WebProNews

Category: SmallBusinessNews

SmallBusinessNews

  • 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.

  • Mark Cuban: Some Banks Actively Not Taking PPP Loan Applications

    Mark Cuban: Some Banks Actively Not Taking PPP Loan Applications

    “There are some banks who are actively trying not to take applications and to minimize the number of loans they make through the program,” says investor Mark Cuban. “This is despite the fact that it pays a five percent commission for the loans made on the small businesses. It might take the Treasury Department really pushing some banks who were unwilling participants to start to push some loans out there.”

    Mega entrepreneur Mark Cuban discusses the difficulties with the launch of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) designed to help small businesses in an interview on CNBC:

    Some Banks Actively Not Taking PPP Loan Applications

    You have got to execute on what you’ve already promised obviously. Small businesses have been told that this (PPP forgivable loan) was coming since the legislation was passed more than almost two weeks ago. The rush was more than the banks were able to handle. The banks have just got to do their job. 

    Part two to that is I think there are some banks who are actively trying not to take applications and to minimize the number of loans they make through the program. This is despite the fact that it pays a five percent commission for the loans made on the small businesses. It might take the Treasury Department really pushing some banks who were unwilling participants to start to push some loans out there.

    Surprising That Banks Not Taking Advantage Of Opportunity

    It’s kind of surprising to me because the reality is that the Fed has said that they’ll buy back all the loans. Plus on top of that, they’ll pay that five percent origination fee slash commission for smaller loans. So banks have an incentive and it’s a unique opportunity for banks to pick up new clients. Never in the history of banking has a bank been able to say to a small business, I’ll loan you money and if you increase or maintain your employment you don’t have to pay it back. 

    I really truly expected that forward-thinking banks would use this as a way to attract new customers because it’s a unique opportunity. But they just haven’t. It’s going to take some prodding, unfortunately, to really get the stimulus in the hands of those who need it. Also, unfortunately, even more so, it’s a race against time because a lot of these companies are looking at going out of business if they don’t get that money in their hands.

    Mark Cuban: Some Banks Actively Not Taking PPP Loan Applications
  • Twitter Disables User Control of Advertising Data

    Twitter Disables User Control of Advertising Data

    Twitter took a big step backward in its efforts to protect user privacy, eliminating user control over data used for advertising.

    In an announcement that started showing up when users logged on, Twitter said the goal of the change was to help it continue as a free service. The announcement read:

    An update to your data-sharing settings

    The control you have over what information Twitter shares with its business partners has changed. Specifically, your ability to control mobile app advertising measurements has been removed, but you can control whether to share some non-public data to improve Twitter’s marketing activities on other sites and apps. These changes, which help Twitter to continue operating as a free service, are reflected now in your settings.

    The move is disappointing for users who value their privacy, although users in the European Union are unaffected by the change. Thanks to the EU’s GDPR, companies are required by law to give users control over their own data and how it is used.

    After Twitter’s announcement, it won’t be surprising if there are renewed calls for GDPR-style legislation in the U.S.

  • Coming or Going? In the Encryption Debate, U.S. Government Doesn’t Know

    Coming or Going? In the Encryption Debate, U.S. Government Doesn’t Know

    Senator Blumenthal has issued a call for the FTC to investigate Zoom’s security, illustrating a schism within the government over the issue of encryption.

    Few issues have polarized politicians, scientists, researchers and citizens as much as end-to-end encryption. Many officials, including multiple FBI directors, have warned that strong encryption makes it nearly impossible to properly investigate cases and contributes to criminals “going dark.” Others, such as Senators Ron Wyden and Rand Paul, have been staunch proponents of strong encryption. Similarly, mathematicians and security experts have repeatedly made the case that strong encryption cannot have backdoors or built-in weaknesses and still offer the necessary protection.

