News

News

• December 14, 2020 14 Dec'20

  Pandemic effects on HR tech: Hits, misses and what's next

  Pandemic effects on technology of importance to HR are still unfolding. It's not yet known how employers will learn the vaccine status of their workers.

• December 11, 2020 11 Dec'20

  Cisco overhauls Webex with slew of new features

  Webex will soon provide calling, messaging and video in one user interface, live translation for multiple languages, and the ability to send emojis through hand gestures.

• December 10, 2020 10 Dec'20

  Employers face daunting COVID-19 vaccination questions

  COVID-19 has all but ensured offices will never fully return to normal. Now that vaccinations are here, HR will have to decide who should return to the workplace -- and who shouldn't.

• December 09, 2020 09 Dec'20

  Cisco to boost contact center offering with IMImobile buy

  Cisco plans to acquire IMImobile for $730 million to improve Cisco's contact center offering through the U.K. company's messaging and voice APIs.

• December 07, 2020 07 Dec'20

  H-1B lawsuit against Facebook tackles old problem

  The Dept. of Justice's H-1B lawsuit alleges Facebook didn't consider qualified U.S. workers for visa jobs and shines a light on employer job advertising requirements.

• December 04, 2020 04 Dec'20

  Microsoft overhauls calling interface in Teams

  Microsoft has started rolling out a redesigned calling interface in Teams that lets customers access voicemail, contacts and more from a single screen.

• December 03, 2020 03 Dec'20

  Users make case for internal talent marketplaces

  Internal talent marketplace users at Gloat's virtual conference discussed their implementation strategies, as well as some of the issues they faced during deployment.

• December 02, 2020 02 Dec'20

  Salesforce adds customer service management features

  Salesforce adds AI-powered features to enable contact center workforce management and agent staffing models for call volume, as well as email and messaging channels.

• December 01, 2020 01 Dec'20

  Salesforce to acquire Slack for $27.7 billion

  Salesforce acquired the Slack messaging platform for $27.7 billion. Experts weigh on in what Slack would bring to the Salesforce platform.

• November 25, 2020 25 Nov'20

  Internal talent marketplaces bloom as workforce changes

  In this sluggish economy, employers are turning to internal talent marketplaces to connect employees to short-term projects.

• November 24, 2020 24 Nov'20

  HR can't afford to overlook systemic inequity -- here's why

  Katherine Giscombe, organizational psychologist and management consultant, argues that firms need to address systemic inequity problems -- sooner rather than later.

• November 24, 2020 24 Nov'20

  Adobe CDP adds B2B-friendly features

  Adobe CDP customers will get new features in 2021 that create workflows for marketing teams and connect to popular B2B marketing platforms -- starting with its own Marketo Engage.

• November 20, 2020 20 Nov'20

  Tech firms seeking diversity criticize job referrals

  State of Washington tech firms have signed a 'pact' to align workforce diversity with the state's regional diversity. The effort may prompt firms to rely less on job referrals.

• November 20, 2020 20 Nov'20

  Microsoft announces free version of Teams video calls

  Microsoft's holiday-inspired free video conferencing lets people with a personal Teams account invite up to 300 participants, who do not need Teams accounts to join.

• November 20, 2020 20 Nov'20

  At Signavio World, center stage belongs to customer excellence

  Signavio brings customer experience data into its process management platform with the Signavio Business Transformation Suite Customer Excellence Edition.

• November 19, 2020 19 Nov'20

  Cisco releases patches for 3 Webex vulnerabilities

  Cisco has patched three vulnerabilities that allowed malicious actors to enter meetings and waiting rooms as 'ghosts' and stay on -- even after being removed.

• November 17, 2020 17 Nov'20

  Google to roll out new privacy settings for Workspace

  Google will soon provide controls for turning off Workspace app features like smart compose, smart reply and tabbed inbox in Gmail to allow for more user privacy.

• November 17, 2020 17 Nov'20

  HRIS administration requires close IT-HR collaboration

  There's no single ownership strategy for HRIS admin, but there may be some preferences. HR departments with on-premises systems are more likely to keep the tech management duties.

• November 13, 2020 13 Nov'20

  Diversitypop provides DEI training with a military twist

  Military training relies on repeatability and reinforcement to drive home training. That approach is being applied to a new DEI training app.

• November 12, 2020 12 Nov'20

  As employee stress rises, HR focuses on mental health

  Employee stress, thanks to the pandemic, the election and working from home, can hurt productivity and employee health. HR is finding ways to help.

