Conferencing News

Apart from the United States, Microsoft now supports PSTN conferencing services in 14 new countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Besides, there is now a possibility to connect the Cloud PBX with your existing carrier circuits using Skype for Business server software. The Skype for Business server software acts as a gateway between your carrier contracts and circuits and Office 365. Microsoft also added to the PSTN Calling service some features like number portability, calling 911, Call Quality Dashboard, and Cloud PBX Voicemail.

Switch Communications announced to have launched its cloud-based phone system for Microsoft Office 365 users. Switch is now available to companies on any productivity suites, as well as offering deep integrations with Both Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps. Office 365 users will be able to log in with their Microsoft credentials, have their Outlook contacts synced instantly, have their integrated calendar and email so they can see the most recent emails and appointments when on a Switch call, and have instant access to the corporate directory. Switch is available at a price of $ 15 per user per month.

SMART Technologies prepared to a strategic review. The firm has cautioned the markets about the product on which it is placing great emphasis: the SMART kapp product. According to the company, “from SMART kapp sales are growing at a slower rate than originally envisaged, and as a result, the outlook for fiscal 2016 will be weaker than anticipated.” The company also states that this will result in a new operating model in place by calendar year. Besides, SMART Board also has engaged with Evercore Partners as a financial advisor to assist it in a strategic review that could include sale of some assets or recapitalization of the firm.

Dell, along with MSD Partners and Silver Lake, acquired data storage company EMC Corporation (EMC) for $67 billion or about $33.15 a share – in cash and stock. The transaction is the biggest merger ever in the tech industry.

Avaya announced that it has established a new legal entity to drive its operations in China. The move is intended to enhance localization and provide better support for Greater China customers and partners. Avaya (Shanghai) Enterprises Management Co. Ltd, which began operations on October 1, 2015, will function as the hub for Avaya’s Greater China operations. The entity has a number of functions including sales, marketing, services, order processing and manufacturing.

Middle Atlantic Products announced the launch of Hub – an all-in-one furniture solution for collaboration spaces that is designed to maximize equipment storage and cable management. Created for easy integration, Hub can be used for huddle spaces, active learning spaces, and video conferencing applications.

BCS Global subsidiary Video Guidance is expanding its video conferencing services into the Asia Pacific region. CLIQ, a new cloud collaboration company, will adapt Video Guidance’s VG Connect conferencing technology to target clients in the greater Asia Pacific marketplace. CLIQ is a newly launched global provider of cloud-based collaboration services headquartered in Hong Kong’s Cyberport, one of Asia Pacific’s leading ICT / IT hubs. CLIQ will also incorporate Video Guidance’s newly launched VG Connect Portal, which allows service providers to deploy a comprehensive tool to manage multitenant branding, provisioning, reporting, billing and monitoring.