Networking

One of the most important things in business is accessibility, and having an online presence goes a long way in keeping your business current and in front of the right customers. It is a quick and easy way to interact, sell, and grow, all while serving as an invaluable communications platform that helps bridge the gap between owner and consumer. However, to create and maintain an online presence for your business, you first need a domain registrar and name seller to help you present your company to the world. That is where these companies can help.These are the best domain name sellers to register your business and grow your online presence in 2021.

Best security features

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At a glanceWhen you register your new domain with Bluehost, you get access to WordPress and Google tools with built-in SEO controls to easily manage and market your site. You also receive a free Google My Business profile that is integrated right into your Bluehost dashboard for easy accessibility and account management with visitor analytics. Bluehost also includes Google Ad Services with added security features that include free SSL and malware detection with automated security updates. To get you started, there are free customer consultations with 24/7 customer support if you stumble.ProsConsFree customer consultationsComplimentary security and marketing features24/7 customer supportNon-promotional pricing can be expensiveRestricted to U.S.-only serversLack complete backup featuresPricingThe cost of Bluehost is less than $3 per month with introductory pricing.There are three Bluehost plans to choose from:Shared Hosting: Normally $8.99/month, this plan is now on sale for $2.95 per month for a 36-month term with auto-renewal at the non-discounted rate of $8.99 monthly.Managed WordPress: For greater functionality, look at the Managed WordPress plan for $9.95 per month for 36 months with auto-renewal at $19.95 monthly. Online Stores: To add e-commerce to your site, pricing begins at $12.95 per month for 36 months with auto-renewal at $24.95 per month.The amount you pay to register your domain depends on the type of domain that you choose.Bluehost domain pricingDomain type1st-year cost.blog$22.99.co$27.99.com$12.99.me$17.99.net$14.99.org$9.99.tech$4.99.website$1.99If you are not sure which plan is right for you, BlueHost customer representatives can provide a free consultation to help you decide.

Best website tools

At a glanceWhen you register your domain with Domain.com, you receive multiple services that include hosting, website design, and management. There are additional in-house services available if you need help designing your website, and once your site is up and running, your account integrates with several popular website tools, like WordPress, WebsiteBuilder, and SiteLock. There are more than 300 top-level domains (TLDs) with available premium domains for something a little more special.Domain.com offers three plans that all come with scalable bandwidth and free SSL by Let’s Encrypt.Plan nameNumber of websitesStorageDatabasesFTP log-insBasic1Unlimited105DeluxeUnlimitedUnlimited2525UltraUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimitedUnlimitedProsConsAffordable pricing for most domainsProfessional website design availableMultiple website toolsNo multi-year discounts for plansMust pay upfrontUpsells can drive up pricePricingThe amount you pay depends on the term you choose when you purchase your plan.Domain.com PlansPlan name12-month  pricing24-month pricing36-month pricingBasic$3.75/mo$45.00 total$3.75/mo$90.00 total$3.75/mo$135.00 totalDeluxe$6.75/mo$81 total$6.75/mo$162 total$6.75/mo$243 totalUltra$13.75/mo$165 total$13.75/mo$330 total$13.75/mo$495 totalYou also must purchase your domain, but first-year pricing is very competitive, depending on the domain that you choose..co: $27.99.com: $8.99.me: $2.99.net: $12.99.org: $8.99.tech: $4.99Domain.com offers 24/7 technical support if you need help signing up.

Best uptime guarantee

DreamHost

At a glanceDreamHost proudly shares that it has won the “Editor’s Choice” award by PCMag for five years running. Its hosting options include website hosting or WordPress hosting, both priced the same, with free WordPress migrations, private registration, and WHOIS privacy with the option for free subdomains. Plans include expanded security features such as Multi-Factor Authentication, auto-enabled SFTP, and free secure hosting with Let’s Encrypt. There is 24/7 customer support, and additional Cloud hosting is available for you at $0.0075 per hour. DreamHost is so confident in its services that there is a 100% uptime guarantee to give you even more peace of mind.ProsConsTop-rated by industry experts100% uptime guaranteeFree WordPress migrationMust commit to three years for discountsAdditional features can get priceyLimited support optionsPricingDreamHost offers three plans for your website hosting:Plan typePrepaid 3-year plan pricingMonthly plan pricingWordPress Basic$2.59/mo $4.95/mo DreamPress$16.95/mo$12/moVPS for WordPress$27.50/mo$30/moIf you choose the WordPress Basic or DreamPress plans, you receive free migration for your WordPress siteYou may also purchase your domain using the following price structure:.blog: $4.99.club: $1.99.com: $7.99.design: $5.99.io: $29.99.me: $2.99.online: $1.99.org: $11.99.shop: $2.99.tech: $2.99.xyz: $0.89To help, there is 24/7 expert support available. 

Best for expanded tools

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At a glanceGoDaddy is one of the most well-known domain registrars with over 20 million customers and over 82 million domains. You can get started for free with no credit card required, but there are a total of six plans to choose from for hosting once your site is up and running. Plans include SSL security with dedicated server hosting, up to 100 subdomains, and optional WordPress and website design services. You can also add an online store with added email and Microsoft 365 access. GoDaddy is truly the multi-faceted domain registrar that has what it takes to grow with you as your website expands.ProsConsFree to beginEmail and Microsoft 365 integrationMultiple hosting plansSingle pricing for domainsOnly single year discountsNo toll-free support numberPricingGoDaddy offers six plans for hosting with monthly pricing.GoDaddy PlansPlan Starting monthly priceFeaturesWeb Hosting$5.99/moBasic websitesWordPress Hosting$6.99/moWordPress sitesWordPress Ecommerce Hosting$15.99/moOnline storeBusiness Hosting$19.99/moHigh-traffic sitesVPs Hosting$4.99/moWeb designers & developersDedicated Server$129.99/moHighly customized applicationsDomains are available for purchase for one to ten years using the following price structure..buzz: $1.99/mo, $49.99 normally.com: $11.99/mo, $18.99 normally.email: $5.99/mo, $27.99 normally.net: $14.99/mo, $19.99 normally.site: $0.99/mo, $39.99 normally.VIP: $6.99/mo, $21.99 normally.ws: $4.99/mo, $34.99 normally.xyz: $0.99/mo, $15.99 normallyGoDaddy offers 24/7 support if you need help at any point.