• November 12, 2020 12 Nov'20

  Salesforce Revenue Cloud bolsters B2B e-commerce workflows

  Salesforce, moving deeper into revenue ops, releases Revenue Cloud. It enables B2B digital sales with new pricing, billing and contracting models, as well as revenue forecasting.

• November 11, 2020 11 Nov'20

  Apple begins shift from Intel with debut of M1-based MacBooks

  Apple has started the shift from Intel processors to its ARM-based M1 chip with the introduction of M1-based MacBooks and a Mac mini, boasting higher performance for less power.

• November 10, 2020 10 Nov'20

  Zendesk, WhatsApp cozy up with co-development partnership

  Zendesk and WhatsApp team up to break bottlenecks in customer service conversations over Facebook messaging apps -- including Instagram -- by building it into Zendesk Support.

• November 09, 2020 09 Nov'20

  Biden to confront Trump's H-1B work visa changes

  The Trump administration is eliminating the H-1B work visa lottery program. But a Biden administration may get some pushback if it tries to reverse Trump's wage-based distribution system.

• November 06, 2020 06 Nov'20

  Adobe forges data partnerships for Experience Platform

  Adobe adds bidirectional feeds to Experience Platform to manage post-sale customer data from third-party sources such as customer service and loyalty program platforms.

• November 05, 2020 05 Nov'20

  SAP customer data platform strategy comes into focus

  SAP acquires Emarsys, which has a CDP included in its customer experience data handling toolbox. SAP execs shed light on how it will fit in with the company's own CDP.

• November 05, 2020 05 Nov'20

  SAP CX application stack grows with addition of Emarsys

  SAP scoops up a marketing automation platform with CDP capabilities, as well as personalization and the ability to reach customers across digital channels.

• November 03, 2020 03 Nov'20

  Trump's executive order on DEI training prompts a fight

  An executive order by the Trump administration may all but ban diversity, equity and inclusion training. But it's getting a fight in court and opposition from business groups.

• October 29, 2020 29 Oct'20

  Tech trends in HR, 2020 edition: A shift in direction

  The pandemic has hurt HR technology budgets, but it is also accelerating other tech trends in HR, such as making HR services part of everyday productivity platforms.

• October 29, 2020 29 Oct'20

  Oracle CX targets communications industry with new apps

  Oracle moves into vertical-specific digital experience customizations, starting with Oracle Digital Experience for Communications, with more to come.

• October 28, 2020 28 Oct'20

  Firms dive into data for diversity and inclusion strategies

  People analytics managers are seeking out and analyzing HR data that intersects with and impacts the employee work experience.

• October 26, 2020 26 Oct'20

  Employers scramble to build upskilling, reskilling programs

  Robotics, automation and the COVID-19 pandemic have governments and private businesses trying out new ways for rapidly upskilling and reskilling employees and, more broadly, the workforce.

• October 19, 2020 19 Oct'20

  Tensions over politics at work have HR on guard

  Politics at work may hurt productivity and office harmony. One strategy for defusing a charged atmosphere may be to get employees focused on shared goals.

• October 15, 2020 15 Oct'20

  As contingent employee hiring rises, HR gives it focus

  The use of contingent employees is increasing, Gartner said, and with it an interest from HR departments for better control over the contingent worker experience.

• October 13, 2020 13 Oct'20

  Post-pandemic workplace will be roomier and Zoom-ready

  The post-pandemic workplace will deliver roomier office spaces with better environmental conditions. They will be designed with sharing in mind for flexible scheduling.

• October 08, 2020 08 Oct'20

  Trump's H-1B work visa pay hike already in trouble

  President Trump proposed raising H-1B wages in 2016 while on the campaign trail but delivered his proposal one month before the 2020 election.

• October 08, 2020 08 Oct'20

  Google announces G Suite overhaul with Google Workspace

  The new Google Workspace will let people use Meet or Chat to collaborate on projects while working in the office suite's other products, including Docs, Sheets or Slides.

• October 06, 2020 06 Oct'20

  HireVue acquires recruiting chatbot startup AllyO

  HireVue, a video interviewing vendor, has acquired AllyO, a startup that makes chatbot technology for use in high-volume hiring.

• October 02, 2020 02 Oct'20

  Virtual workforce adopted in the Heartland

  Signs are emerging that a long-term shift to remote work post-pandemic is gaining traction far from the high-tech centers. They'll save on office space and please employees.

• September 30, 2020 30 Sep'20

  Salesforce Vlocity acquisition gives rise to new industry clouds

  Four new vertical-specific clouds debut from Salesforce -- for media, telcos, government and utilities -- as fruits of its Vlocity acquisition earlier this year.