    Currently, the biggest threat to encryption in the U.S. is the upcoming EARN IT Act. The bill is designed to combat online sexual exploitation of children. While absolutely a worthwhile goal that should be a priority for companies, governments and individuals alike, the bill is a pandora’s box of uncertainty when it comes to encryption. The bill addresses protection under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, wherein companies are not held liable for things people say or do on their communications platforms.

    Under the proposed EARN IT Act, in order to maintain their protected status under Section 230, companies would need to comply with vague “best practices” established by a committee. This committee, and the U.S. Attorney General, would have wide discretion to determine what those “best practices” are. So what happens if the Attorney General is William Barr, an individual who has voiced staunch opposition to end-to-end encryption? Might “best practices” include the requirement that companies build in backdoors? Very likely.

    Backers of the bill, have said the bill is not an attack on encryption and that necessary safeguards are in place. However, nearly every expert who has reviewed the bill has arrived at a completely different conclusion, and believe the bill will absolutely lead to an all-out attack on encryption.

    Should that happen, many companies will have to choose between weakening their encryption, and thereby endangering their users, or move their businesses outside the U.S. One example is the encrypted messaging app Signal, ussed by the U.S. military, as well as senators and their staff. Signal developer Joshua Lund made it clear (an excellent read) the app will likely no longer be available in the U.S. if EARN IT passes.

    What makes this story all the more interesting is a recent tweet by Senator Richard Blumenthal, one of the sponsors of the EARN IT Act:

    I am calling on FTC to investigate @zoomus. Zoom’s pattern of security failures & privacy infringements should have drawn the FTC’s attention & scrutiny long ago. Advertising privacy features that do not exist is clearly a deceptive act.

    The facts & practices unearthed by researchers in recent weeks are alarming—we should be concerned about what remains hidden. As Zoom becomes embedded in Americans’ daily lives, we urgently need a full & transparent investigation of its privacy & security.

    Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) April 7, 2020

    One of the biggest privacy and security issues with Zoom is the fact that it advertised end-to-end encryption, but failed to deliver. Based on Senator Blumenthal’s tweet, the message is clear: end-to-end encryption is a wonderful thing for government officials, so long as said government officials can still spy on the average citizen.

    In other words, the U.S. government is stuck in a strange dichotomy where it wants to punish companies for not supporting end-to-end encryption, while at the same time undermining and legislating backdoors in that very encryption.

  • Microsoft Delaying Windows 10X and Surface Neo

    Microsoft Delaying Windows 10X and Surface Neo

    Users excited about Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 10X and Surface Neo phone will have to wait till next year, according to reports.

    Microsoft unveiled the Surface Neo in October, with plans to ship the dual-screen device in 2020. Along with it, the company was also planning on releasing Windows 10X, a version of the operating system designed specifically for foldable devices. With the effects of the pandemic in full swing, it appears Microsoft may be putting both releases on hold to address more pressing issues.

    According to Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet’s All About Microsoft writer, sources inside Microsoft said “that Chief Product Officer Panos Panay informed some of his team internally today, April 8, that Microsoft wouldn’t be delivering its own Surface Neo dual-screen 10X devices this calendar year. In addition, Microsoft also won’t be enabling third-party dual-screen Windows devices to ship with 10X in calendar 2020.”

    Notably, Foley’s sources do not indicate Microsoft is delaying the Surface Duo, the Android-driven sibling to the Neo. If true, this would seem to indicate the bottleneck lies with fine-tuning Windows 10X, rather than a hardware issue.

  • Trello Brings Butler Integration to Slack and Jira

    Trello Brings Butler Integration to Slack and Jira

    Popular project management tool Trello has announced its Butler automation feature now integrates with Slack and Jira.

    Butler allows users to automate actions based on a schedule, click of a button or rule-based triggers. The tool can be used on almost any Trello action, and provides a way for users to create automated workflows.

    According to a post on the company’s blog, “with the addition of Butler integrations into Slack & Jira, that automated workflow can now extend even further beyond the boundaries of Trello to the tools where other teammates are working—bringing them into the process and keeping everyone informed as work moves forward.”