Best for Google Tools

Google

Integrating with your existing Google account, Google Domains offers you access to over 300 domain endings with extra tools to make designing your website a breeze once you purchase and register your new domain. However, once you purchase your domain, your options from web hosting will come from other providers, such as Wix, Weebly, Shopify, and Blogger. There are several tools that come included, such as email forwarding, extra privacy protection, and one-click DNSSEC with Google’s 2-Step Verification. Plus, Google Workspace is built-in with up to 100 email aliases and convenient access to Google Ads.ProsConsAccess to signature Google toolsEasy email forwardingStraightforward pricingWebsite hosting through third partiesAccess to limited number of domainsNot available in all countriesPricingDomain pricing for Google Domains begins at $7 per year with over 100 domain extensions..app: $14/yr.biz: $15/yr.ca: $12/yr.co: $30/yr.com: $12/yr.dev: $12/yr.et: $12/yr.me: $20/yr.org: $12/yr.us: $12/yrThere is 24/7 customer support to help you decide and guide the process.

Best for All-Inclusive

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HostGator hosts over two million websites with easy one-click install that is compatible with popular systems like WordPress, Magento, Drupal, and Joomla. SiteLock also integrates to give your site improved security with malware removal.There are a few things that come with each HostGator plan, like one-click WordPress installs, unlimited storage, and free WordPress/cPanel website transfers. Plans feature unmetered bandwidth with free SSL certificate and 99.9% uptime for added reliability. With HostGator, you also get free site transfers and a free domain for your first year. If you want a head start on your advertising, there is $150 in Google Ads credit to get you started.ProsCons99.9% uptimeFree site transfersFree domain for first yearPricey renewal costsStandard single backup optionComplicated interface for newer usersPricingHostGator offers free first-year domain hosting.  From there, pricing depends on the domain that you choose. Introductory pricing lasts one year and then auto-renews at the prevailing rate. .com: $12.95/first yr, $17.99 thereafter.info: $12.95/first yr, $17.99 thereafter.me: $15.00/first yr, $19.95 thereafter.net: $12.95/first yr, $17.99 thereafter.online: $1.95/first yr, $15.00 thereafter.org: $12.95/first yr, $17.99 thereafter.site: $0.95/first yr, $15.00 thereafter.tech: $3.95/first yr, $30.00 thereafter.website: $0.95/first yr, $15.00 thereafterThere are five web hosting plans from HostGator.HostGator Hosting PlansPlanNumber of websitesIntroductory priceHatchling1$2.08/moBabyUnlimited$2.98/moBusinessUnlimited$4.48/moHostGator also offers 24/7/365 support so someone is always there to help.

Best for Email Forwarding

Hover

Hover specializes in just two things: domain registration and professional email services. You will not find the multiple hosting plans of other companies. However, Hover offers the option to either purchase a new domain or transfer an existing one, with websites set to auto-renew with your choice of either an annual basis or within a set number of years. Your account benefits from added security features that include WHOIS privacy and two-factor authentication, plus there is the Hover Connect tool to easily transfer your existing site.If you choose to add professional email to your domain, Hover is compatible with IMAP, POP, and Webmail. You automatically get to enjoy account bonuses like email forwarding, vacation autoresponder, and built-in anti-spam and virus tools.ProsConsBulk domain pricing availableProfessional email services availableVarying fee schedule for domain transfersNo website hostingSome domains are priceyNo 24/7 customer supportPricingHover offers straightforward domain pricing that includes your registration rate, renewal price, and transfer price for at-a-glance pricing, leaving no room for confusion.Hover Domain PricingDomainRegistration rateRenewal rateTransfer rate.ca$15.99/yr$15.99/yr$15.99/yr.co$25.99/yr$25.99/yr$25.99/yr.com$12.99/yr$14.99/yr$12.99/yr.info$17.99/yr$17.99/yr$17.99/yr.io$49.99/yr$49.99/yr$79.99/yr.me$9.99/yr$19.99/yr$19.99/yr.mobi$19.99/yr$19.99/yr$19.99/yr.net$15.49/yr$17.49/yr$15.49/yr.news$26.99/yr$26.99/yr$26.99/yr.online$4.99/yr$34.99/yr$34.99/yr.org$13.99/yr$15.99/yr$13.99/yr.tech$7.99/yr$49.99/yr$49.99/yr.us$14.99/yr$14.99/yr$14.99/yrThis is the pricing providing for up to nine domains, with extra discounts that apply the more domains you buy.There is also professional email that you can add to your site:Small Mailbox: For $20 per year, you receive 10GB of storage.Big Mailbox: For $29 annually, Hover offers 1TB of storage.Email forwarding: $5 per yearIf you need help, prepare to do some research online as Hover does not offer the 24/7 customer support standard with most companies.

Best for Plan Options

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NameCheap is the provider of over two million customers with over 1.5 million websites, and it has the services to help websites of all sizes. There are several hosting plans, so many that it categorizes them based on whether you are a new online user, small business, or large company. Either way, plans are extensive and include free hosting migration with a 30-day money-back guarantee for eligible customers.There are lots of add-on services to better customize your plan, like cloud storage for some plans and private email plans that feature a free 60-day trial period.ProsCons30-day money-back guaranteeSeveral dedicated hosting plansFree first-year domainSome renewal rates are expensiveLimitations on pricing discountsNo uptime guaranteesPricingNameCheap web hosting plans are designed around your needs, with the company categorizing its services based on the three types of customers it serves: individuals, small businesses, and large companies. For each one, there are several options.NameCheap Hosting PlansPlanPromo costRenewal rateIndividualsStellar$1.58/mo for first year$2.88/moStellar Plus$2.68/mo for first year$4.88/moEasyWP Starter for WordPress$0/mo for first month$3.88/moStarter$0/mo for first 2 months$11.88/yrSmall businessesStellar Business$4.80/mo for first year$8.88/moNebula$17.88/mo (unspecified term)$19.99/moEasy WP Turbo for WordPress$0/mo for first month$7.88/moPro$0/mo for first 2 months$33.88/yrLarge companiesEasyWP Supersonic for WordPress$0/mo for first month$11.88/moQuasar$14.88/mo (unspecified term)$19.88/moXeon E3-1240 v3$40.88/mo for first month$52.88/moDomain pricing varies based on the domain that you choose for your new site. If you subscribe to the Shared Hosting plan, you could receive a free domain for your first year. Otherwise, pricing varies based on the following:.ai: $8.88/yr first year, $12.98/yr thereafter.co: $7.98/yr first year, $23.98/yr thereafter.com: $8.88/yr first year, $12.98/yr thereafter.io: $32.98/yr first year, $34.98/yr thereafter.net: $10.98/yr first year, $14.98/yr thereafter.org: $9.18/yr first year, $14.98/yr thereafterIf you need help, grab your computer, because there is 24/7 expert chat support.