• September 29, 2020 29 Sep'20

  Oracle HCM Cloud gets on-demand pay, internal talent market

  Updates to the Oracle HCM Cloud platform include on-demand pay, internal talent marketplaces, more automation and an expansion of employee experience features.

• September 29, 2020 29 Sep'20

  How Trump, Biden see automation and AI

  The impact of automation and AI on the U.S. workforce has been a longstanding issue in presidential politics. That may be true again at tonight's presidential debate.

• September 25, 2020 25 Sep'20

  Corporate LMS adoption may come down to donuts

  Corporate learning management systems can be popular with employees. But adoption requires planning and maybe a little schtick, learning development managers said.

• September 25, 2020 25 Sep'20

  CHROs at Zoom, Box and Okta talk remote work trends

  CHROs at Zoom, Box and Okta believe the rise in remote and flexible work arrangements is here to stay. They also believe location-based recruiting is a thing of the past.

• September 24, 2020 24 Sep'20

  Microsoft unveils Teams breakout rooms and more at Ignite

  The long-awaited breakout rooms for Microsoft Teams were introduced at Ignite, along with support for more meeting participants and better ways to conduct presentations.

• September 23, 2020 23 Sep'20

  Managers share corporate pandemic strategies

  At last week's ERP conference Inforum 2020, managers talked about their pandemic strategies, lessons learned and how COVID-19 may change the way their firms operate going forward.

• September 22, 2020 22 Sep'20

  HubSpot CRM gets enterprise makeover

  HubSpot might not yet frighten Salesforce with its competing platform, which now includes enterprise CRM, but the company definitely pushes upmarket with its latest offering.

• September 22, 2020 22 Sep'20

  Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service to add voice channel

  Leading a host of CX releases, Microsoft plans to add native voice telephony and voice-channel hooks for chatbots and transcription into its contact center platform.

• September 18, 2020 18 Sep'20

  Google utilizes AI for Series One Meet hardware

  Google partners with Lenovo in developing video conferencing hardware for the Google Meet service. The Series One device uses Google silicon to boost its AI capabilities.

• September 16, 2020 16 Sep'20

  Amazon Career Day makes strong pitch with a soft touch

  Amazon's virtual career day put the best possible face on the firm in its push to fill 33,000 corporate and tech jobs as well as 100,000 operations jobs.

• September 14, 2020 14 Sep'20

  Air Force sets new course on digital skills training

  The U.S. Air Force has agreements with multiple learning management vendors to upgrade its technical training. It wants its personnel to use the same tools as the private sector.

• September 10, 2020 10 Sep'20

  AWS: Cloud migration doesn't require a move to S/4HANA

  The AWS approach for migrating SAP systems to the public cloud doesn't emphasize a move to S/4HANA but enables customers to go at their own pace.

• September 03, 2020 03 Sep'20

  To improve veteran hiring, U.S. turns to AI platform

  The U.S. is nearing a final decision on a job matching platform to improve the odds that military veterans, who are leaving the service, will find the right civilian occupation.

• August 31, 2020 31 Aug'20

  Tech industry diversity and inclusion begins with rooting out BS

  Being black, a woman and bisexual gives long-time diversity and inclusion consultant Risha Grant a clear perspective on issues many high-tech companies have in creating racial harmony.

• August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20

  Lifesize to buy Kaptivo, eyes other acquisitions

  Lifesize's Kaptivo acquisition would expand its collaboration capabilities. The video conferencing company said IP telephony or messaging could be a part of future deals.

• August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20

  Kronos-Ultimate get new name; Workday gets a co-CEO

  The newly merged Kronos and Ultimate Software will be called UKG or Ultimate Kronos Group. Its big competitor, Workday, had an announcement of its own this week, a co-CEO.

• August 28, 2020 28 Aug'20

  Trump, Biden H-1B work visa positions take shape

  The way President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden talk about H-1B work visas is strikingly different -- and so are the Silicon Valley donors supporting their candidacies.

• August 27, 2020 27 Aug'20

  Cisco seeks better voice quality with BabbleLabs buy

  Cisco acquires California-based BabbleLabs to enhance Webex voice quality through better noise suppression, a feature already used by competitors Google and Microsoft.

• August 24, 2020 24 Aug'20

  Aaron Au looks back on SuccessFactors, looks ahead at Gloat

  Aaron Au co-founded SuccessFactors, which helped bring about HR's shift to cloud-based platforms. Here's how Au, now chief strategy officer at Gloat, changed the face of HR software.