    The new integrations will be a welcome addition to Slack, Jira and Trello users, giving users a powerful way make automation part of their routine.

  • DHS: Zoom Responding to Security Concerns

    DHS: Zoom Responding to Security Concerns

    The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a memo in support of Zoom and the company’s efforts to improve its security.

    According to Reuters, who gained access to the memo, DHS was addressing the recent issues Zoom has been facing regarding its security and privacy. The memo was “drafted by DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, which screens software used by government bodies,” and circulated among the government’s top cybersecurity officials.

    Rather than calling for a moratorium on Zoom’s use, as some companies and governments have done, the DHS memo sought to put officials’ minds at ease by emphasizing that Zoom understood the seriousness of the concerns and was working hard to address them. The support is good news for Zoom and an indication its recent efforts to beef up privacy and security are beginning to yield much-needed fruit.

  • Mitchell Baker Becomes Mozilla’s CEO

    Mitchell Baker Becomes Mozilla’s CEO

    Long-time chairwoman Mitchell Baker has officially taken the reigns as Mozilla’s next CEO.

    The organization’s previous CEO, Chris Beard, resigned at the end of 2019, leaving a vacancy in Mozilla’s leadership. Now, more than three months after Beard left, Baker is taking over the position.

    “I’m honored to become Mozilla’s CEO at this time. It’s a time of challenge on many levels, there’s no question about that,” Baker writes in a blog post. “Mozilla’s flagship product remains excellent, but the competition is stiff. The increasing vertical integration of internet experience remains a deep challenge. It’s also a time of need, and of opportunity. Increasingly, numbers of people recognize that the internet needs attention. Mozilla has a special, if not unique role to play here. It’s time to tune our existing assets to meet the challenge. It’s time to make use of Mozilla’s ingenuity and unbelievable technical depth and understanding of the ‘web’ platform to make new products and experiences. It’s time to gather with others who want these things and work together to make them real.”

    Baker has deep roots with both Mozilla and its predecessor, Netscape. She first joined Netscape in November 1994, as one of the company’s first employees in the legal department, and became general manager of the mozilla.org project within Netscape five years later. In 2001, she was let go by America Online, who had acquired Netscape in 1999. In 2003, she helped launch the Mozilla Foundation, and became the first CEO of its subsidiary, Mozilla Corporation, when it was launched in 2005.

    Given Baker’s long history with Mozilla, not to mention Netscape, she represents a solid choice to lead the organization amid tech’s changing landscape.

  • Apple Takes on File Sharing Services With iCloud File Sharing

    Apple Takes on File Sharing Services With iCloud File Sharing

    Apple has fired a shot across the bow of Dropbox, Box and others with the addition of iCloud File Sharing.

    Steve Jobs famously tried to buy Dropbox years before the company went public, describing the business as a “feature, not a product.” In the ensuing years, Apple has slowly (some might say glacially) improved iCloud to better compete with dedicated file storage options, including offering a level of integration that other services struggle to match.

    First announced at WWDC 2019, with the latest round of iOS, iPadOS and macOS updates, the File Sharing feature has finally debuted.

    “With iCloud File Sharing, you can share folders and documents in iCloud Drive with other iCloud users,” reads Apple’s support site. “You and the people you invite can view and even work on your documents. The people who receive your invitation can click a link to download the shared folder or file from iCloud to any of their devices. Everyone views the same shared items. If you allow others to make edits, they can change the files and you see the updates the next time you open the files on your Mac.”

    iCloud’s new feature includes all the necessary options to control who can do what with a given file or folder. While iCloud File Sharing won’t replace Dropbox, Box or others for heavy use, or in a business setting, it will likely cause many casual users to rethink their subscriptions to third-party services.

  • This Crisis Is Going To Change Retail, Says Caruso CEO

    This Crisis Is Going To Change Retail, Says Caruso CEO

    “The important thing to think about is that the biggest threat to brick-and-mortar retail is really the current version of themselves,” says Caruso CEO Rick Caruso. Caruso is one of the most successful retail developers in the United States. “Many of them have to evolve and many of them have to change because the consumer is going to change. This crisis, I believe, is going to change consumer culture, their expectations, and what they want from retailers in a really significant way.”