How did we choose these products?There are many companies to choose from when you need to register your new website, but it is critical that you choose a reliable and trustworthy company to entrust with your website. These are some of the critical factors we consider when choosing the best domain registrars and domain name sellers for 2021.Domain names: There are some domain registrars that offer several hundred domain names while others barely offer one hundred, so it is important to consider what kind of variety you would like available for your new domain extension.Pricing: The exact same domain extension can vary significantly in price from provider to provider, so shop your preferred domain extension to see which service offers the most competitive pricing for your first-year and renewal rates.Security: Many domain registrars also offer security tools to help protect your new website, but some may carry a fee or depend on the web hosting plan that you choose.Customer support: Even expert users can stumble when creating or migrating a website, but customer service options can vary significantly based on your provider. Which is the right one for you?Choose this domain registrar…If you…Bluehost Want extra security freebies for your new websiteDomain.com Need extra tools and help for your domain managementDreamhostPrioritize website up-time and reliabilityGoDaddyHave a growing business or large enterprisesGoogle DomainsAre an existing Google userHostGatorWant all-inclusive service without the upsellsHoverJust want to register your domain with email accessNameCheapWant the room to grow and still have tons of options

What are domain extensions?

A domain extension is the text that comes after the name of your website, such as the popular .com extension. There are several hundreds of domain extensions available today but your choices will depend on the domain name seller that you choose.

How long does my domain last?

You cannot permanently purchase a domain name forever, but you can buy a domain name from a provider for a certain amount of time. Some plans will then auto-renew, while others may require you to renew the name yourself.

Why do I need a domain registrar and name seller?

Not only does a domain name seller provide the unique webname for your site, but it also can provide invaluable extras like security tools, professional email, and online ecommerce options to grow your business. 

Are there alternatives worth considering?

Some other options for domain registrars and name sellers in 2021 include these companies:Gandi: Receive 50% off your first-year pricing with email and web hostingHostinger: Affordable web hosting solutions with excellent customer supportHostPapa: Domain registrar with small business solutions IONOS: Domain theft protection with domain registrationInMotion Hosting: 99.9% uptime with a money-back guaranteeName.com: Bulk capability with the benefit of Google tools

ZDNet Recommends More

Image: ACCC
On Tuesday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released its latest Measuring Broadband Australia report, and it would appear Telstra is the new speed king.Going across all NBN fixed-line plans, Exetel and Optus lead the way followed by Telstra, MyRepublic, and TPG. But once underperforming services are removed, Telstra smokes the field, followed by Optus, Exetel, MyRepublic, and TPG. What seals the deal for Telstra is its performance during busy hours, where it is still able to hit its advertised 50Mbps and 100Mbps speed claims during busy hours. MyRepublic and TPG can also lay claim to being able to hit their advertised speeds, but TPG only states it will hit 90Mbps on 100Mbps NBN plans, and MyRepublic currently says it will only hit 93Mbps. Compared to the June edition of the report, it looks as though most telcos have taken a hit and slowed down during busy hours, however that’s not the complete picture as telcos have been increasing their advertised speeds. It’s entirely possible that users are having a better experience with higher throughput, but telcos are failing to hit their stated claims. The starkest in this report was Superloop only hitting its advertised speed during busy hours 48% of the time, compared to 93% in June, but its advertised speed has increased to 100% of 50Mbps and 100Mbps plans when it was previously around the 90% mark. Similarly, previous speed king Optus, dropped from 100% down to 93% while its claims rose from 90% to 100%.

This would be a lot easier to decipher if the ACCC published raw Mbps speeds instead of playing games with percentages. Elsewhere in the report, Aussie Broadband has seen its error rate blow out, doubling its 0.18 daily outage rate to 0.36. This increase occurred as every other telco tested saw a dropping error rate. Aussie Broadband has not responded to questions on why it is bucking the trend. The report also stated the bleeding obvious when discussing the ACCC mandated overprovisioning of downsteam speeds because the consumer watchdog tests speeds at layer 7 while NBN is mandated to provide layer 2 connectivity. “Overprovisioning of many NBN services, which began in June 2020, remains in effect and has enabled an increase in average download speeds by around 10% to 15% compared with a February 2020 baseline,” the report said. This has not stopped the likes of Telstra telling users they have been given a speed boost rather than a wholesaler turning the metaphorical dial on its plans. Unfortunately for fixed wireless users, the report showed a more expected result during busy hours, when last time out it had a peak at 11pm. For users on the 50/10Mbps plans, speeds dropped to 21Mbps at 8pm, and upload speeds never went much higher than 6Mbps and dropped under 4Mbps at 8pm.”While the significant decrease typically occurs during the busy hours (between 7pm and 11pm), there was also a notable decrease from midday, with speeds dipping to 10Mbps below the day’s maximum speed and remaining at that level during the course of the afternoon,” the report said. The ACCC also noted some users on 1Gbps plans not getting high speeds thanks to not using ports capable of such speeds. “Our testing has revealed that some volunteers on very high speed plans are unable to receive speeds above 100Mbps to connected devices due to limitations on Ethernet ports on some home gateways. We encourage consumers on these higher speed plans to contact their retail service providers to check that they have equipment that can support their plan speeds,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said. “We expect retailers to take appropriate steps to assist affected customers on NBN250 plans and above, both when offering these plans and for existing customers who may require replacement home gateways, or the option to move to a suitable plan speed.” The August edition of the report covered measurements made during the May reporting period. 
Image: ACCC
Related Coverage More

An NBN FttN node getting a Nokia line card installed
Image: Corinne Reichert/ZDNet
Sticking to its mantra that publishing long term forecasts could hurt the company responsible for the National Broadband Network, the NBN Co Corporate Plan 2022 has restricted itself to stating finances for the current fiscal year. “NBN Co is targeting annual revenue and other income in FY22 of between AU$5 billion to AU$5.2 billion and EBITDA in the range of AU$3 billion to AU$3.2 billion,” the company said in a rare mention of fiscal information. Unlike in years past, it did not state net profit nor capital expenditure for the coming year. Compared to the last year’s set of figures that did, the company said it was previously expecting revenue to be AU$5.3 billion, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to be AU$3.3 billion, and to post a net loss of AU$2.2 billion. Capital expenditure for FY22 was previously flagged as AU$3.8 billion. On topics it would talk about, NBN said it was on track to get 75% of its footprint, around 8 million premises, capable of handling 1Gbps ultrafast speeds by 2023. Last year: Backflip to the home: NBN to upgrade FttN areas with fibre “From a total fixed-line network perspective, and in less than a year, the proportion of customers now able to access our ultrafast plans has doubled to 40% and is climbing higher every month,” CEO Stephen Rue and chair Ziggy Switkowski wrote. “We have also made considerable progress in our hybrid fibre coaxial (HFC) network enhancement program. This program has seen the proportion of HFC customers able to access NBN Co’s higher [1Gbps] wholesale speed plan …. increase from 7% in May 2020, to 90% today.”

