Jabra redefines collaboration for small spaces

Jabra, the professional audio brand, has launched the PanaCast 40 VBS, the only Android-powered video bar system (VBS) that captures an entire small meeting room with an 180° field-of-view (FoV). This innovation builds on the success of Jabra’s PanaCast 50 VBS, effectively bringing the same powerful performance to smaller spaces in a more compact and cost-effective package.

Small meeting spaces often pose unique challenges for video collaboration. Traditional solutions often struggle to capture all participants equally, particularly those seated closer to the screen, while some lack videoconferencing equipment altogether. In fact, less than 3% of huddle rooms are video enabled* globally, leaving millions of small meeting spaces underutilised.

The PanaCast 40 VBS bridges this gap with dual-camera systems that a wide FoV through advanced stitching technology. This ensures full room coverage, making every participant clearly visible on video.

The video capabilities are matched by the advanced audio performance, which stems from the GN Group's unique sound processing capabilities. The sound is powered by a single high-quality speaker and six adaptive beamforming microphones. Intelligent algorithms enhance sound clarity for exceptional voice pickup, so every word is heard clearly and accurately, fostering more natural interactions and ensuring remote participants feel fully included.

The PanaCast 40 VBS offers a straightforward installation process - from unboxing to mounting and on to the first meeting. Its intuitive setup ensures that even first-time customers can get their systems up and running in seconds.

New packaging enhances the deployment experience further by allowing provisioning without the need to remove the product from the box. The design also features easy cable routing, reducing installation time. It also ensures a consistent and seamless experience for meeting spaces by sharing many of the same accessories as its medium room counterpart, the PanaCast 50 VBS. This enables simplified operations for administrators and flexibility across different room sizes.

With its certified compatibility for Android environments, the  PanaCast 40 VBS offers flexibility with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and bring your own device (BYOD) deployment options. To enhance usability and longevity, the PanaCast 40 VBS includes optional accessories such as a touch controller and a detachable faceplate for easy cleaning. It can also be purchased as a bundle, with both the PanaCast 40 VBS and the touch controller included. 

Rayson Seow, Country Manager, Enterprise, Singapore for Jabra said: “The modern workplace is undergoing a transformation, with organisations reimagining how their spaces can drive productivity and collaboration. Small rooms, phone booths and huddle spaces are a cornerstone of this evolution, yet they’ve often been overlooked by traditional video solutions.

"With the PanaCast 40 VBS, we’re addressing this gap by delivering a flexible, intuitive, and future-proof Android solution that empowers teams to collaborate seamlessly, regardless of room size or platform preference.” 

Source: Jabra. The PanaCast 40 VBS turns huddle rooms into collaboration hubs.

Key features include:

- 180° FoV with dual cameras and 4x digital zoom. 

- One speaker and six microphones, enhanced by intelligent audio algorithms for crystal-clear sound and voice pickup. 

- Shared touch controller and stand with the PanaCast 50 VBS medium room solution for seamless integration across spaces. 

- Simplified cable routing and protection for easy, clean setup. 

- Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform-based, delivering strengthened security and enhanced meetings experiences.

- Supports personalisation and the setting of virtual meeting space boundaries.

Seamless integration with ecosystem partners ensures a future-proof investment, complemented by up-to-date manageability through Jabra+ software and the reassurance of Jabra Warranty+ services.

Details

The Jabra PanaCast 40 VBS bar has a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of S$2,206 while the Jabra PanaCast 40 VBS bar with touch controller has a MSRP of S$3,235.

*Frost and Sullivan, 2024.

Neat: APAC businesses losing over 4.5 hours weekly per employee to outdated meeting tech

Outdated meeting room technologies are causing Asia-Pacific (APAC) organisations to lose an average of 4.5 man hours per employee each week. This inefficiency translates to an estimated USD$8,524,000 annual loss for a 1,000-employee company and accounts for approximately 11% of total man-hours lost per employee annually.

These findings are found in From Lagging to Leading: How Smart Collaboration Redefines Work in Asia/Pacific, an IDC InfoBrief commissioned by Neat. IDC surveyed 1,080 executives across the region and found that key frustrations negatively impacting physical meeting productivity include technical issues when using videoconferencing equipment (63%), using outdated technology (55%), and difficulty in setting up or using meeting equipment (55%).

