RingCentral, a cloud-based communications provider, announced last week that it has integrated RingCentral Office with Microsoft Office 365. The integration provider users with click-to-call from within the Office 365 interface, also enabling outbound calls including internal calls by using the corporate directory. Users can also set up online video meetings and audio conferences that automatically appear in the Office 365 calendar. The Office 365 integration is one of several offered by RingCentral Office partners: others include Google, Oracle, Salesforce.com, and Zendesk.
Commenting in a statement on the announcement, Pat Schlight, Senior Director, US Partner Group at Microsoft said, “RingCentral’s innovation in cloud business communications is helping Office 365 customers become even more productive wherever they are. We’re pleased to work with RingCentral. The RingCentral integration is a great example of how being a member of the Microsoft Partner Network benefits our mutual customers and provides more choice and simplicity in how customers communicate and get work done.”
Vlad Shmunis, founder and CEO of RingCentral added, “The tremendous growth and sizable install base of the Office 365 productivity suite makes this integration an important milestone for us.”
In other news, Digium announced a new release of its cloud-based Unified Communications service, with Switchvox Cloud 6.0. The latest version includes a new metered option designed to lower the cost of hosted cloud communications and attract a broader base, targeting at customers that have lower phone service usage patterns.
Switchvox Cloud 6.0 is built on Asterisk 13 for improved performance and more efficient call handling. The upgrade also offers updated call control and call visibility widgets, along with enhancements to administrative tools.
"Switchvox Cloud's new, lower cost, metered offering starts at $12.99 per user, per month, reducing the barrier to entry for customers looking to migrate to cloud communications," said Channing Hinkle, product manager for Switchvox Cloud in statement. Hinkle added, "Companies with variable call volumes, due to seasonality or other events, can save money by paying for only the minutes they use. It's the perfect complement to our current Switchvox Cloud unlimited minutes offering for users with more consistent call volumes."
Switchvox Cloud 6.0 is also available with an unlimited minute plans starting at $29.99/user per month.