will likely benefit both companies, with Slack’s customers standing the most to gain.

  • The Case For Paid Zoom Plans: Free Plans Don’t Have End-to-End Encryption

    The Case For Paid Zoom Plans: Free Plans Don’t Have End-to-End Encryption

    Following Zoom’s addition of end-to-end encryption, the company’s CEO made it clear that only paying customers benefit from it.

    Zoom has become one of the dominant video communication platforms during the coronavirus pandemic, going from 10 million daily users to well over 200 million, and hitting 300 million at times. In spite of its dominance, Zoom has faced significant criticism for weak security. The company was forced to put a 90-day moratorium on new features, as it pivoted to security fixes.

    One of the biggest criticisms was the type of encryption Zoom used, with its marketing giving the impression it was end-to-end when, in fact, it was not. Zoom quickly moved to address the issue and offer true end-to-end encryption.

    In spite of that, not everyone will benefit from the upgrade. According to Bloomberg, in a call with analysts, CEO Eric Yuan indicated free users are out in the cold.

    “Free users for sure we don’t want to give that because we also want to work together with FBI, with local law enforcement in case some people use Zoom for a bad purpose,” said Yuan.

    The move is already receiving criticism and it will be interesting to see if Zoom sticks to its guns or upgrades free users as well.

  • Windows 10 Includes Improved Cortana

    Windows 10 Includes Improved Cortana

    Cortana has received some nice upgrades in Windows 10, with a focus on helping users be more productive.

    Cortana is Microsoft’s “personal productivity assistant,” and the company is doubling down in its efforts to make the assistant as helpful as possible. With an unprecedented number of people working from home, Microsoft sees an opportunity for Cortana to help users juggle the plethora of demands on their time.

    Cortana in Action
    Cortana in Action

    “To help you save time finding what you need and stay focused, we’re releasing a new chat-based Cortana experience in Windows 10 focused on enhancing your productivity,” writes Andrew Shuman, Corporate Vice President, Cortana. “With this, you can ask Cortana using natural language to quickly check your schedule, connect with people, set reminders, or add tasks in Microsoft To Do. You can also find local information, get definitions, and keep track of the latest news, weather, and finance updates with Bing as a Cortana optional connected service.”

    Microsoft is also upgrading the Play My Emails feature in Outlook for iOS, giving Cortana new abilities, such as scheduling a meeting based on the contents of an email, or adding an email to your task list.

    The company is also bringing a new Briefing email to your inbox, courtesy of Cortana.

    “This personalized brief will appear automatically in your Outlook inbox near the start of your workday, providing intelligent, actionable recommendations of documents for you to review ahead of the day’s meetings and drawing your attention to pending requests or commitments from prior emails that you may want to follow up on,” continues Shuman. “This email will also make it easy for you to reserve “focus time” during your workday for uninterrupted focused work with Microsoft Teams notifications silenced.”

    The new features are nice additions, and will likely be a big hit with customers.

  • Teams Won’t Replace Skype Just Yet

    Teams Won’t Replace Skype Just Yet

    After Microsoft announced it would deliver Teams for consumers, some worried the news sounded the death knell for Skype. Those worries appear unfounded, at least for now.

    Microsoft created the confusion and concern when they announced Skype’s recent pandemic-fueled growth. The platform has passed 40 million daily users, representing a 70% month-over-month growth rate. Meanwhile, Skype-to-Skype calling was up 220%. Under normal circumstances, no one would dream of Skype being end-of-lifed (EOL) with those growth numbers. Yet when Microsoft announced they would be bringing Teams to consumers, they made a point of saying that users could continue to use Skype for their personal communication “in the meantime.”

    According to VentureBeat, however, that doesn’t mean Skype is reaching EOL. A Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat that “for now, Skype will remain a great option for customers who love it and want to connect with basic chat and video calling capabilities,” a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat in March. “With the new features in the Microsoft Teams mobile app, we see Teams as an all-in-one hub for your work and life that integrates chat, video calling, [and the] ability to assign and share tasks, store and share important data with your group, [and] share your location with family and friends, whereas Skype is predominantly a chat and a video calling app platform. We have nothing more to share.”

