News

News

• January 11, 2022 11 Jan'22

  Instacart, McDonald's, Target share digital marketing strategies

  Customer experience leaders discuss strategies to accommodate customers who want contactless shopping, those who want in-person sales, and everything in between.

• January 10, 2022 10 Jan'22

  Users hit by Kronos payroll ransomware await recovery

  HR users of Kronos payroll and timekeeping systems are moving to recovery from the ransomware attack. A complete restoration time frame will vary by user.

• January 10, 2022 10 Jan'22

  Experts predict flexibility as a top ERP trend in 2022

  In the year ahead, industry experts expect the ERP market to be less monolithic and more industry-specific.

• January 10, 2022 10 Jan'22

  IBM ports weather data to AWS Data Exchange feed

  Marketers can now tap IBM's Weather Company data feed at the AWS Data Exchange. The question is, will they know how to use it proactively to execute timely campaigns?

• January 05, 2022 05 Jan'22

  Verizon launches BlueJeans on Google Glass

  Verizon has brought its BlueJeans video conferencing service to the Google Glass headset. The carrier is offering the headset with the service for $1,140.

• January 05, 2022 05 Jan'22

  Composable ERP may break up monolithic systems

  In this Q&A, Unit4's Claus Jepsen calls cloud-based composable ERPs, which enable companies to pick and choose the applications and vendors they want, the future.

• December 29, 2021 29 Dec'21

  Why marketing personalization has yet to pay off

  Forrester analyst discusses why personalization investments aren't paying off, what marketers can expect in 2022 in technology -- and in the job market.

• December 29, 2021 29 Dec'21

  How bad writing, templates and chatbots kill customer service

  Leslie O'Flahavan, a writing coach specializing in contact center communications, discusses how humans, AI and bots can work together to provide good customer service.

• December 23, 2021 23 Dec'21

  Supply chain disruption will persist in 2022, but tech may help

  The supply chain problems of the last two years will persist into 2022, but companies can use the opportunity to redesign processes and update technology to solve long-term issues.

• December 22, 2021 22 Dec'21

  Skillsoft to pay $525M for learning platform Codecademy

  Codecademy, a software development learning platform with 40 million users worldwide, is being acquired by Skillsoft, a learning platform focused on the corporate market.

• December 22, 2021 22 Dec'21

  Tech vendors to help people disconnect from work in 2022

  Burnout has surged during the pandemic, and the inability to fully disconnect from work isn't helping. Tech firms will continue addressing the problem in 2022.

• December 22, 2021 22 Dec'21

  Gig work platforms see uptick in interest due to COVID-19

  The gig work model may expand into jobs occupied by full- and part-time workers. It is helping one HR manager in an industry where hiring has become difficult because of COVID-19.

• December 20, 2021 20 Dec'21

  Employee background check errors harm thousands of workers

  Errors in background checks have prevented thousands of potential employees from being hired, and with more data collection, AI and automation, the problem could worsen.

• December 17, 2021 17 Dec'21

  Microsoft adds end-to-end encryption to Teams

  Microsoft will allow Teams users to make one-on-one, end-to-end encrypted video calls. The feature comes with tradeoffs, like no live captioning, recording or transcription.

• December 17, 2021 17 Dec'21

  LastPass goes solo, plans to focus on mobile features

  After spinning off from LogMeIn, password management firm LastPass plans to grow its business by providing faster feature updates, more mobile options and better customer service.

• December 16, 2021 16 Dec'21

  Biden targets federal CX improvements with executive order

  President Biden issues a detailed executive order that lays out agency-by-agency federal digital experience improvement mandates -- and builds accountability into the process.

• December 16, 2021 16 Dec'21

  Security initiatives can accelerate an S/4HANA migration

  In this Q&A, Juan Pablo Perez-Etchegoyen, CTO at Onapsis, discusses why it's important for companies to include security measures at the beginning of an S/4HANA migration project.

• December 15, 2021 15 Dec'21

  Avaya pushes OneCloud customization

  Avaya aims to create an ecosystem of customers, developers and partners that use its many integration tools to tailor the OneCloud platform for their individual needs.

• December 15, 2021 15 Dec'21

  ServiceNow-Qualtrics partnership tackles total experience

  ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott bought Qualtrics when he ran SAP, which spun it off after he left. McDermott renews his pursuit of Qualtrics, this time with a partnership.

• December 14, 2021 14 Dec'21

  SAP strives to attract app developers with BTP

  SAP wants its Business Technology Platform to compete with development platforms from AWS, Azure and GCP and help it to modernize its image.