"The data is pretty stark. What many businesses might consider 'good enough' collaboration technology is, in reality, costing them significantly in both time and money," said Niko Walraven, Area VP for APAC at Neat.

"This isn't just an IT issue; it's a fundamental business productivity issue that affects the bottom line and employee experience across the APAC region."

The evolving nature of work in APAC confirms that flexible models are here to stay, requiring purpose-built technology to support them. One-third of APAC-based organisations have 50% of their team members located remotely. Despite a trend of employees returning to the office (over 65% spend three to four days in-office), the need to connect dispersed teams effectively remains critical. This need for hybrid equity is underscored by the fact that 72% of meetings now involve videoconferencing with remote colleagues, and investments in collaboration technology are increasingly prioritised over other workplace facilities.

Looking ahead, IDC predicts that by 2028, 70% of G1000 (the top 1000 largest organisations globally in terms of revenue) employee content will be enhanced with visual, auditory, and/or tactile modalities that will boost effective collaboration.

Neat said specific market insights further highlight the urgency for smart solutions.

Organisations in India show the strongest belief in the region that working from the office boosts productivity (64%). However, they face the second-highest productivity loss from outdated tech, with an estimated 4.8 hours lost per employee per week and a US$9 M annual cost for a 1,000-employee company.

In Singapore, 29% of organisations expect a shift to 100% in-office work in the next 18 months, increasing the pressure on meeting room efficiency. These diverse scenarios all point to the common requirement for adaptable and intelligent collaboration tools to meet specific market demands, Neat said.

LMO Freshly Baked welcomes Bar Leone as second Tastemaker

Source: Mandarin Oriental, The Landmark Hong Kong. Left: spinach ricotta pie; right: Italian chicken salad from Bar Leone as part of The Tastemaker Series.

After the success with Yardbird in May, LMO Freshly Baked at Mandarin Oriental, The Landmark Hong Kong continues its Tastemaker Series this June with Bar Leone. Recently named Asia’s Best Bar 2024 and ranked No. 2 on The World’s 50 Best Bars, Bar Leone is renowned not only for cocktails but also for food. The bar is expected to bring Roman flair to the LANDMARK Atrium with a menu of comfort-driven dishes created exclusively for LMO Freshly Baked.

"The Tastemaker Series is about showcasing the diversity and excellence that make Hong Kong a world-class dining destination," said Chef Richard Ekkebus, Director of Culinary Operations & Food & Beverage at Mandarin Oriental, The Landmark Hong Kong, and curator of The Tastemaker Series.

"Bar Leone’s distinctive approach and reputation as a local and international favourite and its ability to connect with Hong Kong’s discerning dining crowd and cultural spirit embody exactly what this series is all about. We're proud to collaborate with Lorenzo and his team, and even more proud that every dish contributes to a meaningful cause."

Bar Leone at LMO Freshly Baked (2–28 June)

Founded by bartender Lorenzo Antinori, Bar Leone has redefined what a neighbourhood drinking experience can be. Now, Antinori brings that same approachability to the bakery counter with three exclusive dishes that reflect Bar Leone’s playful but refined culinary identity:

Spinach ricotta pie (HK$78)
Vegetarian option, made with ricotta, spinach and organic egg, ideal for a summer snack.

Italian chicken salad (HK$98)
A chicken salad with cherry tomatoes, basil, capers, parmesan reggiano and Bar Leone's smoked olives.

Tramezzini tonno e pomodoro sandwich (HK$88)
Sandwich made with Japanese milk bread, white tuna salad and vine tomatoes – a Roma signature.

"In my family, food was always what brought everyone together. That’s something we try to capture at Bar Leone — comfort, connection, and a sense of place. So when Chef Richard asked me to be part of The Tastemaker Series, I didn’t hesitate. It’s a chance to share flavours from my childhood while supporting a cause that matters," said Antinori.

The Tastemaker Series celebrates the city’s top homegrown culinary talent. Each month, a different icon is invited to reinterpret their flavours in a casual, grab-and-go format while contributing to a meaningful cause: MINDSET, the registered charity of the Jardine Matheson Group focused on raising awareness and transforming perceptions of mental health.

Each item in The Tastemaker Series reflects the high standards of Mandarin Oriental, The Landmark Hong Kong and the creativity of its partners. For every item sold, HK$10 is donated to MINDSET.