    The company went even further, with Microsoft 365 CVP Jeff Teper assuring VentureBeat that, while Microsoft believes people may naturally gravitate toward Teams, the company is “not going to be heavy-handed about this. People love Skype. And so, we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves here.”

    This is good news for people who love Skype and want to continue using it for the foreseeable future.

  • 8×8 Migrates From AWS to Oracle For Secure Video

    8×8 Migrates From AWS to Oracle For Secure Video

    Oracle has scored another important cloud contract, as cloud communication platform 8×8 has migrated from AWS for secure video.

    8×8 is a cloud communication platform that helps businesses run a virtual office, with business phone numbers, voicemail, extensions, auto-receptionists, voice meetings, chat and more. As such, cloud infrastructure is vital for 8×8 to successfully meet its customers’ needs.

    Like many communication platforms, 8×8 has seen explosive growth during the pandemic. This resulted in the company needing to expand its cloud infrastructure to keep up.

    “As video meetings quickly became the connective tissue of today’s new world, we saw our user count soar. To support that exponential growth, we looked at several platforms and chose Oracle’s Gen 2 Cloud infrastructure for its strong security, outstanding price/performance, and world-class support to serve this new surge of users,” said Vik Verma, CEO of 8×8.

    In particular, Oracle’s Gen 2 Cloud Infrastructure offered 25% better performance per node than AWS, while saving 8×8 more than 80% in network outbound costs.

    Oracle recently inked a deal to help Zoom keep up with its own surge of growth. With the 8×8 deal, Oracle is establishing itself as a serious contender for mission-critical cloud architecture.

     

  • Zoom Buys Keybase, Secure Messaging and File-Sharing Provider

    Zoom Buys Keybase, Secure Messaging and File-Sharing Provider

    Zoom has acquired Keybase, the popular secure messaging and file-sharing provider in its ongoing attempt to improve its security.

    In the midst of the global pandemic, Zoom has gone from 10 million daily users to over 200 million, becoming the go-to platform for communication of all kinds. Remote workers, government agencies, online students, families, friends and more have all turned to the platform to stay connected.

    Unfortunately for the company, it has made a number of security missteps, losing some public confidence along the way. This caused Zoom to announce a moratorium on new features for 90 days, while it focused on beefing up security. This acquisition, the company’s first in its nine-year history, is major step in that direction.

    “There are end-to-end encrypted communications platforms. There are communications platforms with easily deployable security. There are enterprise-scale communications platforms. We believe that no current platform offers all of these. This is what Zoom plans to build, giving our users security, ease of use, and scale, all at once,” said Eric S. Yuan, CEO of Zoom. “The first step is getting the right team together. Keybase brings deep encryption and security expertise to Zoom, and we’re thrilled to welcome Max and his team. Bringing on a cohesive group of security engineers like this significantly advances our 90-day plan to enhance our security efforts.”

    “Keybase is thrilled to join Team Zoom!” said Max Krohn, Keybase.io co-founder and developer. “Our team is passionate about security and privacy, and it is an honor to be able to bring our encryption expertise to a platform used by hundreds of millions of participants a day.”

    It will be exciting to see just how Zoom integrates Keybase’s features to deliver on its security goals.

  • Google Meet Free For Everyone

    Google Meet Free For Everyone

    Google has announced that it is making its premium video conferencing product, Google Meet, available for free to everyone.

    Video conferencing platforms have experienced record growth amid the coronavirus pandemic, as organizations, schools and individuals have turned to them to stay connected and productive. Zoom went from 10 million to 200 million daily users, and 300 million daily meeting participants. Other platforms have also seen stellar growth, although it appears Google would like to experience even more, if its latest blog post is any indication.