• December 14, 2021 14 Dec'21

  Cyberattack on Kronos payroll triggers backup plans

  Some users of Kronos payroll say they have backup and contingency plans ready to deal with the ransomware attack on the HR system's firm.

• December 14, 2021 14 Dec'21

  Microsoft gets kudos for bringing OneDrive to Apple M1 Macs

  OneDrive will soon run on ARM-based laptops, joining Box, Dropbox and Google storage services. Analysts said the ARM-based laptop market will grow in the coming years.

• December 10, 2021 10 Dec'21

  Zoom adds app developer incentives; Teams revamps app store

  Microsoft and Zoom compete in winning developers for their respective collaboration platforms. Each company features more than 1,000 apps in its store.

• December 08, 2021 08 Dec'21

  Better.com's employee layoff by Zoom gets HR thumbs down

  Better.com's mass layoff by Zoom was seen as a big miss by HR professionals, who say the CEO's approach lacked empathy and planning.

• December 07, 2021 07 Dec'21

  A year in, Rise with SAP sees traction, but messaging still muddy

  After a year, the returns on Rise with SAP are mixed. For some, it's just the right package to spur a move to S/4HANA, while for others, the simplified cloud model is not needed.

• December 03, 2021 03 Dec'21

  Amazon Connect adds quick bot setup, call summarization

  AWS' Amazon Connect CCaaS offering comes into sharper focus with new features for contact center managers, agents and data scientists setting up bots.

• December 03, 2021 03 Dec'21

  Omicron extends uncertainty about return to office

  For firms with immediate plans to return to the office early in the new year, the new COVID-19 variant, omicron, may prompt delays and reassessments about the future.

• December 02, 2021 02 Dec'21

  More marketing personalization from AWS, Pegasystems

  AWS and Pegasystems add AI tools to their cloud offerings that enable deeper personalization and journey orchestration for marketers and e-commerce sellers.

• December 02, 2021 02 Dec'21

  Job seekers under 30 reject federal work, alarming lawmakers

  The U.S. government's civilian workforce is mostly older, with many nearing or at retirement. The loss of skills is creating a need to attract young adults to federal work.

• December 02, 2021 02 Dec'21

  8x8 buys Fuze to expand UCaaS customer base

  8x8 plans to acquire fellow UCaaS provider Fuze for $250 million as it looks to increase its global reach and accelerate the addition of new features.

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  Syspro focuses on hybrid ERP to fuel growth

  In this Q&A, Syspro's Scott Hebert explains why the company is walking the line between pure cloud and on-premises ERP for its manufacturing and distribution customer base.

• November 30, 2021 30 Nov'21

  Zoom to blur lines between video, phone meetings

  Zoom Phone head Graeme Geddes said the lines between video meetings and phone calls will blur, allowing workers to choose the best communication tool for their needs.

• November 29, 2021 29 Nov'21

  Technology drives holiday shopping for retail, e-commerce

  Black Friday e-commerce sales maintained 2020 gains. Retail traffic is up but hasn't rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Technology, supply chain, COVID-19 variants all factors.

• November 24, 2021 24 Nov'21

  Vendors position ERP as heart of circular economy model

  ERP vendors SAP and IFS are positioning themselves at the forefront of enterprise sustainability efforts just as businesses focus on reducing waste and prepare for new regulations.

• November 23, 2021 23 Nov'21

  Workday responds to workforce changes with Vndly acquisition

  Workday adds extended workforce management capability to its HCM platform with its acquisition of Vndly. Increasing use of contingent labor and competition motivated the buy.

• November 23, 2021 23 Nov'21

  Ericsson to acquire Vonage for 5G development

  Ericsson plans to use Vonage's developer community and cloud-based communications platform for 5G software development. The $6.2 billion deal is expected to close next year.

• November 22, 2021 22 Nov'21

  Apple self-service repair unlikely to help businesses

  Experts believe small and medium-size businesses will continue using repair shops to fix Apple iPhones and Macs to avoid breaking and replacing the hardware.

• November 22, 2021 22 Nov'21

  Cisco customer experience manager: What makes good tech CX

  Cisco users buy its hardware and apps through partners, mostly. Cisco's customer experience architect discusses how the company forges customer relationships.

• November 19, 2021 19 Nov'21

  Microsoft Loop adds project management to 365

  Loop lets teams track project status while editing documents in a single app. The Microsoft 365 software works with Word, PowerPoint and Excel document snippets.

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Microsoft could make Edge default browser for opening links

  People might no longer be able to use workarounds like EdgeDeflector to set another browser, such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, as their default for opening links.