Details

Each collaboration runs for four weeks, with a new partner introduced monthly from May to September 2025. Details on the exclusive creations from Bar Leone, The Chairman, TATE Dining Room and Little Bao will be revealed throughout the campaign period.

LMO Freshly Baked 

LANDMARK Atrium
Address: Shop 233-234, 2/F, LANDMARK, 15 Queen’s Road, Central
Monday to Friday | 8 am to 8 pm
Saturday | 10 am to 7 pm
+ 852 2132 0188, or email lmhkg-restaurants@mohg.com

LMO Freshly Baked launches The Tastemaker Series

Source: Mandarin Oriental, The Landmark Hong Kong. Left: chicken schnitzel sandwich. Right: Yardbird caesar salad.

Chef Richard Ekkebus, Director of Culinary Operations & Food & Beverage of Mandarin Oriental, The Landmark Hong Kong, is celebrating the city’s most renowned restaurants and bars through the launch of The Tastemaker Series - a limited-time collaboration spotlighting five of Hong Kong’s most iconic culinary talents. 

Each month from May to September, a new partner will debut exclusive grab-and-go dishes, reinterpreting their signature flavours in a casual format designed for Central’s on-the-move crowd, exclusively for LMO Freshly Baked.

The five collaborators are: 

- Yardbird (May)

- Bar Leone (June)

- The Chairman (July)

- TATE Dining Room (August)

- Little Bao (September)

Each month, guests can enjoy a limited-time menu of sandwiches, soups, salads or pies, all crafted with the same attention to detail and ingredient integrity these venues are known for. While each collaboration reflects the individual identity of its contributor, the series represents a unified celebration of Hong Kong’s world-class food and beverage scene.

"The Tastemaker Series celebrates the extraordinary talent that defines Hong Kong as one of the world’s most exciting culinary capitals," said Chef Ekkebus. 

"Many of these icons have reshaped modern dining and mixology in Hong Kong, and here, they reinterpret their craft in an approachable, everyday format. What makes this series even more meaningful is that all five collaborators are homegrown brands, each one shaped by Hong Kong’s distinctive culture, energy, and evolution as a global dining destination. We’re honoured to provide this platform at LMO Freshly Baked and to contribute to our community through MINDSET."

LMO Freshly Baked is kicking off the series in May with one-Michelin-star Yardbird, the modern izakaya that has shaped a new era of casual dining in Hong Kong since its opening in 2011. Founded by Matt Abergel and Lindsay Jang, Yardbird earned cult status for its beak-to-tail Three Yellow chicken skewers grilled over binchotan charcoal.

Exclusively available from 6 to 31 May, items will include the Yardbird caesar salad (HK$88) with crispy jako* and nori, the chicken schnitzel sandwich (HK$88) with cabbage and sesame kewpie*, and the Three Yellow chicken meatball soup (HK$58) made with Yardbird’s signature homemade meatballs, negi*, and myoga ginger.

Beyond the plate, the initiative also supports MINDSET, the registered charity of the Jardine Matheson Group focused on raising awareness and transforming perceptions of mental health. For every item sold, HK$10 will be donated to support MINDSET’s programmes and partnerships in the community. 

LMO Freshly Baked at the LANDMARK Atrium branch, opened in March 2025, has quickly become known for its pastries, sandwiches, and soups crafted by the hotel’s culinary team.

Details

Each collaboration runs for four weeks, with a new partner introduced monthly from May to September 2025. Details on the exclusive creations from Bar Leone, The Chairman, TATE Dining Room and Little Bao will be revealed throughout the campaign period.

LMO Freshly Baked 

LANDMARK Atrium
Address: Shop 233-234, 2/F, LANDMARK, 15 Queen’s Road, Central
Monday to Friday | 8 am to 8 pm
Saturday | 10 am to 7 pm
+ 852 2132 0188, or email lmhkg-restaurants@mohg.com

*Jako is a type of fish, kewpie refers to a specific brand of mayonnaise, and negi to onions.

Slack: Job stability, security as important as salary for talent retention

Source: Slack infographic. More than half of all Singapore knowledge workers feel burned out, with nearly half thinking of changing jobs in 2023.

Talent retention is going to be rocky going forward. The impact of the pandemic, the uncertain economic environment, and the burnout experienced by over half of Singaporean knowledge workers in the last year, have irrevocably changed what employees want from their leaders, according to new Slack research*.

