SAP is planning to retain a majority stake in the feedback and survey software firm Qualtrics when it makes the subsidiary public, the company has announced.

The data analytics company will be made public through an initial public offering (IPO) in the US less than two years after the German software giant purchased the firm in an $8 billion acquisition. SAP bought Qualtrics just four days before it was set to go public in late 2018.

The purchase arose after SAP sought to boost its cloud portfolio, integrating Qualtrics’ XM Platform, a system for managing core business information, into a single platform. 

«SAP’s primary objective for the IPO is to fortify Qualtrics’ ability to capture its full market potential within Experience Management. This will help to increase Qualtrics’ autonomy and enable it to expand its footprint both within SAP’s customer base and beyond,” SAP said in a statement.

«Qualtrics, which is part of SAP’s cloud portfolio, has operated with greater autonomy than other companies SAP had previously acquired. The founder Ryan Smith and the current management team of Qualtrics will continue to operate the company.”

SAP will trim its ownership of Qualtrics from 100%, although it plans to retain majority ownership of the company, and says it has no intention of spinning off or divesting this interest in the firm. The company’s founder Smith, in addition, plans to be Qualtrics’ largest individual shareholder.

CEO Christian Klein said SAP’s acquisition of Qualtrics has been a success, outperforming expectations with 2019 cloud growth of more than 40%, “demonstrating very strong performance in the current setup”. 

Indeed, Qualtrics’ revenue rose 34% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020, according to SAP’s financial results, with the segment earning  €168 million (roughly £153,000,000). Many perhaps would naturally question why a change in ownership arrangement is needed at this stage,

Klein added he alongside senior figures including Ryan Smith decided an IPO would provide the greatest chance for Qualtrics to grow its market, as well as explore its own recruitment and acquisition strategies.

SAP would remain Qualtrics most important R&D and go-to-market partner, in line with its continued majority stake in the subsidiary, while giving the company more autonomy to broaden its partner and customer ecosystem.

Box and Google Cloud have announced a new partnership that involves greater interoperability between the two services.

The partnership will also see Box tap into Google’s cloud platform to enhance its own content management platform.

The company is using Google Cloud as a key provider for data storage, machine learning, security and also its cloud identify service to help customers safeguard sensitive content. The companies say the deal will help improve the services within Box for users that are now working from home.

As more companies embrace flexible working and remote technologies, Box believes it needs to tailor its platform to suit the workforce for the ‘new normal’.

«We’re in the middle of a major transformation in how business gets done. The ability to work from anywhere, leverage global talent and virtual teams, and to collaborate securely with colleagues, partners, and customers is the ‘new normal’ for every business,» said Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box.

«Google Cloud is an incredibly important partner as we innovate and scale to bring secure collaboration to our customers globally, and we’re excited to continue making the combination of Box and G Suite as intuitive and seamless as possible for our customers.»

The partnership also includes deeper integration with G Suite. Following on from the initial work their pair started in 2018, there will now be a seamless sharing experience within G Suite to simplify sharing Google files stored in Box. User will be able to keep the same access settings and privacy controls they have in Box as they navigate their files and folders.

This includes a function to transfer Google Docs, Sheets and Slides between Box and Google Drive. Box is also developing a new G Suite add-on to enable a «save to Box» option.

HPE has launched a 5G test centre for telcos to develop and integrate 5G network projects and services and get them to market quicker.

The HPE 5G Lab has already gained support from industry leaders such as Affirmed Networks, Intel, Nokia and Red Hat.

This is a part of a growing portfolio of 5G services from HPE, which include core network, edge and enterprise services. The lab will provide a proving ground for telco firms, network equipment providers and independent software vendors (ISVs), according to HPE.

The lab is located in Fort Collins, Colorado, and available worldwide to customers and HPE partners via remote access. This also includes personnel to manage and operate the lab environment, as well as assist with integration and testing. The lab is based on HPE 5G portfolio services and will include multiple 5G related products.

«Governments and telecoms operators around the world are looking to open 5G technologies as an opportunity to move away from a number of vendors which have raised fundamental concerns around security, resilience and market diversification,» said Phil Mottram, VP and GM of communications and media solutions at HPE.

«However, despite multiple successful deployments, doubts still persist about the ability of open 5G technologies to truly replace the old way of building networks. With the launch of the HPE 5G Lab, telcos, solution vendors and national stakeholders can test innovative new solutions with confidence and ensure that they are ready for mass adoption.»

