From new meeting styles to an added layer of security in an email platform, here are some extracts from popular news stories this week.
HoloLens 2 Now Has Full Microsoft Teams Integration
The Microsoft Teams platform is now accessible via the HoloLens 2 following a wave of significant updates to the virtual reality headset.
Microsoft has stated that it aims to deliver the same collaboration tools that deskbound workers can access and give to frontline workers.
Alysa Taylor, Microsoft Corporate Vice President for Azure and Industry, commented: “We’re truly delivering Windows in mixed reality.
“Microsoft sees several different metaverse categories. There is the familiar consumer metaverse, where we shop and play with friends and family.
“And there are the commercial and industrial metaverses where we collaborate with colleagues and get work done.
“The industrial metaverse is a fundamentally new way for humans and AI to work together to design, build, operate and optimise their physical systems.
“With Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365 and mixed reality offerings that bridge the digital and physical, customers can build digital twins of a factory floor or warehouse and simulate manufacturing or supply chain processes in the cloud.
“That allows them to refine those processes in the industrial metaverse — whether to boost operational efficiency or shrink their environmental footprint — before committing them to physical form.”
Microsoft says HoloLens 2 users can “summon” an array of holographic windows with a Teams call or chat, a Power BI dashboard, a Word document, a PDF or video, their OneDrive folder, or their calendar and operate in an immersive, 3D experience.
Google Adds Client-Side Encryption to Gmail
Google has revealed that client-side encryption for Gmail is now available for certain customers to try in its beta mode.
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The beta is only available to Google Workspace customers with Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers until January 20, 2023.
The company states that customers will keep control over their encryption keys to ensure the service is secure.
A Google Workspace blog said: “We’re expanding customer access to client-side encryption in Gmail on the web.
“Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers are eligible to apply for the beta until January 20th, 2023.
“Using client-side encryption in Gmail ensures sensitive data in the email body and attachments are indecipherable to Google servers.
“Customers retain control over encryption keys and the identity service to access those keys.”
According to Google, its Workspace platform already uses the latest cryptographic standards to encrypt all data at rest and in transit between the company’s facilities.
New Meeting Style Coming to Microsoft Teams
Microsoft is introducing a new type of meeting to its Microsoft Teams platform in the form of Virtual Appointments.
According to the Microsoft 365 roadmap, Virtual Appointments will be tailored for business-to-customer (B2C) meetings with people outside your organisation.
The roadmap post states: “Virtual Appointment is a new Teams meeting type tailored for B2C meetings with people outside of your organization.