The company added that all 2.5 million HFC premises could access download speeds of up to 250Mbps. To hit its 75% target, NBN said its entire single-dwelling premises within the fibre to the curb (FttC) footprint would be able to be upgraded to full fibre connections when customers wanted speeds over 250Mbps. The first customers will be able to do so in 2022. The company added it has 11,000 complex installations remaining in its footprint. Rue and Switkowski added the network was tested and “passed with flying colours” in the previous year. Farewell, sweet forecasting table.
Image: NBN
NBN details 300,000 further FttN upgrade areas Building from its previous announcements, NBN said on Tuesday it had added 300,000 premises to its fibre to the node (FttN) upgrade plans, taking the total to 1.4 million premises. NBN is planning to make FttN on-demand upgrades available to 2 million premises when an order is placed for a service over 100Mbps. NBN is set to conduct a “small-scale launch” in November to allow the first customers to place orders with retailers for upgrades. The new areas to get upgrades are listed below, broken down by state. New South Wales Albion Park Rail, Alstonville, Ambarvale, Avalon Beach, Banora Point, Beaumont Hills, Berkeley, Brighton-Le-Sands, Broulee, Bundeena, Callala Bay, Callala Beach, Campbelltown, Currans Hill, Dalmeny, Farmborough Heights, Figtree, Glen Alpine, Glenmore Park, Glenwood, Goonellabah, Goulburn, Harrington Park, Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge, Keiraville, Lake Heights, Lennox Heads, Mollymook Beach, Mount Warrigal, North Nowra, Palm Beach, Pottsville, Rouse Hill, Ruse, Stanhope Gardens, Sussex Inlet, Sutherland, The Ponds, Tweed Heads, Tweed Heads South, Unanderra, Warrawong, Windang, Yamba. Victoria Beaconsfield, Berwick, Craigieburn, Echuca, Kialla, Mornington, Narre Warren South, Lakes Entrance, Myrtleford, Newport, Packenham, Port Fairy, Sunbury, Tarneit, Traralgon, Wangaratta, Warrnambool, Williamstown, Williamstown North, Woori Yallock. Queensland Battery Hill, Bellbowrie, Bli Bli, Brassall, Brinsmead, Coomera, Darling Heights, Edmonton, Condon, Harristown, Maroochydore, Moggill, Newtown, Oakey, Palm Cove, Redland Bay, Sippy Downs, Smithfield, Springfield Lakes, Toowoomba City, Upper Coomera, Yorkeys Knob. South Australia Clovelly Park, Craigmore, Findon, Mitchell Park, Morphett Vale, Rosewater, Woodville South. Western Australia Armadale, Atwell, Bassendean, Bayswater, Beaconsfield, Cannington, Claremont, Forrestfield, Fremantle, Innaloo, Morley, Myaree, Piarra Waters, Port Kennedy, Rockingham, Safety Bay, Seville Grove, Shoalwater, Stirling, Waikiki, Wattle Grove, White Gum Valley, Willagee, Wilson. Related Coverage More

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In such a short time, coronavirus has changed the way that we work and communicate, but thanks to video conferencing apps, it is now possible to do business from anywhere in the world. These apps have become an integral part of business, proving that they are here to stay, especially given the rise of the remote worker and teleworking.The right video conferencing app can provide everything you need for successful meetings and events in a world increasingly gone digital. But which is better when it comes to Zoom versus BlueJeans? We take a deep dive.

Multi-faceted tele-networking with intelligent workplace solutions

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Specs HD videoDolby Voice audioUnlimited recordingsTranscriptions in real-timeMeeting highlightsCustom performance analyticsAdvanced security featuresUnlimited 1:1 meetingsUnlimited group meetingsMeet for as long as neededFeaturesBlueJeans is trusted with the business of big companies like Adobe, Facebook, and Virgin.  There are several ways to meet using BlueJeans software, with multiple room systems all easily categorized for your use: BlueJeans Meetings: Enjoy secure virtual meetings.BlueJeans Events: Gain access to interactive live streaming for webinars and virtual events.BlueJeans Rooms: Use Rooms for private, intelligent workspaces.BlueJeans Gateway: Use Microsoft Teams rooms via Cloud Video Interop.BlueJeans Telehealth: Enjoy virtual healthcare with BlueJeans Telehealth.BlueJeans features one-touch access to several types of meeting platforms and is compatible with multiple devices and browsers for easy compatibility. There are upgraded security measures boasting enhanced HD video with Dolby Voice audio. An added benefit is that guests do not need an account to join your meeting, so you can still meet with whomever you like without the requirement of a paid subscription.  

How much does BlueJeans cost?

Plans and pricingThere are several plan options to use the BlueJeans platform. All plans come with unlimited 1:1 meetings and group meetings with the ability to meet for as long as needed.PlanPricePrimary featuresVirtual MeetingsBlueJeans Standard$12.49 host/mo$119.88 host/yrUp to 100 participantsFive hours of meeting recording per hostBlueJeans Pro$17.49 host/mo$167.88 host/yrUp to 150 participants25 hours of meeting recording per hostCommand Center AnalyticsSlack and Microsoft Teams workstream integrationsOkta and Splunk security integrationsBlueJeans Enterprise$19.99 host/mo$199.92 host/yrUp to 200 participantsUnlimited meeting recording per hostAutomated closed captioningReal-time transcriptionBrand customizationBlueJeans Enterprise PlusContact for quoteCustom licensing, access, and supportWebinars/EventsBlueJeans Video Webinars/Events – 100 attendees$99/mo$996/yrUnlimited non-concurrent webinarsMaximum two-hour webinarsAttendee workflow and reportingAttendee engagement featuresFacebook Live streamingAutomated closed captioningBlueJeans Video Webinars/Events – 200 attendees$379/mo$3,756/yrUnlimited non-concurrent webinarsMaximum two-hour webinarsAttendee workflow and reportingAttendee engagement featuresFacebook Live streamingAutomated closed captioningBlueJeans Video Webinars/Events – 500 attendees$599/mo$5,988/yrUnlimited non-concurrent webinarsMaximum two-hour webinarsAttendee workflow and reportingAttendee engagement featuresFacebook Live streamingAutomated closed captioningLarge-Scale Video EventsContact for quoteUp to 50,000 view-only attendeesFlexible event lengthBlueJeans Accelerator for network performanceRestricted EventsAdvanced supportGateway for Microsoft TeamsPer Room Plan$113.85 room/mo$1,188 room/yrCloud video interopUp to 19 roomsLarge Scale Deployment PlanContact for quoteCompatible with all SIP/H.323 endpointsFour-step deployment processOne-touch meeting joinReal-Time call analyticsDeployment support

What are the pros and cons to BlueJeans?