HPE wants to encourage telcos, vendors and platform providers to come together to test, document, and validate their technologies as a single service. It suggests that this open approach will offer the flexibility to work with practically any ISV or best-of-breed provider to create tailored networking services tuned to specific verticals and use cases.

The initial focus of the Lab is to bring innovation to the «monolithic» cellular network core, according to HPE, and enable holistic management and data sharing.

Slack has filed a formal antitrust complaint against Microsoft in Europe over the way it bundles Microsoft Teams with its Office 365 suite.  

The communications platform is accusing Microsoft of «illegally» bundling the Teams app into its market-dominant productivity suite and hampering competition by making it unremovable. 

In its complaint, Slack said it was confident on the «merits» of its own product, but it couldn’t ignore the «illegal behaviour» that deprives customers of access to the tools and services they want. It accuses Microsoft of «force installing» Teams for millions of users and hiding the true cost to enterprise customers.

Slack says it simply wants fair competition and is asking the European Commission (EC) to be a neutral referee in what is the legal culmination of a years-long spat between the two companies. 

«This is much bigger than Slack versus Microsoft – this is a proxy for two very different philosophies for the future of digital ecosystems, gateways versus gatekeepers,» said Jonathan Prince, VP of communications and policy at Slack.

«Slack offers an open, flexible approach that compounds the threat to Microsoft because it is a gateway to innovative, best-in-class technology that competes with the rest of Microsoft’s stack and gives customers the freedom to build solutions that meet their needs.

«We want to be the 2% of your software budget that makes the other 98% more valuable; they want 100% of your budget every time.»

The war between Slack and Microsoft has intensified during the coronavirus pandemic, with remote working surging. Microsoft announced it had surpassed 44 million users at the start of the UK and US lockdown, but Slack disputed the figures citing its 365 bundles.  

«Microsoft is reverting to past behaviour. They created a weak, copycat product and tied it to their dominant Office product, force installing it and blocking its removal, a carbon copy of their illegal behaviour during the ‘browser wars’,» said David Schellhase, Slack’s general counsel. 

«Slack is asking the European Commission to take swift action to ensure Microsoft cannot continue to illegally leverage its power from one market to another by bundling or tying products.»

CloudPro has approached Microsoft for comment. 

Microsoft has announced new updates to its suite of offerings including Azure, Teams, and Microsoft 365. The new features, which were announced on the first day of the company’s virtual Microsoft Inspire conference, are aimed at providing businesses with better remote working solutions in the age of social distancing.

The company announced a slew of new business applications which prioritise the health and safety of employees returning to offices post-lockdown and support independent software vendors (ISVs) in developing, publishing, and marketing their apps.

Microsoft Azure

As part of the Inspire commencement, Microsoft unveiled the second generation of Azure Stack HCI (hyper-converged infrastructure), which allows users to run virtualized workloads on-premise while connecting to Azure. In contrast to the original release, which was introduced in March 2019, the latest version of the Azure Stack HCI is not reliant on the Windows server. 

Azure Stack HCI can be used to modernise data centres with high-density virtualization and storage, as well as to view and manage multiple clusters and virtual machines (VMs) at the same time using Microsoft’s multi-cloud management solution Azure Arc.

Catering to a growing remote working environment, customers can run Azure Stack HCI on their own hardware, under the condition that it matches Microsoft’s validated node solution. Azure Stack HCI is currently delivered by Dell EMC, HPE and Lenovo.

As a part of the second-generation Azure Stack HCI, Microsoft also announced a new deployment wizard which aims to help IT administrators to quickly setup an Azure Stack HCI cluster and connect to Azure, as well as a Stretch Cluster for high availability (HA) and disaster recovery, allowing to easily extend a cluster from one site to multiple.

The new Azure Stack HCI is to include Extended Security Updates for Windows Server 2008 virtual machines, at no additional cost.

Microsoft 365

One of the most interesting announcements to come out of Inspire 2020 are the changes to Microsoft 365’s UX, which sees an increased focus on simplicity. 

Head of Microsoft Office design John Friedman said that «the next wave of Microsoft 365 UX changes will go even further by fading brand colors from app headers and exploring adaptive commanding», including «a flexible ribbon that progressively discloses contextually relevant commands at the right time just where you need them». The standard ribbon UI had graced Office since 2007 and has not experienced many changes until now.