• August 20, 2020 20 Aug'20

  Sen. Kamala Harris concerned about AI's use in HR

  If U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris becomes vice president, she may use her new position to seek action over the use of AI in HR, especially around facial analysis technologies.

• August 20, 2020 20 Aug'20

  Ex-TiVo head Shull may be the fresh face Poly needs

  Poly chooses ex-TiVo exec Dave Shull for CEO, a move some UC analysts say will bring a fresh perspective to the company. Others are less enthusiastic.

• August 18, 2020 18 Aug'20

  Back-to-work planning gets help from IBM and startups

  Back-to-work planning is prompting deeper integration of data in HCM systems, something IBM and Workday are doing jointly. It's also prompting new uses for people counting systems.

• August 14, 2020 14 Aug'20

  ServiceNow adds Uber to its pandemic planning tool set

  ServiceNow has added an Uber module to its 'Safe Workplace suite,' a pandemic planning tool set. The idea is to help employees return to the office.

• August 13, 2020 13 Aug'20

  Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise embraces RingCentral UCaaS

  The RingCentral partnership means Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise's on-premises customers can stay with the vendor and get better cloud-based communications than ALE currently provides.

• July 31, 2020 31 Jul'20

  ASUG/DSAG members like S/4HANA, but implementations still lag

  S/4HANA is viewed positively by most SAP customers, according to a new survey of ASUG and DSAG members, but complexity of an S/4HANA move may be delaying implementation projects.

• July 30, 2020 30 Jul'20

  Congress explores pros, cons of remote work trends

  Remote work trends in the private sector are getting fresh attention from U.S. lawmakers. Two hearings last week looked at aspects of this shift to flexible and full-time remote work.

• July 29, 2020 29 Jul'20

  ADP starts reopening offices, stays firm on HCM plans

  In an earnings call, ADP CEO said the company will manage the COVID-19 pandemic just like it has previous crises. It will take the long view and maintain its HCM investment.

• July 27, 2020 27 Jul'20

  What's next for SuccessFactors HR after Qualtrics IPO?

  After it acquired Qualtrics, SAP said the experience management software company would be core to its SuccessFactors HR strategy. Then SAP decided to spin it out in an IPO.

• July 27, 2020 27 Jul'20

  Layoffs narrow gender pay gap, but equity battle continues

  The gender pay equity gap improved a little in the second quarter, but the results stem from recent layoffs, especially among women in hospitality and retail industries.

• July 24, 2020 24 Jul'20

  Microsoft Teams walkie-talkie launches for frontline workers

  Microsoft Teams can now turn your smartphone into a walkie-walkie. The feature recently launched in public preview on Android mobile devices.

• July 24, 2020 24 Jul'20

  Microsoft powers up return-to-work apps

  COVID-19-related return-to-work apps are getting the attention of Microsoft, which has released the app built on its Power Platform to help manage people and facilities.

• July 23, 2020 23 Jul'20

  G Suite users glad to finally get unified collaboration interface

  Google has added team project channels and video conferencing to the G Suite app Gmail. The move provides G Suite with its first unified interface for collaboration.

• July 21, 2020 21 Jul'20

  SAP creates contingent employees market as COVID-19 response

  SAP Fieldglass has created a marketplace for finding contingent employees. It was created in response to COVID-19, and will operate through the end of the year.

• July 21, 2020 21 Jul'20

  Salesforce beefs up e-commerce order management features

  Salesforce adds B2C-friendly order-management features to support internationalization of e-commerce, as well as pre-built integrations to channels such as Google and Instagram.

• July 20, 2020 20 Jul'20

  Full-time remote work trend has its doubters

  A new Gartner survey projects that about half of all office workers will continue to work remotely full-time once the pandemic ends. Not everyone agrees with the forecast.

• July 17, 2020 17 Jul'20

  Microsoft Teams users seek better channel management tools

  Microsoft has kept two highly demanded channel management features for Microsoft Teams on the backlog since 2018.

• July 16, 2020 16 Jul'20

  Salesforce Pardot, Interaction Studio get feature boosts

  Salesforce adds Einstein AI, as well as personalization and data visualization features from its acquisitions of Evergage, Datorama and Tableau, to Marketing Cloud.

• July 16, 2020 16 Jul'20

  SAP, HR vendors turn inward, work to increase Black employees

  HR vendors are paying attention to the Black Lives Matter protests roiling a nation. They are looking at their own demographics and reevaluating their internal practices.

• July 10, 2020 10 Jul'20

  Investors, lawmakers say HR data should be public

  Large investors argue that HR data on diversity and even engagement is critical to understanding the risks that public firms face. They want the data standardized and published.