    Rick Caruso, founder, and CEO of the Caruso real-estate empire discusses how retail will be forever changed even after the current crisis is over:

    This Crisis Is Going To Change Retail

    I hope (retail jobs) come back I think some are going to be lost. The retail environment is tough out there right now. The important thing to think about is that the biggest threat to brick-and-mortar retail is really the current version of themselves. Many of them have to evolve and many of them have to change because the consumer is going to change. This crisis, I believe, is going to change consumer culture, their expectations, and what they want from retailers in a really significant way. 

    They’re going to be winners and they’re going to be losers. I think the winners are going to be very connected. They’re going to be curated and feel more local. They’re going to feel more personalized and they’re going to have a better value proposition. There are many out there that we’re doing that before this crisis began and they’ll continue to do it. I think they will be rewarded with great success and hopefully, they will drive a lot of hiring. There will be more retail jobs coming back into the current economy.

    People Are Going To Want More Physical Space

    I do think that people are going to want to have more physical space (after this crisis is over). I think they’re going to operate differently. Listen, 9/11 fundamentally changed our habits as human beings. But the one thing that is always crystal clear is we’re human souls that want to have a sense of connection and community and our properties provide that. The challenge for retailers inside their four walls is going to be to meet the customer where the customer wants them to be. 

    The very innovative and very smart retailers are going to do very well. When you get to crowded restaurants and things like that I think they’re going to have to change how they operate. Movie theatres may have to change how they operate for a while. There’s certainly going to be a shift. What we have seen is the isolation gets very tiring very quickly. So I think people are going to want to come out and they’re going to want to celebrate life and they want to connect with their community.

    Economy Is Built On The Back Of The Entrepreneur

    Some (of our retail tenants) are and some aren’t (paying rent right now). The ones that I worry about the most and I care about a lot are the smaller ones. These are the entrepreneurs and the people that have started a small business or a small restaurant. We’re leaning in with all of those to support them. I’m a big believer that the economy is built off the back of the individual entrepreneur.

    We’re going to support them to get them reopened so they can rehire and move forward. The tenants that are more creditworthy, which is a big chunk of our portfolio, they have been paying. My expectation is that they should, given these times, so that we can put more resources into the smaller businesses which clearly will need our help.

    We’re Giving Smaller Tenants Concessions On Rent

    We’re meeting with each of (our small business tenants) individually. It depends on certain circumstances but we’re going to give them concessions on rent. We certainly may give them concessions and investment in terms of TI’s and maybe upgrading their stores. Whatever they need to do. Our properties are very popular for a number of reasons but one of them is the small retailers, the entrepreneurs, the restaurant tourism. They’re the soul of the properties and they’re the fabric of the properties. We need those to survive.

    What we don’t want to do is have successful properties that are just full of national retailers. National retailers could be great but they don’t have the same connection to the community and the same soul that a local entrepreneur has. Those are the ones we’re very focused on supporting and working with.

    This Crisis Is Going To Change Retail, Says Caruso CEO Rick Caruso
  • Next Mining Venture: The Moon and Asteroids

    Next Mining Venture: The Moon and Asteroids

    President Trump signed an executive order further solidifying U.S. policy toward mining and resource acquisition in space.

    According to Space.com, the executive order has been in the works for roughly a year, and is “called Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources.” The order follows the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, not the 1979 Moon Treaty that was largely ignored by the U.S. and other space-capable nations. Under the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, mining and resource gathering in space is allowed.

    “As America prepares to return humans to the moon and journey on to Mars, this executive order establishes U.S. policy toward the recovery and use of space resources, such as water and certain minerals, in order to encourage the commercial development of space,” said Scott Pace, deputy assistant to the president and executive secretary of the U.S. National Space Council.

