Unified Communications News, Features, and Interviews

• Slack snaps up Atlassian’s Stride and Hipchat Cloud IP

  ​Slack has acquired the intellectual property for Atlassian’s Stride and Hipchat Cloud, which will be discontinued, as part of a partnership between the companies announced today.

• Microsoft's Surface Hub 2 puts Teams collaboration at its core

  Microsoft has unveiled its updated Surface Hub digital whiteboard, improving collaboration capabilities with software and hardware features.

• Making Slack, the massively multiplayer online business tool

  ​When a couple of small teams at software powerhouse Adobe first started using Slack, Cal Henderson and his team were pleased, but hardly surprised.

• Telstra and Microsoft strike deal for Office 365 voice calls

  Telstra’s business customers will be able to make native voice calls over the telco’s network from within Microsoft’s Office 365 under a deal unveiled today.

• Google launches Slack competitor Hangouts Chat

  Google released an update to its internet chat tool Hangouts on Wednesday, aiming to make it suitable in workplaces so the Alphabet unit can compete with business software makers including Microsoft and Slack.

• Skype adds Signal protocol powered ‘Private Conversations’

  Microsoft is adding an end-to-end encryption option, powered by Signal, to Skype.

• Apple removes Skype from app store in China

  Apple has confirmed it has removed several apps including Skype from its app store in China after the country's government pointed to violations of local laws.

• How Seek got Slack

  After initially being used by a single tech team, group messaging platform Slack has spread throughout Seek and eaten into internal email volumes at the digital employment services company.

• McDonald’s taps Telstra for fibre upgrade

  Telstra will roll out a fibre network for more than 850 McDonald’s restaurants as part of a $90 million deal with the fast food giant.

• Department of Agriculture signs with Optus for another three years

  The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has signed a three-year contract extension with Optus for managed ICT services.

• Optus registers growth in NBN revenue

  Optus now has 279,000 customers on the National Broadband Network. The telco revealed today that in its first quarter its consumer fixed-line revenue grew 13.2 per cent, which it says was mainly attributable to NBN migration fees and a growth in its NBN customer base.

• How the Human Rights Commission’s CIO learned to stop worrying and love the cloud

  Around two years ago, Ron McLay was chewing his fingernails wondering what the hell he was going to do.

• Optus teams with Cisco for managed business communications services

  Optus has announced a range of Cisco-based business services covering contact centre, collaboration, managed Wi-Fi and video-conferencing to be provided under what the two companies say is a new intensive collaboration to deliver the workplace of the future.

• Telstra and Microsoft integrate voice with Office 365

  Telstra and Microsoft have formed a partnership to deliver managed enterprise voice services to Office 365 customers, and to co-develop offerings that they say will be unique to the Australian market.

• Adelaide City Council leverages Skype broadcast capabilities

  In an effort to boost community engagement Adelaide City Council has rolled out live web-based streaming for its committee meetings, utilising Microsoft Skype for Business’ Skype Meeting Broadcast module.

• ACCC to scrutinise impact of NBN, 5G on telco competition

  The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will launch a market study of the communications industry that will examine the impact on competition of changes in the sector including the National Broadband Network rollout, the growth in consumers’ bandwidth demands and the impending launch of 5G mobile services.

• Avaya poaches Truphone MD to head ANZ operations

  Former Truphone managing director Peter Chidiac will lead Avaya’s Australia and New Zealand operations, the communications vendor announced today.

• Microsoft to offer Skype PSTN conferencing in September

  Microsoft will next month roll out Skype for Business support for PSTN conferencing in Australia, the company revealed this morning.

• During coup attempt, Turkish president appears via Facetime on live TV

  In what could be another first for our connected world, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan placed what appeared to be a Facetime call into a national news broadcast early on Saturday while the world tried to figure out if a military coup against him had succeeded.

• Telstra acquires HCS from Inabox

  Telstra has acquired Inabox Group’s Hosted Collaboration Solutions business.

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