ProsBlueJeans brings the power of Verizon to its virtual meeting tools, offering an extra layer of security and reliability for your peace of mind. It is a simple matter to get set up, and users also rave about the excellent audio quality on each call. BlueJeans also offers the power to host more than 10,000 guests with its event and webinar plans.ConsBlueJeans does have some setbacks. Users have reported issues with software updates, leading to complications and delays when it comes time to meet. There are also reports that the software can become glitchy when connecting via external platforms, so users recommend using the BlueJeans app for best functionality. BlueJeans does not offer a free plan, so you will need to subscribe for use after the free 14-day trial concludes.

Flexible, HIPAA-compliant telenetworking solutions for large corporations

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SpecsHIPAA-compliant telehealth Zoom Apps for easy integrationMeetings for 10,000+ participantsZoom home phone serviceUnlimited group meetingsUnlimited one-on-one meetings Lobby chat optionCloud recordingsMonetizationLive streamingFeaturesJoin existing Zoom customers such as Capital One, Western Union, DocuSign, and Nasdaq. Zoom gives you several options for your telenetworking, including:Zoom Meetings: Host up to 500 guests with unlimited group and one-on-one meetings.Zoom Rooms: Keep your meetings secure with Zoom Rooms. Zoom Events and Webinars: Enjoy full-scale event and webinar management for over 10,000 guests.Zoom App Marketplace: Zoom Apps integrate right into your video, including Slack, Zoom for HubSpot, and Google Workspace integrations.Zoom for Home: There is also phone service and integration with smart homes via Zoom for Home.Zoom United: Bundle chat, phone, and meetings for up to 500 guests.Host anywhere from 100 guests for free to more than 10,000 guests with special licensing. Zoom’s free plan is generous with hosting for 100 guests, unlimited meetings of 40 minutes or less, and one-on-one meetings with a 30-hour time limit. There is also available chat for participants with the ability to stream via your favorite social media platforms and cloud storage. Users also have the ability to host multi-session events with full attendee reporting and engagement reports for additional insight.

How much does Zoom cost?

Plans and pricingPlanPricePrimary featuresZoom MeetingsBasic$0Host up to 100 guestsUnlimited group meetings up to 40 minutesUnlimited one-on-one meetings with 30-hour limitPrivate and group chatPro$14.99/month per license$149.90/year per licenseHost up to 100 guestsUnlimited group and one-on-one meetings with 30-hour limitSocial media streaming1 GB cloud recording per licenseBusiness$19.99/month per license$199.90/year per licenseHost up to 300 guestsSingle sign-onRecording transcriptsManaged domainsCompany branding Large Enterprise-Ready$19.99/month per license$240/year per licenseHost up to 500 participantsUnlimited cloud storageRecording transcriptsZoom Events & Zoom WebinarsZoom Webinar 500$79/month per licenseUp to 500 guestsUnlimited webinars for up to 30 hours eachExportable registration and attendee listsLive streamingMonetizationCloud recordingsEngagement reportsZoom Events 500$99/month per licenseWebinar package plus:Event management toolsEvent hub to organize and showcase eventMulti-session eventsCustom registration and ticketingAttendee networking lobby with chatPost-event recording managementDetailed event reportingZoom Webinar 1,000$340/month per license$3,400/year per licenseWebinar package plus:Up to 1,000 guestsZoom Events 1,000$440/month per license$4,400/year per licenseEvents package plus:Up to 1,000 guestsZoom Webinar 3,000$990/month per license$9,900/year per licenseWebinar package plus:Up to 3,000 guestsZoom Events 3,000$1290/month per license$12,900/year per licenseEvents package plus:Up to 3,000 guestsZoom Webinar 5,000$2,490/month per license$24,900/year per licenseWebinar package plus:Up to 5,000 guestsZoom Events 5,000$3,240/month per license$32,400/year per licenseEvents package plus:Up to 5,000 guestsZoom Webinar 10,000$6,490/month per license$64.900/year per licenseWebinar package plus:Up to 10,000 guestsZoom Events 10,000Contact for pricingEvents package plus:Up to 10,000 guestsZoom Webinar 10,000+Contact for pricingWebinar package plus:Up to 10,000+ guestsZoom Events 10,000+Contact for pricingEvents package plus:Up to 10,000+ guestsZoom RoomsZoom Rooms$49/month per room$499/year per room(free 30-day trial)Up to 49 Zoom Rooms licensesZoom UnitedPro$25/month per user$250/yearChat and Phone, plus:Meetings up to 100 participants1 GB cloud storage recording per licenseSocial media streamingBusiness$30/month per user$300/yearChat and Phone, plus:Meetings up to 300 participantsSingle sign-onRecording transcriptsManaged domainsCompany brandingEnterprise$30/month per user$360/yearChat and Phone, plus:Meetings up to 500 participants

What are the pros and cons to BlueJeans?

ProsZoom makes it easy to use its software, offering a free plan for customers. Guests are not required to make an account, so you can get started that much sooner. There are unlimited meetings, so you do not have to track usage, and if you upgrade to a paid plan, you can host webinars for more than 10,000 guests.ConsZoom’s free plan does carry limitations, like limiting the time for each meeting to 40 minutes. It also limits how many guests you can invite, even when you subscribe to a paid plan. Zoom has several options for plans, with pricing ranging from the free plan to custom quotes that cost several thousand dollars per month for your larger corporations. For smaller groups, the amount you pay depends on the features you choose, but can still add up quickly.

How do BlueJeans and Zoom compare?

Although similar, there are some key differences between BlueJeans and Zoom that can help you determine which may be a better fit for you.Software requirementsBlueJeans offers its own app for download, as well as a desktop software that works with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Zoom also has an app and is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, plus several other systems, like Mint, CentOS, and Fedora operating systems.Meeting typesBoth Zoom and BlueJeans have meeting and event features with the option for private rooms. From there, the services each offer their own custom features. While BlueJeans offers virtual telehealth and a Gateway feature for Microsoft Teams, Zoom takes a different focus with webinars and a loaded app marketplace. Zoom also integrates with your smart home to create an all-in-one home bundle of phone, chat, and meetings for up to 500 attendees.UsageThere is an enormous difference when comparing the usage available between BlueJeans and Zoom. Zoom accommodates meetings with up to 500 guests, but if you sign up for BlueJeans, you can host webinars and events for more than 10,000 guests. If you anticipate that you will hold large meetings in the future, BlueJeans gives you the room to grow, something that Zoom lacks.PriceBlueJeans Virtual Meetings begin at $12.49 per month for its Standard plan, but pricing quickly becomes more expensive as you begin adding extra features. There is no free plan, but there is a free 14-day trial, so you can take the features for a test drive before you have to commit with your credit card. Zoom does not offer a free trial, but there is a free plan if you need basic meeting capability. 