    With the U.S. once again making space exploration a priority, including a planned moon based within the decade, this executive order provides clear guidelines for U.S. space organizations.

  • Apple Creating Face Masks For Medical Personnel

    Apple Creating Face Masks For Medical Personnel

    Apple is turning its considerable resources and expertise to manufacturing face masks for medical personnel amid the ongoing crisis.

    CEO Tim Cook made the announcement on Twitter:

    Apple is dedicated to supporting the worldwide response to COVID-19. We’ve now sourced over 20M masks through our supply chain. Our design, engineering, operations and packaging teams are also working with suppliers to design, produce and ship face shields for medical workers.

    — Tim Cook (@tim-cook) April 5, 2020

    In the video, Cook says the face shields pack flat, assemble in less than two minutes and are fully adjustable. The company has already delivered its first shipment to Kaiser hospital facilities in the Santa Clara Valley, to positive feedback from doctors.

    Apple plans to ship over one million by the end of this week, with one million being shipped every week after. Initially, distribution will be in the U.S., with hopes to expand worldwide.

    Cook makes it clear that, “for Apple, this is a labor of love and gratitude, and we will share more of our efforts over time.” The company is to be commended for the example its setting, one that hopefully many other companies will follow.

  • Skype Adds ‘Meet Now’ Feature to Take On Zoom

    Skype Adds ‘Meet Now’ Feature to Take On Zoom

    In an effort to take on Zoom’s newfound popularity, Microsoft is adding “Meet Now” to Skype, making meetings easier than ever.

    Once upon a time, Skype was the reigning king of online videoconferencing. A number of missteps by Microsoft, clunky interface decisions, poor performance and ongoing security issues opened the door for Zoom to become the de facto standard amid the global pandemic. Now that Zoom has faced criticism of its own over security and privacy, Microsoft sees an opportunity to make up lost ground.

    The feature works whether Skype is installed or not. “Our unique Meet Now link will open your installed Skype app on any device,” the post continues. “Even if you’re not signed in, you can join the call or chat as a guest. If you don’t have Skype installed on your desktop, we will open our Skype for Web client for your convenience. If you’d like, you can install Skype on your device as well.”

    Image Credit: Microsoft
    Image Credit: Microsoft

    According to Microsoft, “Meet Now in Skype allows you to easily set up a collaboration space and invite both Skype contacts and friends or family who are not on Skype. Participants can then easily join meetings whether they have an account or not.”

    It’s unclear whether the new feature will be enough to help Skype regain market share, but it is nice to see Microsoft stepping up and giving users more options.

    Image Credit: Microsoft

  • Grubhub Rolls Out $30 Million Stimulus To Restaurants

    Grubhub Rolls Out $30 Million Stimulus To Restaurants

    “A $250 payment per restaurant (from Grubhub) doesn’t sound like a lot but it’s going to be a huge difference,” says Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney. “We’re looking at it as a stimulus almost because the way we’re rolling it out is a consumer gets $10 if they spend $30. So our $30 million dollars is going to transform into over $100 million dollars of food sales to restaurants across the country.”

    Matt Maloney, CEO of Grubhub, announces a $30 million stimulus to restaurants in a discussion on CNBC:

    Grubhub Rolls Out $30 Million Stimulus To Restaurants 

    A $250 payment per restaurant (from Grubhub) doesn’t sound like a lot but it’s going to be a huge difference. We’re looking at it as a stimulus almost because the way we’re rolling it out is a consumer gets $10 if they spend $30. So our $30 million dollars is going to transform into over $100 million dollars of food sales to restaurants across the country. That’s a big slug when everyone’s working really hard to try to put money in the hands of small businesses.

    It depends on the market (in terms of how many restaurants are still open). In early COVID West Coast markets, we saw a dramatic dip in restaurants that went off the platform. Now they’re starting to come back on. You have New York and Detroit that are in the throes of the crisis right now and so you’re they’re peaking with about 30 percent of the restaurants off. But remember, we’re having thousands and thousands of restaurants coming on the platform for the first time so we’re seeing about the same number in terms of net. It’s just a transition.