• July 09, 2020 09 Jul'20

  Microsoft Teams to get 7x7 video layout by late August

  Following months of user uproar, Microsoft Teams will get a 7x7 video layout by the end of August.

• July 02, 2020 02 Jul'20

  Microsoft-Cisco video interoperability delayed until later in 2020

  Microsoft and Cisco said a long-awaited integration between their video conferencing room systems, originally slated to launch in early 2020, is still on track for release this year.

• July 01, 2020 01 Jul'20

  Feds nix college degree requirement for merit-based hiring

  President Trump has ordered federal agencies, which employ 2.2 million, to move to merit-based hiring by the end of the year. This may require an HR technology upgrade.

• June 30, 2020 30 Jun'20

  Workday admits to Black diversity problem, pledges to improve

  Workday makes HR tools, including diversity software, for half of the Fortune 100. But Black employees make up less than 3% of its own workforce, an issue Workday vows to address.

• June 30, 2020 30 Jun'20

  Zendesk CRM adds email automation features

  The Zendesk Sell CRM platform adds email automation features for customer engagement as the pandemic cuts off sales rep users' access to in-person customer meetings.

• June 25, 2020 25 Jun'20

  Salesforce collaboration gets mobile boost with new app

  Salesforce integrates chat, text and video collaboration into a desktop interface and a new mobile app, Salesforce Anywhere. It tracks and logs conversations and transcribes videos.

• June 24, 2020 24 Jun'20

  Free end-to-end Zoom encryption alters competitive climate

  Zoom's impending release of end-to-end encryption will pressure competitors to follow suit.

• June 24, 2020 24 Jun'20

  Trump's H-1B work visa ban creates six-month headache

  President Trump's six-month H-1B work visa ban arrives in response to the jobs impact of the pandemic. But it's unlikely to have much of an effect on jobs.

• June 22, 2020 22 Jun'20

  Contact tracing technology is hottest new thing in HR

  As people return to work and campus, there's a growing demand for tools that can quickly find coronavirus risks.

• June 19, 2020 19 Jun'20

  Microsoft Teams, consumer Skype interoperability now available

  Users of Microsoft Teams and consumer Skype can now message and call one another -- with some limitations.

• June 17, 2020 17 Jun'20

  Magento e-commerce content tools get Adobe AI boost

  Adobe connects its Product Recommendations engine to Magento Page Builder to give users a no-code AI tool that offers different products to different customer segments.

• June 15, 2020 15 Jun'20

  Protests raise profile of implicit bias training

  Implicit bias training has been around for years, but the Black Lives Matter movement and nationwide protests are giving it new attention.

• June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20

  Google Chat launches as option in Gmail, replacing Hangouts

  Google is close to replacing Hangouts with the newer messaging service Chat after integrating the product with Gmail.

• June 12, 2020 12 Jun'20

  Sequoia aims to help companies shore up return-to-work plan

  Sequoia Consulting Group's new Return to Work Center aims to help organizations plan for getting back into offices, with tools that enable policy and testing management.

• June 09, 2020 09 Jun'20

  Pandemic e-commerce trends point to massive growth

  The pandemic caused consumers and businesses to form new online buying habits; now e-commerce is booming. That trend will hold for a year, or maybe forever, experts said.

• June 08, 2020 08 Jun'20

  Hiring, firing and cancel culture

  Social media is challenging the notion of employee privacy, but it's also providing HR departments with new tools to vet job applicants and employees.

• June 04, 2020 04 Jun'20

  Remote work boosts productivity

  Remote work will deliver major changes to the workplace and to the economy, Upwork's chief economist Adam Ozimek says in an interview.

• June 03, 2020 03 Jun'20

  Crestron, Logitech release Zoom video system for home

  Crestron and Logitech have launched a new product for Zoom video conferencing at home.

• June 02, 2020 02 Jun'20

  Pegasystems debuts Pega Process Fabric CX integration tools

  Pegasystems makes a play to be a 'platform of platforms' with Pega Process Fabric, which orchestrates processes between applications in mixed-vendor CX tech stacks.

• May 28, 2020 28 May'20

  Microsoft, Cisco chase Zoom on virtual breakout rooms

  Zoom is once again out ahead on features with its support for virtual breakout rooms. Microsoft and Cisco are trying to catch up.

• May 22, 2020 22 May'20

  Facebook to launch Workplace Rooms in challenge to Zoom

  Workplace Rooms, a new video conferencing service for Facebook's business customers, falls short of competitors on features.