• November 18, 2021 18 Nov'21

  Apple launches SMB device management

  Designed for companies of up to 500 employees, Business Essentials offers tools to download apps and push updates to iPhones, iPads and Macs. It provides up to 2 TB iCloud storage.

• November 17, 2021 17 Nov'21

  SAP TechEd sets sights on hyperscalers with developer tools

  SAP launched a series of developer products at SAP TechEd, including free tier access for the SAP Business Technology Platform and the low-code/no-code platform SAP AppGyver.

• November 03, 2021 03 Nov'21

  Microsoft Viva gets OKR app, stresses employee privacy

  Microsoft Viva gets a new OKR app, but an underlying and ongoing message at the firm's recent Ignite conference was about Viva's employee privacy protections.

• November 02, 2021 02 Nov'21

  EEOC worries about 'snake oil' products in AI recruiting

  The chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says users, not vendors, are responsible for AI recruiting bias. It has launched an effort to investigate AI use.

• October 29, 2021 29 Oct'21

  Biden wants permanent work visas, not more H-1Bs

  President Joe Biden's administration has eased H-1B work visa processing, but it is not seeking a cap increase. Instead, it's aiming to grant more green cards.

• October 15, 2021 15 Oct'21

  Shopify opens e-commerce platform to enterprise ERP vendors

  Shopify's new Global ERP Program takes steps to attract larger enterprises, but the transition won't be easy, as large ERP systems are far more complex than those of Shopify's SMB base.

• October 14, 2021 14 Oct'21

  OpenText releases document capture, Salesforce integrations

  Like Salesforce, Box and Adobe, OpenText invests in AI and machine learning to enable smartphone document capture so users can digitize documents that are searchable in the cloud.

• October 12, 2021 12 Oct'21

  HubSpot CRM adds B2B online payments processing

  HubSpot CRM adds no-code Stripe online payments as well as data governance and enhancements to Operations Hub such as analytics and a Snowflake integration.

• October 11, 2021 11 Oct'21

  Employer vaccine mandates set stage for return to office

  COVID-19 mandates may be clearing the way to a return to the office, but employees may still have concerns about office air quality and cleaning standards.

• October 11, 2021 11 Oct'21

  More urgency needed for supply chain security during holidays

  In this Q&A, Kyle Rice, CTO at SAP NS2, explains the delicacy of increasingly complex supply chains and why IT needs to be proactive in finding their weakest links.

• October 08, 2021 08 Oct'21

  Windows 11 bugs cause app slowdown on AMD chips

  The flaws can slow application performance by as much as 15% on high-performance PCs for gaming and other demanding software. AMD said a fix will come this month.

• October 08, 2021 08 Oct'21

  Half of remote workers remain silent during video meetings

  A Cisco study said half of remote employees don't talk during video meetings. Fixing the problem is likely a combination of technology and nudging on the part of managers.

• October 08, 2021 08 Oct'21

  Top ERP systems need ability to deliver as well as tech

  Panorama Consulting Group's '2022 Top 10 ERP Systems' report focuses on function set, technology, usability and ability to deliver on implementation, support and services.

• October 07, 2021 07 Oct'21

  Hyland execs offer insight into content services roadmap

  After an acquisition binge, Hyland Software pauses to discuss its acquisition strategy and future roadmap, which may include more AI/machine learning and vertical-specific features.

• October 07, 2021 07 Oct'21

  As Ceridian HCM nears the $1B mark, it adds capabilities

  Ceridian HCM announced product upgrades this week, including streaming pay, which makes it possible for employees to be paid daily.

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  Experts: Facebook outage signals need for redundancies

  The social media platform, which is often used for e-commerce, upset many small businesses that could not sell their products for six hours and did not have backups in place.

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  Box adds ransomware content security

  In its pursuit of enterprise business, Box Shield adds security features that may circumvent ransomware; Box Sign available for U.S. and Canadian customers.

• October 06, 2021 06 Oct'21

  Qualtrics releases Experience ID customer profile platform

  Qualtrics Experience ID isn't labeled as a customer data platform, but it's not far off from one, as it aggregates customer info into individual profiles.

• October 04, 2021 04 Oct'21

  Google-Lemongrass partnership boosts SAP on GCP

  Google stakes its claim as the best public cloud option for SAP workloads thanks to a new partnership with Lemongrass, a well-known cloud managed services provider.

• October 02, 2021 02 Oct'21

  Contact center agents' post-pandemic future

  The pandemic changed how contact centers operate and the technologies used to provide customer service. In this Q&A, ICMI's Brad Cleveland predicts what's next.