    “Today, we’re making Google Meet, our premium video conferencing product, free for everyone, with availability rolling out over the coming weeks,” writes Javier Soltero Vice President & GM, G Suite. “We’ve invested years in making Meet a secure and reliable video conferencing solution that’s trusted by schools, governments and enterprises around the world, and in recent months we’ve accelerated the release of top-requested features to make it even more helpful. Starting in early May, anyone with an email address can sign up for Meet and enjoy many of the same features available to our business and education users, such as simple scheduling and screen sharing, real-time captions, and layouts that adapt to your preference, including an expanded tiled view.”

    This is a big move for Google, and will likely help it better compete with Zoom and Microsoft’s products, including Skype and Teams. It will be interesting to see if Meet remains free permanently, or just while the pandemic is in full swing.

  • Microsoft Reports Quarterly Results, Azure Scores Big

    Microsoft Reports Quarterly Results, Azure Scores Big

    Microsoft has released its quarterly earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2020, and Azure stands out as one of the company’s big hits.

    Analysts were deeply interested in Microsoft’s earnings for this quarter, in view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. How the company faired would be a good indicator of the overall impact the pandemic is having. In its earnings, Microsoft beat analysts exceptions, reporting revenue of $35 billion, representing a 15% increase over the year-ago-quarter.

    A particular standout was the company’s Azure cloud business, which saw revenue growth of 51%.

    “We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months. From remote teamwork and learning, to sales and customer service, to critical cloud infrastructure and security – we are working alongside customers every day to help them adapt and stay open for business in a world of remote everything,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “Our durable business model, diversified portfolio, and differentiated technology stack position us well for what’s ahead.”

    “In this dynamic environment, our sales teams and partners executed a solid third quarter, with Commercial Cloud revenue generating $13.3 billion, up 39% year over year,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft. “We remain committed to balancing operational discipline with continued investments in key strategic areas to drive future growth.”

    The quarterly report was good news, and Microsoft made a point of highlighting that the pandemic had minimal impact on its revenue. However, there was a note of caution, as the company acknowledged “the effects of COVID-19 may not be fully reflected in the financial results until future periods.”

  • Social Distancing Without Isolation

    Social Distancing Without Isolation

    Until we have a vaccine or a cure for COVID-19, chances are we are all going to be spending a lot of time at home for the foreseeable future. Social distancing is difficult, mainly because no one really agrees on what it actually means. As it turns out, inviting a bunch of friends over for drinks and trying to stay six feet apart doesn’t actually count. But that doesn’t mean you have to socially isolate yourself to stay safe and healthy. There’s a fine line between social distancing and social isolation, and it’s more important than ever to strike that balance for the good of your mental health.

    Why Social Distancing?

    Because there’s no known cure or vaccine for COVID-19 yet, our best defense is a good offense. Carriers can be infected and spread the virus for up to two weeks before they ever show symptoms. Because of this, staying at home even if you feel healthy is the best way to slow the spread. 

    Social distancing means staying home as much as possible and only leaving for necessities, like working if you can’t do your job from home, medical emergencies, and groceries once a week or less. When you do have to leave your home, social distancing measures mean that you should stay at least six feet apart from other people and wear a mask.

    Preventing Isolation

    Some things that are still considered social distancing are actually good for preventing feelings of isolation. Going for a walk or walking your dog in your neighborhood – or even another neighborhood if you need a change of scenery – is a great way to get exercise and help yourself feel better. 

    Calling people on a regular basis is a great way to stay connected. Right now you will need to nurture your relationships with friends, family, and colleagues so that you have the foundation to start rebuilding your life after all this is over and done. 

    Set a routine. Get up and go to bed at the same time every day. Eat regular meals. Set aside time for working and do it in a separate space to keep your mind compartmentalized. Make part of your routine exercising either before or after work every day and set a daily time to call people on the telephone – texting just doesn’t cut it.

    You can still have a Zoom meet up with your friends, go for a hike in a natural area, and more to prevent feelings of isolation from setting in, and it’s more important than ever to be vigilant about your mental health.