«We’ll further advance our seamless, cross-suite Search to bring relevant information to your fingertips, and myriad forthcoming experiences will leverage Fluid Frameworks. Microsoft 365 will bring the power of Office to wherever you are, ensuring you won’t need to interrupt your creative process to open a different tool,» Friedman explained in a blog post.

The UI updates are part of the Fluent Design system which has been changing Office over the past couple of years by adding new icons and introducing dark mode.

Microsoft also announced the public preview of Microsoft Endpoint Data Loss Prevention in Microsoft 365, which aims to help customers identify and protect information on endpoints. The tool is built into Windows 10, Office Apps, and Microsoft Edge, therefore facilitating deployment and eliminating the need for an additional agent. 

The company also unveiled Universal Print, a new service solution that provides a secure print experience for customers moving their workload to the cloud. The service eliminates the need for a complex hybrid print setup, thus expanding opportunities for reseller and hardware partners.

Microsoft Teams

The tech giant also introduced new features to its collaborative platform Microsoft Teams, which aim to ensure a secure and collaborative working environment while working from home.

The now generally-available Teams Room Premium provides customers with a cloud-based IT service that includes 24/7 proactive management and monitoring delivered by Microsoft experts. Teams Rooms Premium aims to provide users with the option to shift the operational burden of their rooms to Microsoft or a certified Microsoft partner.

As a part of its Teams updates, the company also announced the new RealWear head-mounted devices, which provide first-line workers with hands-free access to information and the ability to conduct calls with remote experts directly from their job sites. Users will be able to access chats, remote assist capabilities and other resources using only voice commands. 

Another newly-announced Teams feature is Walkie Talkie, which allows customers to turn employee- or company-owned Android smartphones and tablets into a walkie-talkie, enabling clear, instant and secure voice communication over the cloud. The app reduces the number of devices employees must carry, potentially lowering IT costs.

Microsoft also announced enhancements to its Power Platform within Microsoft Teams, aiming to facilitate the creation, deployment and management of apps without the need to leave Teams. Apps and chatbots built with Power Apps and Power Virtual Agent will now be able to access data residing in the Microsoft Dataflex, a relational database which has been built into Teams at no additional cost. Thanks to DataFlex, users will be allowed to build applications and workflows directly within Teams without having to consider back-end tech logistics. The new Power Apps features will be available for public preview starting next month.

Partnership priorities

Lastly, Microsoft outlined its partnership priorities for the fiscal year 2021, which are the following:

• Remote work
• Business continuity
• Security
• Cloud migration

As a part of the new “remote everything” environment, Microsoft announced that it would focus on empowering employees, engaging customers, optimising operations, and transforming products. According to the company, the combination of these factors would create an inclusive, trusted workplace which respects fundamental rights.

IBM is developing an in-built security and compliance module for large banks and tech companies using IBM Cloud for Financial Services, giving customers a central hub to manage risks.

The dashboard, which spans infrastructure, platform, data and the developer workflow, allows clients to continuously monitor and enforce security and compliance procedures across multiple workloads to improve cloud security.

Launching in August, the IBM Cloud Security and Compliance Centre builds on the acquisition of Spanugo last month, with the company’s cloud cyber security posture management systems to be integrated into the new product.

The dashboard will take advantage of the acquisition with the capacity for customers to augment the developer workflow with automated security and compliance checks.

This news has come in addition to IBM expanding its reach and collaborations, welcoming BNP Paribas to its customer base of financial institutions, and growing its network of independent software vendors (ISVs) to more than 30 tech companies.

These are providers that have onboarded cloud services and systems to IBM Cloud for Financial Services. This is in addition to a major milestone in IBM’s partnership with Bank of America. 

This collaboration has allowed IBM to establish a set of cloud security and compliance control requirements as the basis for its policy framework. This feeds into the Policy Framework for Financial Services module that allows customers to host key applications and modules with confidence.

«With major financial institutions and technology partners joining our financial services cloud, IBM is establishing confidence within the industry and around the globe that the IBM public cloud, equipped with industry-leading encryption capabilities, is the enterprise cloud for all highly regulated industries, including financial services healthcare, telco, airlines and more,» said IBM Cloud senior vice president Howard Boville.