• October 01, 2021 01 Oct'21

  Five9 shareholders kill Zoom deal

  Five9 shareholders voted down Zoom's $14.7 billion acquisition bid. National security concerns and worries about Zoom's future growth weighed heavily on the decision.

• October 01, 2021 01 Oct'21

  Hybrid office design will drive tech purchasing

  Tech experts predict which hybrid workplace technology from Cisco, Microsoft and Zoom companies are likely to reject or embrace. Many could favor laptops over specialized devices.

• October 01, 2021 01 Oct'21

  Apple improves MDM on iOS, iPad OS

  Changes to Apple's mobile device management protocol could lead to better MDM products for iPhones and iPads. The protocol update is in iOS 15 and iPad OS 15.

• October 01, 2021 01 Oct'21

  BlueJeans to launch a virtual workspace in 2022

  BlueJeans' Spaces is a 2D/3D virtual workspace that provides an office experience to remote workers. The company plans to release the product in the first half of next year.

• September 30, 2021 30 Sep'21

  The future of Epicor ERP is cloud

  In this Q&A, Epicor's Himanshu Palsule discusses how the vendor has embraced the cloud, its strategy to expand its product portfolio and its push to broaden its global presence.

• September 30, 2021 30 Sep'21

  Video collaboration tools aren't good enough for hybrid work

  Cisco, Microsoft and Zoom agree that their video collaboration products need to do more for at-home and in-office workers. Future uses of AI could help.

• September 30, 2021 30 Sep'21

  Amazon Connect adds voice ID, agent assist features

  AWS adds tools to search knowledge bases for answers based on terms picked up via in-call voice recognition, as well as voice ID to confirm identities of callers.

• September 30, 2021 30 Sep'21

  B2B network broadens partnership potential but requires trust

  B2B networks increasingly offer smaller companies opportunities to collaborate and conduct business with multiple parties, but the networks have to be easy to use and trusted.

• September 29, 2021 29 Sep'21

  Workday users pitch employee retention strategies at event

  At a Workday event, business, HR and technology leaders highlighted flexible work, purpose-driven corporate missions and virtual reality as useful hiring and retention strategies.

• September 27, 2021 27 Sep'21

  NY raises alarms over job turnover following vaccine mandate

  New York's enforcement of a vaccine mandate in healthcare offers an early indication of the job turnover that may come in other industries.

• September 27, 2021 27 Sep'21

  Zoom-Five9 deal falls under national security scrutiny

  Zoom's acquisition of Five9 has triggered a national security review of its ties to the Chinese government. Tech buyers may be wary after the latest Zoom controversy.

• September 27, 2021 27 Sep'21

  Microsoft designs latest Surface models for Windows 11

  The Surface hardware is better suited for Teams, which will come standard on the new OS. The hardware will also make use of Windows 11's haptic feedback capabilities.

• September 23, 2021 23 Sep'21

  Congress could trigger demand for apprenticeship software

  In the face of workforce shortages, lawmakers may increase funding for job training, something that could boost apprenticeship software needs.

• September 23, 2021 23 Sep'21

  Microsoft brings Thunderbolt to Surface computers

  The high-speed Thunderbolt 4 port introduced in the Surface Laptop Studio and Surface Pro 8 will replace the USB-C ports found in older Surface computers.

• September 22, 2021 22 Sep'21

  ERP digital transformation can fail due to hidden cloud costs

  In this Q&A, Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, explains why the hidden costs of moving enterprise systems like ERP from on-premises infrastructures to the cloud can cause trouble.

• September 22, 2021 22 Sep'21

  Microsoft finds collaboration suffers during remote work

  Microsoft research found collaboration networks within the company got less dynamic with the onset of remote work, and technology couldn't fill the gap.

• September 22, 2021 22 Sep'21

  Benioff: Salesforce-Slack merger supports hybrid workforce

  Just 1,000 of the typical 180,000 Salesforce users attended Dreamforce 2021, but it was enough to get CEO Marc Benioff fired up about the future of hybrid work opportunities.

• September 21, 2021 21 Sep'21

  Epicor ERP sheds stodgy image in cloud makeover

  At Epicor Analyst Day, Epicor customers described how the company has transformed into a cloud-first industry-focused ERP company, while still supporting on-premises deployments.

• September 21, 2021 21 Sep'21

  More Salesforce-Slack integrations to come

  Salesforce unveiled a total of 16 Slack integrations to its platform, some available now, and some to come next year, following the blockbuster acquisition.

• September 20, 2021 20 Sep'21

  Recruiting AI systems under fire for excluding workers

  AI recruiting tools focus on hiring efficiency rather than efficacy, according to an Accenture-Harvard Business School study. The U.N. believes AI is fostering human rights abuse.