The study, Leadership and the war for talent, based on a survey of over 1,000 Singaporean knowledge workers, found that Singaporeans now value stability and job security (53%) more than salary (40%) when it comes to choosing the company they work for; while having a good manager (31%) was almost as much of a consideration as salary.

Survey respondents also identified teamwork and collaboration, transparent and trustworthy leadership, flexible work, and employee wellbeing as the four biggest factors in driving organisational success - all of these factors are valued more highly than financial achievement. When it comes to flexible working, over two-thirds of Singaporeans want to be trusted to do their job regardless of location or the hours worked.

With nearly one in two Singaporean knowledge workers considering moving jobs in the next year, and 16% admitting to ‘quiet quitting’ - fulfilling the requirements of their job but not going above and beyond - it’s critical for leaders to act, Slack said. The company advises that leaders ensure their own leadership style will impact employee engagement and motivation negatively. This means:

- Focusing more on soft or ‘power’ skills - human-centred, interpersonal skills related to areas such as collaboration, social and emotional intelligence; 

- Analysing the time employees are spending on unproductive tasks; 

- Exploring ways to elevate productivity with collaborative technology; and 

- Figuring out how to meet the varying expectations of employees from different generations, who prefer to work in different ways.

Shweta Verma, Country Manager, Singapore, Slack said, “The reality is that many Singaporean professionals are burnt out. Leaders have an obligation to address this – not least for the wellbeing of their employees, but also to drive the productivity of their organisations. As we continue to go through one of the biggest workplace experiments of the century - moving from physical offices to digital headquarters - it’s critical that employers demonstrate sound, positive leadership. By harnessing collaborative technology at scale, and engaging employees in ways that best suit them, leaders can help drive productivity and a happier, more engaged workforce.” 

Poor leadership leads to burnout, quiet quitting

Slack’s research draws a clear link between poor leadership and a dip in employee morale and productivity. Only half of Singaporean professionals say they feel inspired by their leaders, and the same number find their leaders “stuck in their ways of working.”

‘Quiet quitting’ is strongly linked to poor leadership as well – over half (51%) of those who ‘quiet quit’ reported having poor leaders.

According to the study, employees with poor or average leaders feel they have much less of a voice, and less control and autonomy over their work. Additionally, they reported more of a disconnect between leaders and employees, and reported culture feeling more forced. 

Collaborative technology as potential ‘power tools’ for boosting leadership

The Slack study showed a strong correlation between those respondents that hold their leaders in high regard and those whose leaders embrace the use of collaborative technology. Interestingly, these respondents were also identified as feeling highly connected to their organisations. Contrastingly, those who deemed their leaders as technology laggards in this area say they are more likely to quit their job.

Nearly two-thirds of Singaporean knowledge workers saw collaboration tools as enabling them to be productive, among other benefits. These include being able to free up time by automating work, getting information to the right people quickly, speeding up the implementation of projects, improving communication with leadership, prioritising tasks, and achieving faster feedback loops. 

The real reason Singaporean knowledge workers don’t have enough hours in the day

The potential value of collaboration tools on organisational success becomes more pronounced, Slack said, when looking at the amount of non-productive time that Singaporean knowledge workers say they are spending on routine and often mundane tasks.

For example, nearly a third of respondents feel that it takes them too long to find information internally, and that internal processes take up too much of their day. A similar number find that communicating across the company, within big teams and across time zones is slow due to delayed responses. Where this is the case, around a quarter of this group say they are spending over an hour a day on these activities, which can be accelerated through collaboration technology. 

Mind the generation gap

The survey shows significant generational differences in employees in Singapore in terms of what they expect from their leaders, making it clear that people management is not a one-size-fits-all.

Gen Z are the most concerned with wellbeing, having a highly social culture and desiring empathetic leaders. While they are more likely to be inspired by leadership, they are the most likely to switch jobs.

Millennials also want a focus on wellbeing, transparent and trustworthy leadership, and a great employee experience. They are the most likely to feel a disconnect between leaders and employees, and have the highest levels of job dissatisfaction. This group leans in most to the use of collaboration tools.

Gen X places the greatest importance on flexibility, transparent and trustworthy leadership, and are the least concerned with wellbeing. They want their employers to have a consistent purpose, supported by robust processes. They are the least interested in technology and innovation.

