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No Jitter Roll: Zoom Phone, RingCentral Rooms Updates

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This week we share announcements around improvements to cloud phone and chat products, an update for a room-based meeting service, enhancements to an employee experience platform, cloud platform licensing, a collaboration management promo, and startup funding.
 
Zoom Updates Phone, Chat Services
Zoom this week revealed several updates to its Zoom Phone and Zoom Chat products. For Phone, Zoom has added caller ID attestation, which uses the STIR/SHAKEN framework to block robocallers from using Zoom-provided U.S. phone numbers, Zoom said. In addition, it now offers its phone service in one more country, Japan.
 
For its chat app, Zoom has added icons to distinguish one-on-one conversations, group chats, and channels, and has updated the sidebar with separate sections for starred messages/contacts, single/multiuser chats, and named channels. For customers using advanced chat encryption, Zoom has added a channel management feature that allows admins the ability to assign channel management permissions to other users, among other capabilities, Zoom stated in associated release notes.
 
RingCentral Rolls Out Hybrid-Work Features for Rooms
Cloud communications provider RingCentral this week announced a host of updates to RingCentral Rooms. Designed to support the return to the office, these features include:
  • Rooms status and alerts—IT admins can change the operational status of room devices and receive real-time alerts on the status of meeting room devices and integrations
  • Voice-activated Rooms—This touchless join-meeting option allows the use of voice command to start a Rooms meeting
  • Mobile phone as a room controller—Via the Bluetooth-enabled RingCentral mobile app, users will be able to use their mobile device as a room controller to start, join, and manage meetings
  • Rooms monitoring dashboard—With this real-time monitoring dashboard, IT admins will be able to search, filter, and track meetings rooms and devices based on location/IP address, time, and device name
  • Windows support—Rooms now supports Windows-based host appliances. Additionally, Rooms is now compatible with the Logitech Rally series, which includes video bars and other room devices, RingCentral said
 
Facebook Updates Live Video, Adds Safety Center Features
As part of its Workplace Transform event this week, Facebook shared a slew of features for its employee experience platform, Workplace from Facebook. These features include:
  • Comments, question filters for live video—Comments and question filters will allow the host to see all comments or questions in a single pane, Facebook said
  • Video chapters—Machine learning technology will automatically add chapters to live and pre-recorded videos, allowing viewers to jump to a specific section
  • Pronouns in profile—Users can now select which pronouns will appear in their profiles
  • Pre-filled message templates, duplicate incidents in Safety Center—With changes to Workplace's Safety Center, users can create pre-filled message templates to respond to incidents faster, and can now duplicate prior messages, Facebook said. Admins can also track message response via mobile
  • Cover pages, translations in the Knowledge Library—Categories within Workplace's Knowledge Library will now feature cover pages. Additionally, admins can default the preferred languages of categories for their users
 
Fuze Adds New License for Manufacturing
Cloud communications provider Fuze this week unveiled a third license for its Manufacturing solution, following the release of two licenses earlier this year. Manufacturing Field and Floor, designed for on-the-go field service technicians and facility floor employees, includes features such as car mode and emergency services, single sign-on authentication, Salesforce integration, one-to-one video calls, meetings, and messaging, Fuze said.
 
Fuze for Manufacturing Field and Floor is priced at $4 per user. Fuze for Manufacturing is also available in Essential and Contact Center licenses, starting at $50 per user monthly.
 
Unify Square Offers National WFH Day Discounts
Unify Square, a provider of UC management software, revealed discounts on its software and services to commemorate National Work From Home Day (June 24). Organizations that sign a new contract before July 31 are eligible to receive 50% off the first year of any multi-year PowerSuite contract, 40% off the first year of any PowerSuite Cloud Managed Services multi-year contract, and 30% off the company’s Return to Office Readiness consulting service, Unify Square said. This announcement follows Unisys’ recent acquisition of Unify Square. The offer doesn’t apply to current Unify Square/Unisys customers and those in the process of contract negotiations, Unify Square added.
 
Aircall Raises Series D Funding
Aircall, a cloud voice platform provider, this week announced it has raised $120 million in Series D funding, bringing its total valuation to more than $1 billion. Goldman Sachs led the latest round, which also included DTCP, eFounders, Draper Esprit, Adams Street Partners, NextWorld Capital, and Gaia Capital Partners. The company said it will use the funds to enhance its technology with new artificial intelligence capabilities and call center productivity features. It also intends to collaborate with notable telecommunications companies, improve app ecosystem integrations, and expand globally with new offices in Berlin and London, Aircall said.
 
 
Dana Casielles, No Jitter associate editor, contributed to this article.

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