    Loneliness Doesn’t Have To Be Part Of The Epidemic

    While there was a longstanding epidemic of loneliness before the pandemic began, it doesn’t have to be exacerbated by our need for social distancing. Around half of American adults reported feeling lonely before the pandemic, and that figure has skyrocketed as people struggle to find the appropriate balance in their lives. Learn more about social distancing and preventing feelings of isolation during COVID-19 from the infographic below.

    This post originally appeared on Kivo Daily

  • Zoom Turns to Oracle to Meet Its Infrastructure Needs

    Zoom Turns to Oracle to Meet Its Infrastructure Needs

    In a surprise move, Zoom has chosen Oracle for its latest cloud infrastructure expansion as the company experiences unprecedented growth.

    As COVID-19 has forced people to social distance, work from home, engage in remote learning and socialize digitally, Zoom has been one of the most popular platforms people have turned to. In short order, the platform went from 10 million daily users to over 300 million, putting a strain on the company’s infrastructure.

    The company already uses AWS and Microsoft for cloud infrastructure but, in an effort to keep up with demand, Zoom has struck a deal with Oracle for its latest expansion. The choice is particularly surprising given Oracle’s current place in the market, far behind AWS, Microsoft and Google. One of the motivating factors was Oracle’s security, an area where Zoom has been working to improve.

    “We recently experienced the most significant growth our business has ever seen, requiring massive increases in our service capacity. We explored multiple platforms, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure was instrumental in helping us quickly scale our capacity and meet the needs of our new users,” said Zoom CEO Eric S. Yuan. “We chose Oracle Cloud Infrastructure because of its industry-leading security, outstanding performance, and unmatched level of support.”

    “Video communications has become an essential part of our professional and personal lives, and Zoom has led this industry’s innovation,” said Oracle CEO Safra Catz. “We are proud to work with Zoom, as both their cloud infrastructure provider and as a customer, while they grow and continue to connect businesses, people and governments around the world.”

    The deal is a huge win for Oracle as it endeavors to expand its market share, and wil likely lead to other companies looking to it as a viable option.

    Note: Clarification added to show Zoom continues to use AWS and Microsoft.

  • Preparing For The Reindustrialization Of America

    Preparing For The Reindustrialization Of America

    “If this truly is the Fourth Industrial Revolution it’ll be of the scale of the past three,” says legendary venture capitalist Duncan Davidson. “If we’re going to do this reindustrialization of America and prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it’s going to be more AI, more robotics, taking a lot of things like 3D printing, additive manufacturing it’s sometimes called, and putting it in scale operation in this country. Tech has a real part to play in that but this will pervade the whole country.”

    Duncan Davidson, General Partner at Bullpen Capital, says that the reindustrialization of America will be powered by tech but pervade the whole country in an interview on CNBC:

    Preparing For The Reindustrialization Of America

    Amazon might become a $2 trillion company. Digital ads, I think old media is really going to be in trouble here, Retail — if people can get by without the ads in the local newspaper and have the same sales why do they keep advertising? Remote collaboration — that’s an obvious category (to invest in). I think the two that are less obvious are first the gig economy, its thriving, people thought it was on its back legs. The final one is reindustrialization, what some people call the fourth Industrial Revolution, which is the next big thing coming out of this.

    I think Marc Andreessen’s piece was terrific. You think about the tech sector, it’s probably more important now to the economy than the auto sector, which has been driving this place for 100 years. We don’t have a really strong voice at the table here. He’s exactly right. We shouldn’t just repair roads and fix bridges, we have to build the future. I think what he’s getting at fundamentally is if we’re going to do this reindustrialization of America and prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it’s going to be more AI, more robotics, taking a lot of things like 3D printing, additive manufacturing it’s sometimes called, and putting it in scale operation in this country. Tech has a real part to play in that but this will pervade the whole country.

    The VC Model Is The Core Driver Of Growth In This Economy

    The VC model is the core driver of growth in this economy. If you go back and look at the stats it’s overwhelming. If you think about what we did in VC in the 80s it was PCs, it was hardware, it was disc drives. In the 90s it was software and the internet. More recently, it’s all kinds of things that is spread very broadly across the economy but basically is software-driven, There’s no problem with the VC industry rotating itself back toward industrial things and toward real things and away from software. In fact, it’s exactly the right industry to be agile and move very quickly to finance this next wave of innovation. 