Baby Boomers are middle of the road on most things, but are particularly favourable towards having robust processes, clear KPIs and accountability frameworks, and to have a clear level of autonomy in work.

Cooling down the burnout

The research also showed some clear differentiation between what Singaporean knowledge workers across different industries are feeling and looking for:

IT and technology: Respondents from the tech sector gave the highest scores to their managers for being competent and communicating well. Although not inspirational, IT leaders are seen to lead by example. Perhaps, as a result, IT workers are less likely to feel burned out, Slack suggested.

Financial services: Notably much less focused on teamwork, collaboration and wellbeing as being the keys to success, respondents from the banking sector were the most likely to want more meaning in their job. They also reported some of the highest rates of burnout, dissatisfaction and quiet quitting.

Retail: Singapore’s retail knowledge workers seem to be more positive than their peers in other industries right now. Half (51%) say they feel strongly about doing the right thing by their employer and are happy to go “above and beyond”. At 42%, retail also has the lowest proportion of workers who say they’ve felt burned out during the past 12 months.

Government: There seems to be a significant opportunity in Singapore’s government sector to tap into the benefits of collaborative technology, Slack notes. More than half (56%) of government employees say that email is still their primary method of communication with customers and partners - a proportion significantly higher than other industries in the survey. Government workers are also more likely to be working from a mix of home and office environments, with around two-thirds (67%) saying they are working this way.

A new perspective on the office

While employees are increasingly working from home, the office environment is still valued, the Slack study found. When asked what they felt the office was best suited for, Singaporean knowledge workers cited team building, social connection, collaboration and brainstorming, and one-on-one/development meetings. Activities like progress updates, company town halls, learning programmes and knowledge sharing sessions were perceived as less critical if they are held in an office. This suggests that a lot of time can be potentially saved by conducting these activities virtually, using collaborative technology.

Explore 

Read the Leadership and the war for talent report.

*Slack’s new research, conducted by Honeycomb Strategy, was based on responses from 1,000+ Singaporean knowledge workers within organisations of 100+ employees.

This is the second iteration of this Slack research in Singapore, with The Reinvention of Work study carried out in October 2021. The Slack State of Work report, a global survey including 1,000 Singaporean knowledge workers, is similar research that was carried out by GlobalWebIndex in March 2020, prior to the pandemic.

Qatar Airways, British Airways shared network now includes 42 new countries

Qatar Airways and British Airways have completed the latest phase in the expansion of their partnership, offering global connectivity between more countries than any other airline joint business.

The airlines have added 42 new countries to their shared network, including the Maldives and Singapore. Customers will now benefit from even greater choices in prices and schedules with options for direct flights as well as connections via hubs in London and Doha.

The expansion will enable seamless connecting journeys on single tickets through Doha and London, bringing the total number of destinations served by the two airlines to 185 across more than 60 countries. The complementary networks access dozens of countries that no other alliance or joint business provides. The partnership also ensures access to more cities around the world than ever before.

Additionally, customers will have more freedom to engage with both airlines’ loyalty programmes, earning and spending Avios, their common currency. Customers are able to seamlessly link their Qatar Airways Privilege Club and British Airways Executive Club accounts to transfer Avios between the two, and combine balances to claim rewards offered by each programme. The collaboration further offers access to both airlines’ exclusive lounges, and cabins to suit all budgets and needs, including British Airways’ new Club Suite and Qatar Airways’ Qsuite.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar Al Baker said: “The growing collaboration between Qatar Airways and British Airways shows our customers our common goal to offer an unparalleled network with unique benefits. Travellers can now experience the best in quality and service as they travel across our joint network. The joint business between our airlines cements both Qatar Airways and British Airways as industry leaders, aiming to provide the utmost flexibility and unrivalled connectivity to our customers.”

Sean Doyle, Chairman and CEO, British Airways said: “This is a huge milestone in our longstanding relationship with Qatar Airways, an airline that shares our passion for customer service, choice and flexibility.

“From idyllic holiday hotspots such as the Maldives and Thailand, to business hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong, we are pleased to open up the world as the travel industry continues to make steps towards its recovery.”

*Cooperation on a small number of routes remains subject to pending regulatory clearances.

Lark Technologies offers Southeast Asian business free collaboration tool

Singapore-based Lark Technologies has made its all-in-one enterprise-grade work tool for seamless remote collaboration free across Southeast Asia.