Which video conferencing app is right for you?

If…Then…You have short, occasional meetings,Zoom is right for youYou manage large teams,BlueJeans Gateway can help.You need virtual health care,BlueJeans TeleHealth is for you.You have a smart home,Zoom for Home can integrate with your home.You have a lot of meetings and want to save money,Consider bundling services with Zoom United.

Are there alternative video conferencing apps worth considering?

Zoom and BlueJeans are far from the only telenetworking solutions. Other alternatives for your video conferencing include companies such as these:Google Meet: Also known as Google Hangouts Meet, Google Meet allows users to interact within the Google Workspace. GoToMeeting: As one of the original meeting apps, GoToMeeting has a high limit for your meeting team, but you will have to upgrade when you want to meet with more than 150 attendees.Microsoft Teams: A subscription is necessary to access advanced features, but Microsoft Teams offers a convenient way to communicate and work within the Microsoft platform.Cisco Webex: The free plan gives access to up to 100 guests for a maximum of 50 minutes per meeting. 

Is Zoom or BlueJeans free to use?

You can use Zoom for free, but BlueJeans requires users to purchase a plan after the 14-day trial. 

Which video conferencing app is best for business?

BlueJeans offers expanded meeting capability with extra features like virtual telehealth and large webinar capacity to best meet the needs of a growing business.

Which video conferencing app is best for personal use?

Zoom is a video conferencing software that is best for personal use with an affordable free plan, expanded meeting tools, and smart home integration to make life at home a breeze.

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When organizations moved abruptly to remote work at the start of the pandemic, they had to quickly shift their network and security capabilities. That meant some shortcuts were taken and some priorities were left on the table. 

Not surprisingly, that abrupt turnaround had some negative consequences for organizations. A new survey commissioned by Palo Alto Networks examines the impacts of those decisions, as well as the steps organizations are taking now, as they plan for more permanent hybrid work strategies. As many as 61% of respondents said struggled to provide the necessary remote security to support work-from-home capabilities, according to the survey. Security certainly wasn’t the only problem. Yet by mid-2021, most organizations felt comfortable with their network and addressed earlier user complaints about collaboration tool performance and efficacy. Security continues to top the list of significant ongoing challenges for 51% of respondents. That said, one-fourth to one-third of respondents are still struggling to provide a positive, well-rounded user experience. The newly-released survey, conducted for Palo Alto Networks by ONR, polled 3,000 people, including technology executives, as well as members of networking, security and operations teams. At the time of the survey, more than two-thirds of organizations indicated that between 25% to 75% of their workforce is still working remotely. Meanwhile, 44% expect to have over half of their employees working remotely in 12 months’ time. As many as 62% of survey respondents are in the process of optimizing their hybrid workforce, with 94% considering some sort of hybrid workforce over the next 12 months.Earlier in the pandemic, IT teams took different approaches to the remote-work pivot: Most (44%) respondents said their organizations made investments to improve remote network access but invested relatively little in remote security. 

Another 35% said their organizations invested robustly in both network access capabilities and security. Another 21% said their organizations made very few changes in both their existing network architecture or security. Among those with minimal upgrades to their network, 48% now believe that their network cannot support current remote work demands or that their remote network is not sustainable. By contrast, this sentiment is expressed by only 21% of those who evolved their network and 14% of those who evolved both their network and their remote security.
Palo Alto Networks
Meanwhile, 53% of organizations that prioritized remote access over security are now exposed to a significant increase in security risks from unchecked acceptable use policy violations and unsanctioned application usage. Those who made minimal changes to their remote access saw a 23% increase in security issues. Use policy violations should have been predictable. “As has been the case in the past, when security measures become a burden – slowing down systems or otherwise impeding productivity and impairing the user experience – employees will often find creative ways to evade them,” the report says. “Remote work and the rise of cloud-based applications has made that easier than ever before. The expansion of remote work has opened the door to both an increased burden of security and an increased opportunity to evade controls.”The report suggest that supplying employees with effective collaboration and productivity tools would give workers less incentive to find security workarounds. Organizations that lack effective remote collaboration tools said that their users are over 8x more likely to report high levels of security evasion. Additionally, the survey shows that 60% of organizations expanded BYOD to enable their employees to work from home. However, as a result, organizations that allow increased BYOD usage have employees who are over 8x more likely to ignore, circumvent, or disable security than those who restricted BYOD. Now, as organizations look more at the long-term picture, 74% say a single end-to-end remote security solution would improve their posture. Additionally, 71% of organizations expect to have their security mostly or completely in the cloud over the next 24 months. More

Image: Aussie Broadband
Aussie Broadband has capped off a bumper year, with the telco saying it now has 401,000 customers in total, up 53%, consisting of 363,000 residential lines, an increase of 50%, and business and wholesale jumping 90% to 37,500. The end result is the telco reporting revenue up 84% to AU$350 million, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) prior to AU$1.5 million in IPO expenses growing five-fold to AU$19 million. In the fourth quarter alone, the company reported revenue of AU$100 million. All up, Aussie Broadband ended the year by closing last year’s AU$12.3 million loss into a AU$4.2 million loss. By segment, residential was responsible for AU$305 million in revenue, up 84%, and EBITDA jumping from basically flat to AU$12.5 million. For the business segment, revenue increased 83% to AU$45.2 million and EBITDA more than doubled to AU$6.7 million. Average revenue per customer was AU$78 per month for residential, and just shy of AU$130 for business customers. “EBITDA was driven by customer growth in both business and residential segments, increase in ARPU, careful CVC management, and NBN extending COVID-19 CVC credits and promotional rebates,” the company said.Over the year to June 30, Aussie Broadband said it added almost 13,000 services, and completed a network switch from Telstra to Optus. The company said it was seeing good migration numbers from Telstra base onto Optus, and would try to upsell its NBN customers onto its mobile offering in future.

In the coming year, Aussie Broadband said it would complete its 1,200km fibre build that will link up 85 NBN points of interconnect and 21 data centres with multiple 100G link, with the other 36 NBN points of interconnected hooked up with a single 100G connection. From the 2023 fiscal year, the company said the build will save around AU$15 million annually. As of June 30, the company had 250km completed. Aussie Broadband also expects to make one acquisition in the first half of FY22, and appoint a head of mergers and acquisitions in April. “Due to the dynamic and changing nature of the retail telecommunications market, ongoing lockdowns and the impact on CVC expense, the company will not be providing guidance for FY22,” it said. Related Coverage More

Once upon a time, roughly thirty years ago, there was a computer network called America Online. 