    Grubhub Triples Highest Restaurant Onboarding Month Ever

    Our teams are working around the clock. We tripled our most onboarding month ever of restaurants. We had 15,000 restaurants go live in March. We’re probably going to do more in April. It’s just an incredible intensity of need right now for restaurants. We’re doing everything we can to help them. With drivers, we launched contact-free pickup or drop-off. We also just launched, just last week, curbside pickup for the drivers to make sure there are two layers of protection.

    There’s plenty of work on Grub and I know there’s lots of work on other delivery platforms as well. We have our own stimulus for our drivers too. If they get impacted directly by COVID we’re paying them. I know other platforms are also. And, of course, the CARES Act just came through with a lot of relief for gig workers also. Everyone right now is all hands on deck trying to help the restaurants, the drivers, and everyone impacted through this economic and health care crisis. 

    Fundamental Economics Are Still Intact

    I am hoping for the best. I think that the fundamental economics of our society is still intact. There is a lot of demand right now for restaurants. If we can help restaurants get through the next few weeks or months, depending on how bad this is, they will come back, they will be there for our communities. If they can’t, then that’s going to be a real problem.

    What we’re seeing right now is as the crisis bottoms out in the market growth does start to come back in that local area. We’re seeing the crises (at different levels) around the country in different markets at different times so we’re trying to dynamically manage that situation on the ground.

    Grubhub Rolls Out $30 Million Stimulus To Restaurants, Says Grubhub CEO Matt Maloney

  • Slack Adds Support For Microsoft Teams Calls

    Slack Adds Support For Microsoft Teams Calls

    Despite a heated rivalry, Slack has announced support for Microsoft Teams calls.

    Slack and Microsoft Teams are vying for control of the corporate messaging market. Teams boasts the larger user base, while Slack prides itself on having more engaged users. Both platforms have their unique advantages. Teams benefits from being part of Microsoft’s software ecosystem. Slack, on the other hand, is quickly setting itself apart as the option for companies who compete with Microsoft and are reluctant to rely on the software giant for their communications.

    In a move few would have expected, Slack has announced that it now supports Microsoft Teams calls, eliminating one more reason why some users might migrate away from Slack. Now, in organizations where different departments use different options, the newfound interoperability should help ensure Slack doesn’t become an extraneous platform.

    As the company’s description highlights, individuals can “bring video conferencing where your team is already working in Slack, from launching a call to joining meetings directly from event reminders.”

    This is a good move on Slack’s part and should further solidify its place in the corporate messaging world.

  • Facebook Launches Messenger App for macOS and Windows

    Facebook Launches Messenger App for macOS and Windows

    Facebook has announced the release of a native Messenger app for both Windows and macOS.

    While users could access Messenger via their web browser, the new apps will allow users to benefit from a desktop environment, including larger screens and multitasking. As an added benefit, messages sync across mobile and desktop devices.

    “Now more than ever, people are using technology to stay in touch with the people they care about, even when physically apart,” writes Stan Chudnovsky, VP of Messenger. “Over the past month, we saw more than a 100% increase in people using their desktop browser for audio and video calling on Messenger. Now with apps for MacOS and Windows, the best of Messenger is coming to desktop, including unlimited and free group video calls.”

    Facebook hopes the new apps will make it easier for people to stay in touch at a time when social media and digital connections are more important than ever.

  • Mobile Apps Reach Record Sales Amid Lockdowns

    Mobile Apps Reach Record Sales Amid Lockdowns

    As people all over the world are locked down or under stay-at-home orders, the mobile app market is booming as people look for things to do and ways to stay connected.

    According to data released by App Annie, mobile apps saw significant growth in Q1 2020, both in the time spent using them and the money being spent on them. The report found that “Google Play downloads grew 5% year over year to 22.5B, while iOS downloads grew 15% year over year to over 9B new downloads for the quarter. On Google Play non-gaming apps accounted for 55% of all downloads, while on iOS the figure was slightly higher at 65%.”

