RingCentral, a leading provider of enterprise cloud communication, collaboration and contact center solutions, has announced a number of new features for its platform. These are designed to help companies expand their business by enabling employees to work together effectively, safely and productively from anywhere.
Nat Natarajan, Executive Vice President Products and Engineering at RingCentral, explains the strategy: “RingCentral is focused on providing companies with the functions they need to run and grow their business. We are currently moving away from a pandemic that has called the status quo of employee communication into question, towards a new era of corporate transformation. This new era requires perfectly integrated, interactive video functions with team messaging and stable telephone functions so that employees can continue to work productively. We also focus on the topic of security. Our customers know that their communication about our solutions is absolutely secure. Last but not least, our open ecosystem enables us to work with our customers to develop solutions that meet their current and future business needs. "
New security and compliance functions for more data protection
New security and compliance functions such as Dynamic End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) and the C5: 2020 certification ensure secure video conferences and the highest level of data protection. The new, dynamic E2EE for video meetings enables users to start both ad-hoc and scheduled meetings and to activate or deactivate E2EE during the meeting via mobile or desktop applications or the web browser. Dynamic E2EE thus offers an additional level of security to the existing security and encryption functions of RingCentral. The open beta phase of Dynamic E2EE begins in September 2021. The general roll-out is planned for October 2021.
RingCentral also announces that the RingCentral Message Video Phone ™ (MVP ™) and RingCentral Engage Digital ™ products meet the C5: 2020 criteria of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The C5 criteria catalog (Cloud Computing Compliance Criteria Catalog) defines minimum requirements for secure cloud computing and is primarily aimed at professional cloud providers, their auditors and customers.
New add-ins for popular third-party applications and developer tools
RingCentral Add-ins bring third-party applications directly into the RingCentral App. From the simplification of e-signatures to the recording of tasks, customers benefit from an interactive app experience directly in their messaging app, without having to switch back and forth between multiple screens and applications. In addition to the more than 250 apps in the RingCentral app gallery, there are new add-in apps from Akazio, Asana, BugSnag, DocuSign, Github, Hubspot, Jira, Keeper AI, Prodoscore, RingClone and Trello as of today.
The majority of the new add-ins are being developed by RingCentral Labs, an internal program that enables RingCentral employees to develop their own applications and share them with customers. The RingCentral add-in integrations will be available in mid-October 2021. Developers can already work with the applications now.
New, integrated dial pad from RingCentral for Microsoft Teams
With the help of a new, integrated dialer, RingCentral brings robust telephone functions directly into the Microsoft Teams app. With RingCentral's softphone, now available in the Microsoft Teams app, users can seamlessly make calls, view call history, and view synced RingCentral contacts right in the Microsoft Teams app. This eliminates the need for a Microsoft Phone System license to make external Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) calls.
Building on RingCentral's existing cloud PBX offerings for Microsoft Teams, a direct routing integration, RingCentral now offers its customers - with RingCentral for Microsoft Teams and RingCentral for Microsoft 365 - the flexibility and options they need to be successful no matter which tools you choose. The integrated dial pad will be available in the third quarter of 2021.
New features for the RingCentral MVP platform
In addition, RingCentral is also introducing a number of new features for its proven Message Video Phone (MVP) platform. These include the following innovations in the area of video:
- Presentation modes: New presentation modes use artificial intelligence (AI) to make presentations more interactive, engaging and fun. The presentation modes allow the user to place himself in front of the content shown in order to present it in an even more appealing way. Users can also put themselves in a shared, virtual conference room, no matter where they are.
- Touch-up: RingCentral offers a new "touch-up" function to freshen up your own appearance on the web, mobile or in the desktop app. In the future, users will be able to activate the “Refresh my skin” function. Virtual make-up can also be used in the mobile app. Lips, eyelashes and teeth can be digitally embellished.
- Automatic framing: With the new AI-based auto-framing function, users are now always the focus of attention, regardless of where they are in front of the camera.
- Breakout Rooms: With the help of the Breakout Rooms, meeting hosts can divide the participants into different groups. This enables concentrated collaboration in brainstorming sessions and discussions in small groups.
The Breakout Rooms will be available in September 2021. The new presentation modes, the touch-up function and the automatic frame function will follow by the end of the year.
In the area of team messaging, the new "Team Huddle" improves ad-hoc collaboration and expands the services with a live video room:
- With the new Team Huddle function for RingCentral Messaging, team members can start an ad-hoc collaboration that is tied to their respective team channels. You can easily get in and out of meetings without having to set up an appointment beforehand. Team huddles imitate everyday office situations in which employees e.g. B. can go to the IT department without logging in. With Team Huddle, employees can now dial into the IT department digitally to discuss problems.
Team Huddle available to all RingCentral MVP customers
In the area of telephony, the mobile heads-up display (HUD) will be introduced so that desk phone functions can also be used on the go in the future:
- RingCentral is the first company to bring mobile and desktop HUD functionality to the market that makes telephone functions for receptionists and administrators more mobile than ever. Features normally only available on desk phones or desktops can now be used on the go. This includes viewing the real-time availability of colleagues, managing multiple incoming calls by accepting and forwarding an incoming call, adding users to an ongoing call, chatting directly with colleagues or that Answer a call on behalf of a co-worker.
The HUD feature will be available in the RingCentral Mobile App by the end of the year.
More at RingCentral.com
About RingCentral
RingCentral, Inc. is the leading provider of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaas) for businesses based on its powerful global Message Video Phone ™ (MVP ™) platform. As a provider of cloud communication and contact center solutions, RingCentral is more flexible and less expensive than older local PBX and video conferencing systems. The platform enables modern, mobile employees to work together and communicate with one another using any mode, any device and any location. RingCentral's portfolio includes three key products: including RingCentral MVP ™, a UCaaS platform with team messaging, video conferencing and cloud telephony; RingCentral Video ™, a video conferencing solution with team messaging; as well as the RingCentral cloud contact center solutions.