AOL, as it was typically referred to, sent out little diskettes in the mail, and sometimes slipped them into the middle of popular magazines. The diskettes were a way for people to go online. There was already an Internet, but most people didn’t know how to use it or even that it existed.  AOL, and a couple of competitors, Compuserve and Prodigy, offered people online things they could do, such as chat with other people. Mostly, the services helped people to get around the difficult aspects of what are known as Internet protocols. Internet computers need to communicate via connections that require a dedicated communications line, and a so-called IP address, which in turn requires a software program called TCP/IP. Most people’s computers didn’t have any of that.  Instead, the little diskette in the magazine let a person plug their computer into their telephone modem — once they’d bought a modem at the local computer store — and dial up a server computer that would admit them to the world of AOL or, alternatively, to the world of Compuserve or Prodigy. Some people grumbled at how many diskettes were stuck inside magazines, but the diskettes were an effective way to attract new people to sign up and use the service. Many people spent days and days at a time on AOL and the other services. The services had only one drawback, which was that they were limited. People couldn’t do just whatever they wanted, they could only pick from a small menu of functions, such as chat, that the services provided. And the services didn’t grow or change much, they stayed pretty much the same for years because it wasn’t in their interest to change when the diskettes kept bringing people in.  Back in the early ’90s, AOL mailed out little diskettes and stuck them in magazines to get people to come online. Facebook didn’t have to resort to such cheesy tactics, but it similiarly has offered a curated set of free activities that have trapped people inside a walled garden, just like AOL.
Tiernan Ray for ZDNet
Most people didn’t mind that the services were limited and didn’t change. People were just excited to be in a place called Cyberspace. Suddenly, they could send a message to someone in a different town, even a different country, even people that they had never met. People could also adopt a secret identity, such as “picklefinger0237,” and the anonymity made interacting even more exciting. Right about the same time as AOL, a smart person named Tim Berners-Lee, who worked at a prestigious research organization, published some software people could use to connect from their computer to any computer that also had the software. It was the World Wide Web. The software quickly caught the attention of many people and it blew their minds. With a real Internet connection, a person could reach any computer in the world. People saw that they didn’t have to accept the small menu of functions that AOL offered them. 

Moreover, the excitement that people felt when they were sending a message to a person in another town now swelled until it became a fervor to see the world. People had a sense the small little place in Cyberspace where they had dwelt was nothing compared to a vast universe just over the garden wall. The excitement pushed even ordinary people to find out how to sign up with a thing called an “Internet Service Provider.” It required people to understand something called “point to point protocol,” which was almost like learning science, but still less annoying than all the diskettes. As it grew and grew, the World Wide Web became an amazing place in contrast to AOL. People found they could visit articles and whole magazines written by people they’d never met, even from around the world. And there was a constant stream of innovation, with lots of software appearing all the time that made “surfing” the Web amazing.  People even discovered more of the Internet, such as things like “file transfer protocol,” where they could get lots of stuff no one had ever seen in the form of files. Programs such as “finger” let a person see who had been online, which, again, blew people’s minds.  People were so excited by the World Wide Web, they never wanted to go back to AOL or Compuserve or Prodigy. The three services withered. Mostly, people who were older held onto their AOL accounts because they still had an email address linked to AOL and it was a little confusing to try to get a new email address. But over time, with help from the younger generation, even those people were able to shift to using new email services and enjoy the Web.  Soon after people became excited about the Web, business people started to say it was sad that AOL and Compuserve and Prodigy had withered away because they had been a great way to make money for a time.  The business people decided that there should be a way to make something like AOL, even though everyone thought Web sites were amazing and didn’t want to go back. A content company called CNET (a sister site of ZDNet)  invented a service called Snap Online. They put out T-shirts telling people it was like having AOL but so much better. They wrote the word Snap with an exclamation point — Snap! — so that it was even more exciting.  The service, though, didn’t make a lot of money, in fact, it cost CNET a lot of money, $101 million dollars through 1999, before CNET sold it to another company called NBC Internet. NBC eventually merged with a cable company called Comcast, and Snap was forgotten.   Other people tried to make another AOL, including a group of the smartest venture capitalists in the world, who spent nearly $50 million to create a site that would be more like meeting real people, called Friendster. It had some success at the beginning because people really wanted to meet not just new people but people they knew. Then people cooled on Friendster, and it got sold — for a lot less money than it had taken to build it — to a Malaysian online payments firm. People mostly forgot about Friendster. None of those failures deterred business people, and they created new services, including a service called MySpace, where people could put up information about their rock bands.  Also: Why is your identity trapped inside a social network? Finally, some smart people hit on a formula and they created some brand-new places for people to meet. One of them was called Facebook. People got excited about Facebook because it was a place where they could find real people they knew, just like MySpace, but also because it had some features like AOL, like the game Farmville.  Business people were even more excited because Facebook started to generate a lot of advertising revenue. Advertisers liked Facebook because it not only knew who was talking to whom, it also knew a little bit about the hobbies and interests of people. Advertisers liked that because they could use the information to “target” their ads like never before. Smart people said that Facebook had what are known as “network effects.” It became more powerful the more people joined it. A scientist deduced the possible reason. It was because Facebook had what’s called a “scale free” network that solved the problem of how to meet up. Most people didn’t know that many people, but everyone knew one or two people who knew a whole lot of people. Those one or two people were the hubs in a social “graph” that allowed even lonely people to meet lots more people, in the same way everyone in Hollywood knew someone who had worked with the famous actor Kevin Bacon on a movie. As more lonely people met new people — and old friends — via Facebook, Facebook grew and grew. Its revenue swelled from $153 million dollars a year to $2 billion to $18 billion until one day it was making almost $120 billion dollars a year selling advertisements as people did stuff together. Facebook became one of the most powerful entities in the world, worth over a trillion dollars, because it had so many people doing stuff, almost two billion people. There were just a couple problems with Facebook. Facebook was a lot like AOL. It limited people by telling them with whom they could communicate. And unlike AOL and Compuserve and Prodigy, people couldn’t just be any fun identity they wanted, like picklefinger0237. They had to present themselves as themselves because advertisers liked to know who was talking to whom. Many people didn’t really mind that they were limited in whom they could talk to. They liked to “build their brand,” they said, by showing off pictures of themselves and talking a lot about themselves. Also, people felt it was fine because just like with AOL, they had a couple other options, including Pinterest and Twitter and LinkedIn and Instagram, and even a new thing called Snap, without the exclamation point. Those were like having Compuserve and Prodigy back in the day. But a few people got concerned. They noticed that not only did Facebook and services like it limit who could talk, and to whom those people could talk. The concerned people noticed that the services manipulated how people talked to one another, with computer algorithms called “data voodoo dolls.” Even business people became alarmed. They said Facebook had “zucked” people by betraying people’s trust.  Also: Physics explains why there is no information on social media One of the bad things was that people no longer had control. They had given so much information about themselves to Facebook and its competitors that it was like those companies owned people when they were in Cyberspace.  The services didn’t seem to do a great job of handling people’s information, either. Even though they wouldn’t let people talk to just anyone they wanted, Facebook and the other services went and sold people’s information to people they didn’t know in far-away countries. And everywhere a person would go on the Internet, Facebook and its competitors would let advertisers keep following them, keeping track of them, which people had never counted on when they joined up.
Concerned thinkers said the new online services were watching everyone’s behavior and shaping it and invading their privacy. The consequences became worse and worse. People had thought they were relating to one another, but they were really screaming at one another like in a school lunchroom food fight.  The reason they were screaming was because the data voodoo dolls and the other algorithmic tools weren’t really bringing people together, they were encouraging repetitive patterns of behavior, like getting people mad by constantly displaying the most inflammatory things people said about anything and everything. It was all for the purpose of sorting people’s behavior into convenient buckets as a way to communicate a clear buying signal to help advertisers.  Even the people who were excited about building their brands had some misgivings. They suspected at times that their identities were not real. They were now simply a figment of an advertising database that constructed an identity for them in order to keep people coming to Facebook and other services. It was almost as if people didn’t exist anymore when they were in Cyberspace.  Then one day, someone smart built a new technology that didn’t require people to sign away their information. Now, people could meet anyone they wanted and talk about whatever they wanted, not just what Facebook or its competitors said was okay. People felt more relaxed, too, because even though there were ads, people could meet up in Cyberspace without every single action they took being used to fuel an advertising machine.  People got excited again, like the first time they found the Web and gave up on AOL. But there our story ends, because that chapter has not yet been written. More

