NewsUC&C3 Jun 2022 · 6 min read

Big UC News from Microsoft, Zoom, HP, and GoTo

From OneNote’s revamp and HP’s quarterly results to Zoom Ventures, here are extracts from popular stories this week.

HP Performs Well Despite Supply Shortages

Execs from HP revealed difficulties it is facing with supply shortages during its Q2 results earnings call.

Reduced supplies are hampering HP’s print and PC sectors. Regarding print, HP expects shortages in the supply chain and logistical delays to curb revenues to continue throughout 2022, with some improvement towards the end of the year.

From a PC standpoint, the supply issues are primarily due to one of HP’s PC component suppliers, which is struggling with production in one of its factories. This will impact shipments in Q3, although HP believes it will recover in Q4.

Despite these setbacks, it has been a good quarter for HP overall, which gained $16.5 billion in revenue, representing a 4% growth year-over-year.

Enrique Lores, President & CEO at HP, said: “In Personal Systems, revenue grew 9% to $11.5 billion. This was our highest Q2 revenue ever, reflecting the durability of PC demand.

“We also delivered an operating profit margin of 6.9% at the high-end of our target range. We are managing our PS portfolio with great discipline and are focused on driving profitable revenue growth more than units.

“Our continued mix shift towards commercial and premium combined with our pricing strategy allowed us to more than offset fewer unit shipments in the quarter. Increased spending on hybrid work solutions is driving strong commercial PC demand.

“Personal Systems delivered almost $800 million of operating profit with operating margins of 6.9%. Our Personal Systems business has grown its operating profit margins in 17 of the last 18 quarters.

“This consistent performance is indicative of our strong portfolio, the strong secular tailwinds we continue to see and our ability to deliver results in very different environments.”

HP revealed reduced demand in the consumer side of its business, which has been down 6% year-on-year. However, it is still outperforming pre-pandemic levels, and consumer peripherals grew 40%.

Crosscall Devices Support MS Teams Walkie Talkie

A range of Croscall smartphones and tablets now support the Microsoft Teams Walkie Talkie app to improve frontline worker communications.

Walkie Talkie provides instant, clear, and secure voice communication through Microsoft Teams. Like a radio, the devices have a built-in push-to-talk button, and it is also a smaller and lighter device to carry.

Frontline workers will be able to use the Walkie Talkie application on the Crosscall Core-X4, Core-M5, Action-X5, Core-X5, and Core-T5.

Core Range Series

The Core Range series, Core-X4, Core-X5, Core-M5, and the Core-T5 tablet, has been designed to work in the most testing work environments, such as construction, manufacturing, public sector, and logistics.

The ultra-rugged devices are built for drop-proofing up to 2m and waterproof resistance against all liquids up to 6ft in depth for 30 minutes.

They include programmable buttons and screens which workers can use with wet hands and gloves.

The speakers are waterproof and create 100 decibels to facilitate loud and clear communications.

Microsoft Reveals OneNote Revamp

Microsoft has announced a refresh to the look and workflow features of Windows’ OneNote to create a more modern appearance and improve its note-taking experience.

In August last year, Microsoft gave a preview of changes on OneNote, and it has now released a list of updates.

According to Microsoft, the changes to OneNote’s functionality are specifically designed to focus content, record naturally with voice, camera, ink and AI, organise pages, and share notes.

The purpose of Microsoft’s changes to the aesthetic of OneNote is to “help the app feel both familiar and modern”.

Visual Updates

Following the ribbon changes last year, the navigation panes and full-screen mode have been given a refresh. Section tabs, notebook dropdown and page list, have also been updated visually.

The Mica effect displays the Windows 11 theme and desktop wallpaper in the app window, amongst other updates, to boost personalisation.

Other visual touches include animation, rounding the page corners, and changing the look of unread pages to be the same as other Office applications.

An optional simplified ribbon will enable users to create more screen space for their content while maintaining quick access to essential features. Microsoft believes this strikes a happy balance between hiding the ribbon and having the full ribbon on display.

Zoom Launches Ventures Investment Arm

Zoom has launched a venture capital arm to invest in companies that complement its collaboration platform.

The division, named Zoom Ventures, will “drive innovation in the ecosystem and advance global companies aligned to Zoom”.

Sanjay Rao, Head of Corporate Development, M&A Strategy and Zoom Ventures, said: “Zoom is a leading video communications platform today in part due to the investor and ecosystem support we received when Zoom was a startup more than ten years ago.

“It’s our goal to drive ecosystem innovation for like-minded organizations through Zoom Ventures.”

Zoom has invested in companies that integrate with its platform, including Neat, DTEN and Theta Lake.

Other companies to receive a cash injection from Zoom include meetings insights start-up Grain and CX player Creta and interoperability provider Mio.

GoTo Continues European Expansion

GoTo is expanding its operations in Europe by bringing its GoTo Connect and GoTo Resolve products to Austria.

The move follows recent product launches in Italy and Southeast Asia, including Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The flexible-work software provider, GoTo, is targeting small to medium size Austrian businesses with its UCaaS application, GoTo Connect, and IT management and support product, GoTo Resolve.

Sion Lewis, General Manager of EMEA, GoTo, said:

“GoTo’s global expansion, including today’s launch into the Austrian market, represents our commitment to serving growing businesses across the globe, bringing a new, unified portfolio of communications and IT support solutions.

“Our mission is to empower businesses of all sizes who once saw reliable, flexible work tools to be out of their reach.

“While many providers in the space only solve for one point solution, GoTo is bringing together IT management and support with communications capabilities in one affordable application.

“GoTo is dedicated to being the only one-stop-shop to allow small and midsized businesses to thrive remotely.”

GoTo revealed its Austrian market size by quoting Austria’s Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs as saying SMB businesses make up 99.6% of all domestic Austrian companies.

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