Salesforce is a juggernaut in the customer experience solution space – at Dreamforce 2019, it announced a strategic partnership with Amazon to bolster their respective plays in the contact center space.

Microsoft Teams received a bevy of new capabilities that focus on new ways to customize the experience for users and manage the workflow for administrators, all announced at Microsoft’s annual infrastructure-focused Ignite conference in Orlando on Nov. 4.

Fluid Framework, unveiled in May at Microsoft’s Build 2019 company conference, lets developers rally the help of near real-time coauthoring, reusable mix-and-match document components, and digital assistants like translator aids in the content creation experience at speeds and scale not available before.

Apple’s attention-getting new hardware announcements played up a lot of new camera features and screen quality upgrades. While web conferencing users who rely on their mobile device to join work meetings will enjoy some incremental improvements, not all of the features showcased in the reveal keynote will make a difference.

Google is extending the live captions feature on Hangouts Meet to mobile users with its addition to the Meet Android app, according to the G Suite Updates Blog on September 16.

Conversational user interfaces (UIs) aim to replace traditional point-and-click user interfaces with natural language touchpoints. At OpenWorld 2019, Oracle announced several improvements to its conversational UI, Oracle Digital Assistant.

Adobe has achieved near-monopoly status in the world of graphic/web design through the massive adoption of its Creative Suite product set. Far too often customers are focusing on the subscription price when there is much more value to be obtained through optimizing product selection and proactive management of end-users’ software usage.

Avaya announced a partnership with RingCentral, a move that jointly strengthens the two companies’ positions in the growing cloud-based unified communications market.

Oracle introduced its new “Redwood” UX at Oracle OpenWorld 2019, promising a better – and more consistent – user experience across the bulk of its enterprise application offerings.

Pearson released the results of its Global Learning Survey. This is the first time that Pearson has undertaken such a study to capture the opinions of 11,000 learners across 19 countries. The study uncovered eight key trends indicating a shift to life-long, learner driven education.

Avaya moved away from the idea of being acquired following news that it is in talks to partner with RingCentral.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a key focus area of investment for major enterprise application vendors, and Oracle is no exception. At Oracle OpenWorld 2019, Oracle promulgated its vision for leveraging AI across its broad product portfolio.

Blackboard has announced its partnership with Amazon’s Alexa to launch a new Skill for its flagship learning management system (LMS), Blackboard Learn. Learners (and their parents) will be able to get information about their profile and coursework simply by asking Alexa.

A vendor in the web conferencing space garnished award honors from the Stevie 16th Annual International Business Awards announced on Aug. 27. Mountain View, California-based Blue Jeans Network Inc. (BlueJeans) is a newly-minted award winner for its customer services team, but what does the award really mean for customers?

Absorb LMS has acquired Tampa-based eLogic Learning LMS. This is the second acquisition in its aggressive acquisition growth strategy, following its acquisition of Torch LMS in May.

Cisco’s shares fell nearly 16% in August. However, the broader context is that Cisco’s poor stock performance might be due to external circumstances.

TalentLMS 4.0 features several new features along with an improved user interface. While none of the new features are game changers, they are marginal improvements that TalentLMS users and administrators will enjoy.

Getting connected to the right virtual conference room too often involves juggling several remotes and playing guessing games with cables. Vendors in the space are aware of this pain and are coming up with creative new ways of addressing it.

Salesforce’s recent acquisition of business intelligence vendor Tableau sets the stage for a new frontier in customer data analytics. It marks a perceptive buy in a market that has seen significant emphasis in recent years on driving better marketing, sales, and service decisions based on hard data rather than gut feel.

Avaya’s newly released firmware addresses a vulnerability that has survived for 10 years in VoIP phone models configured with H.323 signaling.

ClickSoftware announced an agreement with the giant CRM leader Salesforce to be acquired in a $1.35 billion deal.