    It’s just not here yet. But if this truly is the Fourth Industrial Revolution it’ll be of the scale of the past three. I think the boom in the venture world, let’s say from 2024 to 2032 or some time frame like that, will be bigger than we’ve seen in the last decade and probably rival what we saw in the 90s. What we see is an acceleration of current trends. So Zoom may be overvalued but the direction of remote collaboration tools, no question. Remote learning — universities may have a total change into more teaching online versus people going to the universities themselves. I can go down through the whole list. Look at what’s really surging and think of that as an acceleration that will continue.

    Preparing For The Reindustrialization Of America
  • Zoom Will Allow Hosts to Report Users

    Zoom Will Allow Hosts to Report Users

    In its ongoing efforts to beef up security, Zoom is preparing to allow hosts to report participants who misbehave.

    Zoom has become a critical component to individuals and organizations alike during the coronavirus pandemic. The company has, however, come under criticism for lax security and privacy, prompting many companies and organizations to ban the app. As a result, Zoom committed to a 90-day moratorium on new features while its engineering teams focused on security and privacy improvements.

    One of the biggest issues the company has been trying to address is Zoom-bombing, where an uninvited participant gains access to a meeting and commandeers it. Zoom-bombers have subjected legitimate participants to lewd drawings, racial slurs and more.

    According to notes on Zoom’s site, the company is releasing an update on April 26 that will allow hosts to report those participants who misbehave.

    Setting to allow host to report participants to Zoom

    Account owners and admins can now enable a setting to allow the host to report participants to Zoom. This feature will generate a report which will be sent to the Zoom Trust and Safety team to evaluate any misuse of the platform and block a user if necessary. This setting is available at the account, group, and user level and can be locked at the group or account level. This setting requires the Zoom client version which will be released on April 26, 2020.

    This is another welcome improvement to Zoom and should help improve the experience for all involved.

  • How Tech Has Led The Way During the Coronavirus Pandemic

    How Tech Has Led The Way During the Coronavirus Pandemic

    The coronavirus pandemic is a new frontier and tech is rapidly evolving to deal with the new challenges we all are facing. We are now seeing each day how technology is being put to use as a valuable resource to deal with this unprecedented global health crisis. Coronavirus is changing the world as we know it, but tech is hard at work to make the “new normal” safer and more comfortable.

    Telemedicine is bridging the gap during quarantine

    As mandatory isolation and self-quarantine measures swept the globe, those with pre-existing medical conditions have still needed medical care. Telemedicine has allowed doctors to consult with patients via videoconferencing apps, allowing uninterrupted medical care. TelaDoc has been one of the leaders in telemedicine technology. Technology to connect health care providers and patients has also been used to help those who believe they may be infected with coronavirus.

    Technology is being used to track the spread of viral pathogens.

    Nextstrain is an open-source project with data sequencing and visualization tools that are updated with current publicly available data on pathogen genomes. The goal of Nextstrain is to help health professionals and the public understand how pathogens evolve and spread so that the response to outbreaks can be improved.

    AI technology is searching for antibodies

    AbCellera and Lilly are using AI to analyze millions of immune cells in search of antibodies. As these antibodies are found they can be used in COVID-19 therapies to help patients recover faster. They claim they have already found 500 antibodies in cells from recovered coronavirus patients.

    3D printing ventilators for COVID-19 patients

    As coronavirus patients fill hospital beds, there has been much concern about the number of ventilators needed vs the overwhelming number of patients who need them. To combat the shortage, 3D printer owners are collaborating and sharing open-source designs to print all the components to make ventilators.

    All social events are now virtual via video calls

    Downloads of video calling apps have seen a huge increase during coronavirus quarantine. As Easter Sunday came and went many families used Skype, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Zoom and other apps to visit with each other virtually. Many musical artists have also provided free concert streams to help fans stay entertained while in quarantine. While it’s not quite like a live event, these online concerts have provided many with entertainment and a distraction from the boredom of staying at home.