• September 20, 2021 20 Sep'21

  Oracle Fusion Marketing enables campaign orchestration

  Oracle has announced plans to release Fusion Marketing in 2022. The middleware app will more deeply integrate customer data to marketing initiatives and CRM.

• September 17, 2021 17 Sep'21

  Apple brings longer battery life, larger storage to iPhone 13

  The iPhone 13 will last an hour and a half longer than its iPhone 12 counterpart and have twice the minimum storage, Apple said. The Pro Max model will offer up to 1 TB of storage.

• September 16, 2021 16 Sep'21

  Zoom bolsters collaboration capabilities beyond video

  Zoom became the brand name for video conferencing during the pandemic. The company wants to expand that dominance to other areas of collaboration, like chat and whiteboards.

• September 16, 2021 16 Sep'21

  Microsoft offers passwordless login to all customers

  All Microsoft customers will be able to replace passwords with biometric identity, security keys or text confirmation to access their Microsoft accounts.

• September 16, 2021 16 Sep'21

  Salesforce automation tools for 2022: RPA, document ingestion

  Salesforce Einstein Automate tools to come next year include RPA, document intake and drag-and-drop process automation.

• September 15, 2021 15 Sep'21

  SHRM calls out biased hiring practices at conference

  With employee resignations at a record high, HR is facing a reckoning over how it hires and retains employees, said Johnny Taylor, president and CEO of SHRM.

• September 15, 2021 15 Sep'21

  Salesforce Marketing Cloud to get analytics boost

  Salesforce to add analytics capabilities and AI tools that spider Salesforce CDP data; Commerce Cloud adds shipping and logistics integration through a FedEx partnership.

• September 14, 2021 14 Sep'21

  Zoom adds video to the contact center

  Zoom will add video to contact center interactions next year. The company said its Video Engagement Center would improve troubleshooting, build trust and automate everyday tasks.

• September 13, 2021 13 Sep'21

  ECI Software Solutions adds process ERP firm Deacom to roster

  ECI Software Solutions expands its ERP product roster with the acquisition of Deacom, which produces ERP applications for process and batch manufacturers.

• September 10, 2021 10 Sep'21

  Federal vaccine mandate gives HR new work, risks

  President Joe Biden's federal vaccine mandate will put new recordkeeping requirements on businesses and may create problems if employees refuse to comply.

• September 09, 2021 09 Sep'21

  Infosys releases headless commerce services bundle

  Infosys breaks down Skava, an e-commerce startup it acquired in 2015, into e-commerce, marketing and merchandising microservices, and renames it Equinox.

• September 09, 2021 09 Sep'21

  Microsoft addresses workforce patterns using Teams, LinkedIn

  A survey of the Microsoft workforce found that employees planned to be back in the office more than their managers expected. The discrepancy means companies need to be flexible.

• September 09, 2021 09 Sep'21

  Workday's Zimit acquisition gives it automated CPQ

  Workday invested in Zimit, and later integrated its configure, price and quote software. Now, it's acquiring the company as part of its plan to build enterprise services.

• September 09, 2021 09 Sep'21

  Salesforce Service Cloud to add Servicetrace RPA, Slack

  Salesforce plans to release features that increase Service Cloud's flexibility for contact centers to manage agents working remotely either part time or full time.

• September 08, 2021 08 Sep'21

  Acquia acquires Widen digital asset management

  DAM is an old idea making a big comeback for marketing teams trafficking in online video. Acquia adds the Widen DAM to its digital experience platform.

• September 02, 2021 02 Sep'21

  Video conferencing miscues can get you fired

  A survey found that miscues during video conferences cost businesses money and got employees fired. Most companies have punished employees for video meeting errors.

• September 02, 2021 02 Sep'21

  With New Orleans mostly dark, a coworking office lights up

  Coworking offices may help remote workers deal with prolonged power outages. They are often located in business districts, which may get power restored before residential areas.

• September 02, 2021 02 Sep'21

  FACE Act aims to improve government CX

  The bipartisan bill that would codify the measurement of customer experience for federal agencies cleared the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs.

• September 01, 2021 01 Sep'21

  Google Cloud and SAP forge ahead with Rise offerings

  As SAP moves away from Microsoft Azure as its preferred public cloud provider, Google looks to fill the void. Customers should benefit from the competition.

• September 01, 2021 01 Sep'21

  Catastrophes may shift hiring, remote work policies

  As natural disaster numbers increase, remote work policies may be examined for how they keep workers online. But beyond temporary employee relocations, HR may be curbed by options.