Dropbox has added a new presentation tool, Dropbox Showcase, to its portfolio as the company best known for file syncing and sharing continues to expand its collaboration toolkit. Showcase is available to all Dropbox Business Advanced and Enterprise teams along with updates to admin controls for managing the deployment of Showcase within businesses and workgroups.
No virtual whiteboard is perfect for everyone - and every virtual whiteboard service seems to shut down after a few years. While we've recommended several over the years, the only one still around is Twiddla, which is so feature-rich that it might feel too complicated (and ugly) for some projects. If so, try the simpler app RealtimeBoard.
Dropbox was the early mover when it came to a file sync and share service that was able to make it easy for people to save files on one device and have them available, almost instantly, on another device. But since they started, many competitors ahem come along and the core service they offered has become commoditised. That's driven the company to look for new ways to differentiate themselves and to solve different problems. And that's where Dropbox Paper comes in. Paper is about helping teams of people work together.
Dropbox has announced a partnership with Google Cloud that will deliver a bunch of new cross-platform integrations that will bring Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Hangouts into closer collaboration with their file sync and share platform. And it's not just a corporate feature - the integrations will be made accessible for all Dropbox users.
While Microsoft Teams is free, or rather bundled, for Office 365 Business Premium and Enterprise customers, there's no way for smaller businesses or individuals collaborating with larger businesses to access the company's collaboration tools for free. But that might be changing. Some observant folks have spotted pointers to a new freemium option.
Microsoft continues to add new features to Teams, their collaboration tool, and upping the ante on established platforms such as Slack. Their recent acquisition of ChalkUp and new chat history feature further refine this product.
Microsoft is continuing to play their game of catchup/leapfrog with Slack, Hipchat and other collaboration tools. The company has announced a slew of integrations with applications that will allow users to include information from apps in conversations, a new store for accessing apps that work in Teams as well as the ability to launch queries and other actions straight from the command box.
Remote collaboration is both a blessing and a curse. One one hand, it allows for unmatched convenience as team members can work together from anywhere in the world. On the other hand, communication can get a bit muddled when a team isn't all together in one location — specifically when it comes to sharing files. That's why Droplr was created as a reliable way to share critical project information to the people who need it. And, you can take an additional 40% off its sale price when you plug the CYBER40 code in at checkout.
Amazon's WorkDocs file sync and share service is available for Live Preview to users with an AWS account number. Although it's Windows-only at the moment, it's another option in the increasingly competitive file storage business that is a key battlefront in the growing collaboration market. WorkDocs, which was once known as Zocalo, integrates wth File Explorer, and offers some other interesting features.
LogMeIn has launched GoToStage, a video platform designed to help marketers generate awareness and interest through hosting, promoting, and viewing webinars on demand. It enables marketers to curate and customise a branded channel that integrates with GoToWebinar.
Nowadays, many companies allow their employees and teams to operate remotely. While that's great for cutting costs and improving efficiency, this style of work can make it difficult for members to stay on the same page throughout the day. Therein lies the value of the Droplr Screenshot and Screencasting Tool.
If you're a browser-based user of Office 365 you'll see some changes. Microsoft has given the online version of their productivity suite a spruce up, refreshing the application launcher and improving the search tool. There's a also a task-based tool that suggests which tool to use to best complete a particular job
This morning, Dropbox announced the release of DBX Platform. This is a suite of APIs and developer tools for building new capabilities on top of Dropbox that includes new integrations with Atlassian’s JIRA Software, Autodesk tools and Microsoft Outlook. I spoke with Dropbox's Head of Solutions Architecture Dan Iversen about the new features.
Until now, the only people that could participate in a channel within Slack have been teams inside a company. Shared Channels connect two different organisations, and create a secure common space for both sides to make use of Slack’s communication features and platform integrations when working together.
After a three month delay, Microsoft has delivered on its promise to enable guest access in Microsoft Teams. Although Teams was released earlier this year, it boasts over 125,000 users across 181 countries. Now, anyone with an Active Directory account across Microsoft commercial cloud services and third-party Azure AD integrated apps can be added as a guest in Teams.
Atlassian has announced Stride - their new collaboration platform. While Hipchat has been around for a while they say Stride will be Atlassian's core communications and collaboration platform. The company says it will offer a zero-click upgrade path - part of what Atlassian's head of communication products Steve Goldsmith calls their guiding principle: "Don't F**k the Customer".
Skype for Business is joining the Microsoft Teams family, as the company marches forth on their quest to crack the enterprise collaboration nut. While Skype may have started life as a way to disrupt the traditional telco business, it's become a key tool for businesses wanting to connect distributed teams.
NEC Australia has announced availability of the SL2100 Smart Communications System for Australia. This is a SMB communications platform that offers VoIP, mobility and Unified Communications and Collaboration features.
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides have been given a significant update with collaboration features the centrepiece of the update. The updates include improved versioning tools, the ability to quickly preview a clean version of a document, accepting or rejecting all edits in one go, and an option where Google can suggest document changes.