«IBM is creating a platform with the goal that financial services institutions can address their regulatory requirements, while creating a collaborative ecosystem that helps enable banks and their providers to confidently transact.»

Data protection authorities from across the world have urged video conferencing providers like Zoom and Microsoft to review their privacy, security and data protection policies.

In the wake of many more individuals relying on video conferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, six data regulators, including the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), have set out several principles these firms should dwell on.

Since countries were thrust into lockdown, people have looked to the likes of Zoom and Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts and Skype, among others, to maintain normality and stay connected in their personal and professional lives.

These companies have been told to urgently review security, privacy-by-design and default, which audiences are using their services, how transparent these companies are over data incidents, and how much control end-users retain.

“We recognise that VTC companies offer a valuable service allowing us all to stay connected regardless of where we are in the world,” the open letter said. It has been co-signed by regulators from the UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Australia and Gibraltar. 

“But ease of staying in touch must not come at the expense of people’s data protection and privacy rights. The principles in this open letter set out some of the key areas to focus on to ensure that your VTC offering is not only compliant with data protection and privacy law around the world, but also helps build the trust and confidence of your userbase.”

Zoom, in particular, has been at the centre of a series of high-profile security shortcomings since it rose to prominence at the start of lockdown several months ago. These issues even led to a handful of organisations and national governments banning use of the platform for video communications. 

The company would argue that it’s well on-course to rectifying these security and privacy shortcomings, taking several measures including rolling out end-to-end encryption and adding server routing controls.

Nevertheless, the six data authorities want companies like Zoom to write back by 30 September to demonstrate how it is taking the principles outlined into account in the design and delivery of their services.

In terms of security, the authorities claim to have observed some worrying reports of security flaws that have led to the unauthorized access of personal data. Security measures, therefore, should be given extra consideration, with providers constantly aware of new security risks and threats. 

One measure they can implement is requiring users to regularly update their platforms to the latest version and reviewing how information is processed by third-parties, including in countries abroad.

Privacy-by-design, meanwhile, should be implemented by adopting the most privacy-friendly settings for users by default, effectively erring on the side of caution. Some examples include clearly announcing new callers and setting video and audio feeds to ‘muted’ on entry.

That video conferencing has become vastly more widespread also means there are many examples of groups and individuals using services that weren’t originally designed for them. This may create new risks, the regulators say. One perfect example of this is Zoom being used for remote teaching, which gave rise to the ‘Zoombombing’ phenomenon.

IT Pro approached the ICO to ask what the next stages of this process may be, and whether there will be any follow-up action should the regulators receive unsatisfactory responses.

Salesforce has quietly shuttered Einstein Voice Assistant and Einstein Voice Skills as it shifts focus towards its newly released Salesforce Anywhere app. 

The Einstein Voice Assistant first launched in beta last year. It’s an extension of the company’s Einstein Voice platform and allowed users to interact with the Salesforce platform via a mobile app or smart speaker device. 

Salesforce claims the AI helper was more advanced than other digital assistants on the market, such as Alexa and Cortana, as it could be taught to recognise a company’s specific jargon and acronyms.

Einstein Voice Skills, which debuted in beta last November, enabled developers and admins can build custom voice-powered apps for employees to replace any type of manual data entry or manual Salesforce navigation.

As spotted by Voicebot.ai, Salesforce has killed off both products less than two years after they first debuted. A notice on the Salesforce website confirms that “Einstein Voice Assistant is scheduled to be retired on July 10, 2020,” and that it applies to the online Salesforce system and both the iOS and Android Salesforce mobile apps.

However, the greater Einstein AI platform is not going away and Salesforce will continue to release updates and add new features. 

«Voice is a priority for us at Salesforce, and voice capabilities are built into various product and Platform services,» a Salesforce spokesperson said in a statement.

«For example, Service Cloud Voice and Einstein Call Coaching are both based on voice technology, and the new Salesforce Anywhere app will also contain voice capabilities. At this time we’re discontinuing our betas of Einstein Voice Assistant and Einstein Voice Skills.

«Our learnings will continue to inform our new product, the Salesforce Anywhere App. The app will include voice functionality in a new reimagined way to increase remote productivity, ease of use and collaboration.»

Salesforce Anywhere is expected to arrive in beta form later this month, with the full product set to arrive in the fourth quarter of 2020.