    Remote workers attend virtual meetings

    Using much of the same technology and apps workers who may have previously been furloughed are now working remotely. Technology allows workers to attend virtual meetings and prepare and deliver work online without interruption. Before this technology was available it would have been impossible for many of these jobs to be done remotely and more people would have become unemployed.

    All students are online students now

    With schools of all levels closed during the pandemic, educators have converted traditional coursework into online learning. While online education is not new and has become extremely popular in recent years, coronavirus forced those unfamiliar with online school to adapt quickly. The CARES Act provided $14.3 billion for higher education to offset the expenses of massive disruption on college campuses across the US. College students are also getting help from the CARES Act with student loan payments deferred through September 30, 2020 and some loans have had the interest rate temporarily dropped to 0%.

  • Online Ads Gaining Traction Amid Pandemic

    Online Ads Gaining Traction Amid Pandemic

    Research shows that ads are gaining traction as more people are working online and relying on the internet for all aspects of life.

    As the coronavirus pandemic continues spreading around the globe, an untold number of individuals are working from home. For many, e-commerce has suddenly become a lifeline, providing a steady supply of food and essentials. Zoom, Slack, Skype, Teams, and other videoconferencing applications are keeping employees connected to work, and families connected to loved ones. Mobile apps are serving as a welcome distraction for people struggling to maintain some semblance of normalcy.

    Amid such conditions, many companies have pulled back on their advertising efforts and budgets. According to Playground XYZ, however, there are a number of advertising categories that are experiencing greater engagement during the pandemic. Specifically, Playground XYZ found that consumer attention on ads was up 7% for February and 6% for March, compared to the previous six months. Home & Garden, Personal Finance and Food & Drink saw the largest gains, at 21%, 23% and 21% respectively. Another significant finding is that users paid more attention to ads the longer they looked at a site. For example, users who spend approximately 300 seconds on a site had a 250% higher attention index over the baseline, emphasizing the need for companies to focus on long-form and editorial content.

    Similarly, Global Web Index (GWI) found that 27% of individuals are reading Business & Finance articles online. Similarly, “87% of U.S. consumers and 80% of UK consumers say they’re consuming more content.” While video and streaming take the top spots, the point remains that people are craving more information now than ever before. Just as important, “68% of millennial podcast listeners say they intend to keep consuming just as much after the outbreak, indicating potential areas of revenue for digital content providers in the aftermath of the crisis.” Again the point is clear: patterns of behavior and content consumption that are created now will likely continue long-term.

    While the coronavirus pandemic is creating challenges and hardships for businesses of all size, there is also a tremendous opportunity to deliver the content users are looking for—and gain lifelong customers as a result.

  • DOD Temporarily Adopts Microsoft Teams For Remote Work

    DOD Temporarily Adopts Microsoft Teams For Remote Work

    The Deparment of Defense (DOD) has announced it is adopting Microsoft Teams to temporarily help it cope with the increase in remote workers.

    As the coronavirus pandemic continues to take a toll on organizations around the world, tech solutions that provide a way for individuals to continue working remotely are in high demand. Few companies have benefited from that reality more than Microsoft, whose Teams software has become a staple of many companies and organizations.

    The DOD is not immune to these trends, and established the “Commercial Virtual Remote (CVR) Environment to support the Department’s move towards a large-scale telework posture in response to the COVID–19 national emergency. This new tool will provide DoD with enhanced collaboration capabilities for DoD teleworkers to facilitate continuity of operations throughout the duration of the emergency.”

    Microsoft Teams will evidently play a big, not to mention unusual, role in the CVR Environment. According to Computerworld, “DoD employees will be able to access the CVR Teams environment via Microsoft Office 365 in the Government Commercial Cloud for chat, video and document collaboration. Unlike existing deployments of Teams in the DoD, the CVR Teams environment will be available on personal and mobile devices and on commercial networks, though the department has restricted what information can be shared.”