RingCentral
RingCentral has revealed several new capabilities for its Message Video Phone (MVP) unified communications platform to make meetings more secure, feature-rich, and easier to use. The pandemic drove the adoption of products such as RingCentral’s, and the usage of it has remained high as the world remains in an indefinite hybrid work mode. UC apps enable workers to collaborate when they are physically distant, often with better results than if they were in the same room. 

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When the pandemic began, most of the UC-as-a-Service (UCaaS) providers — RingCentral included — had basic functions. Since then, there has been a mad dash to add more features to improve the products. This set of product updates adds several innovations that address some of the key aspects of remote work.Specifically, RingCentral announced the following: Dynamic end-to-end encryption (E2EE): This is a term that has caused great confusion in the UC industry because some vendors stretched the definition. E2EE is not just about encrypting data in flight. It also requires encrypting data at rest and at every point in the journey. There is a debate as to where and when the data should be encrypted. One might think all calls but then some of the vendor tools, such as transcription, may not work because the data is encrypted. RingCentral now offers dynamic E2EE, in which users can turn E2EE on or off mid-meeting across its mobile and desktop clients or through the browser. With other vendors, the user needs to shut down the meeting, turn on encryption, and then start the meeting again. Now it can be used whenever necessary. C5:2020 certification compliance: The Cloud Computing Compliance Criteria Catalog, or C5, is a set of security controls that was developed by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) in Germany. The certification was first published in 2016 and was BSI’s guideline for cloud computing security. With this release, RingCentral announced that its MVP, Video Pro, Video Pro+, Engage Digital, and Engage Voice products are all compliant with C5:2020. Buyers should do their homework on this; most UCaaS providers claim to be C5 compliant, but most only meet the 2016 certification. RingCentral Add-Ins: This brings a number of leading apps into RingCentral Team Messaging for an integrated workflow. For example, instead of having to download a file from RingCentral and then upload it into DocuSign for a digital signature, users can sign directly in RingCentral through the DocuSign add-in. In addition to DocuSign, RingCentral will have add-ins with Akazio, Asana, BugSnag, Github, Hubspot, Jira, Keeper AI, Prodoscore, RingClone, and Trello with more coming. These are in addition to the more than 250 apps integrations in the RingCentral AppGallery.  Add-in integrations will be available mid-October, but developers can build now. Microsoft Teams embedded dialer: Microsoft Teams has seen a significant boost in usage with the pandemic, because the bundling with Office 365 made it fast and easy for businesses to adopt it. While Teams is adequate in the areas of messaging and video, its calling function is expensive and lacks many of the key features that businesses now require. RingCentral for Microsoft Teams brings Ring’s best-in-class enterprise calling capabilities to Teams. The integration makes the RingCentral dial pad available directly in Teams; this lets customers use Teams for messaging but will have a significantly better calling experience than with Teams calling. Mobile Heads Up Display (HUD): Earlier this year, RingCentral added HUD functionality to its desktop app enabling power users, such as admins and receptionists, to have a centralized view of all callable extensions. The HUD will be available on the mobile client by year-end. Two years ago, this feature wasn’t needed, but now that more of the world is working from home, the ability to manage call queues and other information from a mobile device is necessary. Team huddle capabilities: This is an interesting extension to MVP, because it enables users to create ad-hoc collaborative spaces in which users can pop in and out as they desire. A good analogy is how Discord works, where gamers can jump into and out of collaborative sessions. This is targeted at use cases where a person or team would want to let people drop in at their leisure. IT service desks, HR departments, or break-out rooms at events are good examples. Enhancements to immersive experiences: Last year RingCentral launched its own video capabilities as an alternative to the Zoom partnership. Since then, it has quickly added capabilities that have brought it to par with much of the field. This week it added the following video experiences: breakout rooms for small group discussions within meetings; transparent speaker when overlay mode is used.  Without this, the active speaker can often block on-screen content;  new immersive scenes such as virtual conference rooms and newsrooms to better replicate an in-person session; auto-framing capabilities that continuously center the speaker. While many cameras do this, RingCentral does this in software and will work with any camera; touch up appearances, where users can touch up their skin, add virtual makeup, color their lips and whiten their teeth. This is an example where virtual meetings can have an advantage over in person. It’s been a busy few months for RingCentral, but in a pre-briefing, the company told me to be on the lookout for more news soon. The Enterprise Connect event is at the end of September, and RingCentral is a major sponsor, so I’m expecting news there. Buyers of UCaaS products are the real winners here because RingCentral and its competitors have all stepped on the innovation pedal and are rolling out new features at an unprecedented rate. More