    Similarly, when it comes to purchases, customers “spent over $23.4B through the app stores, the largest quarter ever in terms of consumer spend. There were also over 31B new app downloads, a 15% increase from Q4 2019.”

    The report goes on to point out that there was a direct correlation between areas hit with the pandemic and surges in mobile app usage and purchases. The more countries required citizens to shelter-in-place, the more they turned to mobile apps.

    The report, while not necessarily surprising or unexpected, is further evidence of the fundamental shift the computing industry has experienced toward mobile apps and services.

  • Apple Buys Dark Sky Weather App

    Apple Buys Dark Sky Weather App

    Apple has purchased popular weather app Dark Sky, according to Dark Sky’s blog.

    Dark Sky quickly made a name for itself as “the most accurate source of hyperlocal weather information.” The app is loved by customers for giving “down-to the-minute forecasts…right where you’re standing,” giving it a significant advantage over many other apps on the market.

    “Today we have some important and exciting news to share: Dark Sky has joined Apple,” writes Adam Grossman on the company’s blog.

    “Our goal has always been to provide the world with the best weather information possible, to help as many people as we can stay dry and safe, and to do so in a way that respects your privacy.

    “There is no better place to accomplish these goals than at Apple. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to reach far more people, with far more impact, than we ever could alone.”

    As part of the deal, the iOS version of the app will continue to be available on the App Store, while the Android and Wear OS apps are no longer available and will shut down for existing users after July 1, 2020. Similarly, the API will continue to function through the end of 2021 but, in the meantime, the company is not accepting new signups.

    Apple will likely use the acquisition to help improve its own weather app, which was originally powered by Yahoo and then more recently by The Weather Channel. Dark Sky should give the company a competitive advantage in weather apps, and will make a nice addition to the iOS ecosystem.

  • Facebook Financials ‘Adversely Affected’ By Coronavirus

    Facebook Financials ‘Adversely Affected’ By Coronavirus

    Facebook is warning that its business is being “adversely affected” by the coronavirus pandemic that is sweeping the globe.

    In a blog post, Alex Schultz, VP of Analytics, and Jay Parikh, VP of Engineering, lay out the challenges the company is facing. With unprecedented numbers of people quarantined, sheltering in place or practicing social distancing the company is experiencing a major uptick in usage. In many countries, especially the hardest hit, “total messaging has increased more than 50% over the last month.” Similarly, in those places “voice and video calling have more than doubled on Messenger and WhatsApp.” Italy has likewise “seen up to 70% more time spent across our apps since the crisis arrived in the country.”

    Facebook previously warned its ad business was likely to take a hit, but today’s post highlights the additional issues the company is facing. Because the increased usage is on services that are free, Facebook is not benefiting monetarily by the uptick. At the same time, the company’s infrastructure still has to bear the burden of the increased load. The two executives laid out the challenges:

    “We have received questions about revenue, so want to provide some context here too: Much of the increased traffic is happening on our messaging services, but we’ve also seen more people using our feed and stories products to get updates from their family and friends. At the same time, our business is being adversely affected like so many others around the world. We don’t monetize many of the services where we’re seeing increased engagement, and we’ve seen a weakening in our ads business in countries taking aggressive actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

    The executives did provide assurances Facebook is doing everything possible to make sure their infrastructure can deal with the days ahead.

    “Maintaining stability throughout these spikes in usage is more challenging than usual now that most of our employees are working from home. We are working to keep our apps running smoothly while also prioritizing features such as our COVID-19 Information Center on Facebook as well as the World Health Organization’s Health Alert on WhatsApp. We’re monitoring usage patterns carefully, making our systems more efficient, and adding capacity as required. To help alleviate potential network congestion, we are temporarily reducing bit rates for videos on Facebook and Instagram in certain regions. Lastly, we’re conducting testing and further preparing so we can quickly respond to any problems that might arise with our services.”