    This move is an indication of the ongoing challenges organizations are facing, and the measures being taken to maintain productivity in the face of unprecedented circumstances.

  • Microsoft Scores With NBA Partnership

    Microsoft Scores With NBA Partnership

    Microsoft has announced a multi-year partnership with the NBA, beginning with the 2020-21 season.

    Microsoft’s technology has been a staple on NFL sidelines for years, but the new NBA deal represents a significant expansion into the sports world. With the new deal, the NBA will use Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to broadcast on-demand and live broadcasts.

    The partnership will also heavily utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve the customer experience. The technology will be used to help generate a “more personalized fan experience,” based on the NBA’s video archives. AI and ML will also help provide coaches and broadcasters with unique insights.

    “We are thrilled to serve as the official AI partner of the NBA,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Together, we’ll bring fans closer to the game and players they love with new personalized experiences powered by Microsoft Azure.”

    “This partnership with Microsoft will help us redefine the way our fans experience NBA basketball,” said Adam Silver, NBA commissioner. “Our goal, working with Microsoft, is to create customized content that allows fans — whether they are in an NBA arena or watching from anywhere around the world — to immerse themselves in all aspects of the game and engage directly with our teams and players.”

    The partnership is a big win for Microsoft and the company’s technology will help revolutionize the experience for NBA officials and fans alike.

    Image Credit: Microsoft

  • Verizon Snaps Up Zoom Competitor BlueJeans

    Verizon Snaps Up Zoom Competitor BlueJeans

    Verizon Business has announced a definitive agreement to buy up Zoom competitor BlueJeans, as the videoconferencing market heats up.

    Amid the coronavirus pandemic, videoconferencing has become one of the most critical components that has allowed businesses, schools, religious organizations and more to keep functioning. Zoom’s stock has reflected its newfound status as a nearly indispensable tool.

    In spite of that success, Zoom has also come under heavy criticism for privacy and security missteps, prompting many organizations and government agencies around the world to ban the app. The company has responded by putting a moratorium on new features for 90 days, while their entire engineering staff focuses on improving security and privacy.

    In such an environment, rivals are moving to take advantage of the company’s missteps. Microsoft has made improvements to both Skype and Teams in an effort to make headway, and now Verizon is acquiring BlueJeans in an effort to move squarely into the space. Verizon specifically touts their intention to deeply integrate BlueJeans videoconferencing with the company’s 5G network, making things like telemedicine and distance learning more mainstream.

    “As the way we work continues to change, it is absolutely critical for businesses and public sector customers to have access to a comprehensive suite of offerings that are enterprise ready, secure, frictionless and that integrate with existing tools,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business. “Collaboration and communications have become top of the agenda for businesses of all sizes and in all sectors in recent months. We are excited to combine the power of BlueJeans’ video platform with Verizon Business’ connectivity networks, platforms and solutions to meet our customers’ needs.”

    “The combination of BlueJeans’ world class enterprise video collaboration platform and trusted brand with Verizon Business’ next generation edge computing innovation will deliver highly differentiated and compelling solutions to our joint customers,” said Quentin Gallivan, CEO of BlueJeans Network. “We are very excited about joining the Verizon team and we truly believe the future of business communications starts today!”

    Combining BlueJeans’ platform with Verizon’s network is likely to be a win for customers of both companies, while the added competition should be good for everyone.

    Image Credit: Verizon

  • Cantor Fitzgerald Initiates Coverage of Zoom, Slack With Bullish Outlook

    Cantor Fitzgerald Initiates Coverage of Zoom, Slack With Bullish Outlook

    Financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald has initiated coverage of Zoom and Slack, giving both an Overweight rating.

    Zoom and Slack have been the darlings of the work from home era. Zoom is widely considered to have one of, if not the, best videoconferencing platforms that works equally well for large and small groups. Similarly, Slack is one of the most widely used chat platforms and has seen significant growth.

    According to Barron’s, Cantor analyst Drew Kootman set price targets of $150 and $30 for Zoom and Slack, respectively.