    Facebook is just the latest example of how companies, even those without traditional supply chains, are being negatively impacted by the pandemic.

  • Google Donating $800 Million to Small Businesses Amid Crisis

    Google Donating $800 Million to Small Businesses Amid Crisis

    With the fate of many small businesses on the line, Google is donating some $800 million to assist small businesses during the economic crisis.

    As the global health crisis worsens, companies around the world are closing shop or drastically changing how they conduct business. Many are facing uncertain futures, leading governments and companies to take measures to assist. Google is one of the latest to step up, pledging some $800 million to the effort.

    In a blog post, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company will be donating “$250 million in ad grants to help the World Health Organization (WHO) and more than 100 government agencies globally provide critical information.” This should help combat the spread of misinformation that is plaguing social media.

    In addition, the company is also setting aside “a $200 million investment fund that will support NGOs and financial institutions around the world to help provide small businesses with access to capital. As one example, we’re working with the Opportunity Finance Network in the U.S. to help fill gaps in financing for people and communities underserved by mainstream financial institutions. This is in addition to the $15 million in cash grants Google.org is already providing to nonprofits to help bridge these gaps for SMBs.”

    Google is also providing “$340 million in Google Ads credits available to all SMBs with active accounts over the past year. Credit notifications will appear in their Google Ads accounts and can be used at any point until the end of 2020 across our advertising platforms.” The company is also providing $20 million in Google Cloud credits that researchers can use to access Google’s computing resources.

    Overall, this is a significant effort on the part of Google to stimulate small businesses and help them weather the storm. By making Google Ad credits available, it should provide a relatively risk-free way for small businesses to keep advertising, despite the economic challenges.

  • Slack CEO: We’ve Seen an Enormous Surge

    Slack CEO: We’ve Seen an Enormous Surge

    “In the first 60th percent of this quarter added 9,000 new paid customers,” says Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield. “That’s a net number. This is compared to 5,000 for the previous quarter and 5,000 for the quarter before that. That’s an enormous surge. We’ve also seen the number of messages sent per user up 25 percent. Suddenly people are discovering a lot of techniques that were available to them before that suddenly become mandatory.”

    Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack, discusses via Zoom on CNBC how the pandemic has doubled their pace of growth:

    Customers Added Has Nearly Doubled

    You think about what people hope to accomplish out of having a meeting. It’s often to get a decision made. It’s to update people on the status of projects. There’s a whole bunch of reasons to have a meeting. There’s an immediate obvious switch that goes off in people’s heads, hey we used to sit in the same room and now we’re at home, we need to have a videoconference. But the best way to support that work in getting the decision made, getting people on the same page, and knowing where you can ask the question is often better served by other methods. In the case of Slack, that’s channels. 

    In the first 60th percent of this quarter added 9,000 new paid customers. That’s a net number. This is compared to 5,000 for the previous quarter and 5,000 for the quarter before that. That’s an enormous surge. We’ve also seen the number of messages sent per user up 25 percent. Suddenly people are discovering a lot of techniques that were available to them before that suddenly become mandatory. When the only tools you have to get work done are meetings and email and meetings suddenly become a lot harder to pull off you begin to look for alternatives.

    Right Now It Looks Great For Us

    We look at what might happen on the small business side (on whether we will see sustained growth). There could be millions of bankruptcies and that will obviously affect us. We have a very healthy small business part of Slack. Enterprises can shut down spending. On the other hand, we’ve seen the surge in sign-ups so obviously people are seeing the need. We also see expansion in existing enterprise customers. It’s very hard to know how those two forces balance each other out. 

    There are other things to consider too. I’ve been talking to other software CEOs. What do you do when you’re not doing field marketing events to drive new customers? What do you do when your salespeople can’t travel? What do you do when your executive briefing centers are shut? How is that going to manifest in pipeline and growth in 3, 6, 9, 12 months? Right now it looks great for us but it’s impossible to say how this takes out over the year.

    Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield: We’ve Seen an Enormous Surge