    “We believe the current Covid-19 environment presents significant upside potential not currently assumed in the stock,” Kootman wrote in a research note. “Zoom provides a superior communication platform in a time where video and connectivity is becoming more important for all industries and business sizes. We expect the virus to provide upside to estimates and for the platform and its products to drive increased market penetration and future cross-selling opportunities. We expect these impacts to continue to drive multiple expansion.”

    The coverage should be a boost to both companies and further reaffirms their status as the pandemic changes how Americans work.

  • Zoom to Allow Paid Customers to Route Their Data

    Zoom to Allow Paid Customers to Route Their Data

    Beginning April 18, Zoom will allow paid subscribers to choose which region their data is routed through.

    Zoom has experienced unprecedented growth, quickly becoming the option of choice for videoconferencing as millions of people work from home. Despite its popularity, and in part because of it, the company has faced withering criticism for lapses in its security and privacy measures, prompting it to put a 90-day moratorium on new features in an effort to focus on privacy and security improvements. One such criticism is that some calls, as well as the encryption keys used to protect them, were routed through China—despite originating in North America.

    True to its promise to focus on beefing up security, Zoom has announced that paying customers will be able to choose where their calls and data are routed. The company began sending out emails to paid subscribers, notifying them of the change, on Monday.

    In a blog post, Zoom CTO Brendan Ittelson explained further:

    Beginning April 18, every paid Zoom customer can opt in or out of a specific data center region. This will determine the meeting servers and Zoom connectors that can be used to connect to Zoom meetings or webinars you are hosting and ensure the best-quality service.

    1. Starting April 18, with respect to data in transit, Zoom admins and account owners of paid accounts can, at the account, group, or user level:
    • Opt out of specific data center regions
    • Opt in to specific data center regions

    You will not be able to change or opt out of your default region, which will be locked. The default region is the region where a customer’s account is provisioned. For the majority of our customers, this is the United States.

    This feature gives our customers more control over their data and their interaction with our global network when using Zoom’s industry-leading video communication services.

    This is good news for paid subscribers, and further demonstrates the lengths to which Zoom is going to regain the trust they lost.

  • Microsoft Using AI For Noise Suppression in Teams

    Microsoft Using AI For Noise Suppression in Teams

    Microsoft is working on using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the sound quality of meetings in Teams.

    Microsoft Teams has been experiencing significant growth, both before and during the pandemic, as it takes on its chief rival Slack. As millions of people shelter in place and work from home, chat and videoconferencing software has become their lifeline to the outside world for work, association, family time and more.

    Unfortunately, one of the biggest irritations with videoconferencing is often the background noise—the cat meowing, dog barking, child playing or significant other watching TV. Now Microsoft is planning on using AI and machine learning to tackle the problem.

    As Robert Aichner, Microsoft Teams group program manager, told VentureBeat, the issue lies in cancelling non-stationary vs stationary noise. Stationary noise is constant, such as a computer’s fan. As such, stationary noise is relatively easy to suppress and Microsoft’s products, such as Teams and Skype, already do that. The challenge is suppressing non-stationary noise, such as a dog barking, a car horn blowing, or someone else in the room suddenly making noise.

    “That is not stationary,” Aichner explained. “You cannot estimate that in speech pauses. What machine learning now allows you to do is to create this big training set, with a lot of representative noises.”

    This is where machine learning comes, training the system using good and bad data examples, to help it better understand what needs to be filtered.

    “We train a model to understand the difference between noise and speech, and then the model is trying to just keep the speech,” Aichner continues. “We have training data sets. We took thousands of diverse speakers and more than 100 noise types. And then what we do is we mix the clean speech without noise with the noise. So we simulate a microphone signal. And then you also give the model the clean speech as the ground truth. So you’re asking the model, ‘From this noisy data, please extract this clean signal, and this is how it should look like.’ That’s how you train neural networks [in] supervised learning, where you basically have some ground truth.”

    The in-depth report at VentureBeat is a fascinating read, and shows what is possible as companies continue to use AI and machine learning across applications.