Available in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, Lark offers unlimited video calls and online collaboration among other features to enable seamless collaboration. Lark can help customers check team members' schedules within a chat, launch a video call from a calendar event, and co-edit a document during video calls.

Joey Lim, Commercial Lead, APAC, Lark, estimated that 90% of employees in the Asia Pacific region are currently working from home, and said the company is helping customers get their best work done even when their teams are not physically together. "It's never been easier to start remote working," she said.

“With remote working in place, organisations are grappling to ensure that their employees remain productive while working remotely. The same also applies in schools and universities where educators are working hard to ensure that their students can continue to learn wherever they may be,” she added.

“In light of the situation, we saw the need to provide accessibility to digital collaboration tools and have begun offering Lark for free, ensuring that any organisations regardless of size can operate effectively with no additional cost.”

The suite consists of Lark Messenger, Lark Docs, Lark Calendar, Lark Video Conferencing, as well as Lark Workplace which integrates third-party applications. All functionalities are available in a single app, which is available on Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. The platform is hosted on AWS.

Lark's free version comes with:

- Lark’s Messenger supports chat groups for up to 5,000 members
 
- Online collaborative documents including spreadsheets for up to 50 editors simultaneously, and 2,000 viewers at a time 


Lark Docs supports inserting rich multimedia content, including images, videos, charts, and even group chats and polls. Using the Comment feature, users can have conversations about specific parts of a Lark Doc or specific cells of a Lark Sheet. Document-sharing permissions are supported. All changes are saved in the cloud in Lark Drive.

Source: Lark. Get translations in a preferred language automatically.

- Chat and documents can be automatically translated into a preferred language. Over 100 languages are supported

"In Southeast Asia we might be using English as a business language but we also know that everyone has their own native language," Lim commented. "We get the best ideas from people when they are comfortable with the way they communicate."

- 200 GB of cloud storage

- A smart calendar that allows users to display multiple calendars and check team mates' schedules.

From any calendar event, users can launch a chat group from Lark Messenger and an agenda doc from Lark Docs.

- Unlimited video calls with advanced screen sharing. Lark Docs can be shared from desktop or mobile and co-edited during a video call. External participants can be included

- Unlimited third-party app integrations, from Jira to Asana and Salesforce. 

- An Open Platform enables users to build their own apps and bots. One such app that was developed in reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak is for health-tracking. Available free to Lark customers, it records users' physical locations and health status.

- Customisable attendance/approval workflows for work activities such as approvals, reimbursements, leave, and attendance

In addition, Lark has just launched a livestreaming feature that can reach millions of people. Possible use cases can include senior executives delivering a speech to employees around the world, or teachers giving lessons to their students remotely.

Businesses who need more features such as encryption or more storage can upgrade to a paid enterprise version.

Lark's customers include Accenture, Dentsu and Robert Half.

Explore:

Try Lark

Dropbox platform revamp aims to make users even more productive

Dropbox, the global collaboration platform, has unveiled a new integrated workspace. With updates to the Dropbox desktop experience, dropbox.com, and the mobile app, users get a single workspace designed to bring files, fragmented work tools, and teams together. The update includes early access to a new desktop app designed to provide a convenient new access point to the workspace.

"Work has become scattered—files are spread across devices, in the cloud, and on our hard drives. We're working across multiple apps that don't talk to each other, and teams are struggling to keep up,” said Drew Houston, CEO, Dropbox.

"We're focused on removing the friction from that experience, pulling everything together in a way that nobody has done before. The new Dropbox helps you quiet the noise and find focus at work.”

The new Dropbox brings web-based files into the Dropbox file system to provide one central location for all content, including:

Cloud-based content like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, which users can now create, access, and share within Dropbox. Users can also open Microsoft Office files in Office Online or Google Docs.Users can also create and store web shortcuts alongside traditional content in Dropbox, including links to productivity tools like Trello boards, wiki pages, and news articles.

The Dropbox icon that sits in the Windows system tray and macOS menu bar has been updated to make it easier for users to keep track of what's happening with shared content, quickly access their most important work, and create new content within Dropbox. Users can also now access a team activity feed for updates on shared files.

The new Dropbox brings together the tools people want to use the most so they can spend less time switching between apps and more time getting work done. Last year, the company announced Dropbox Extensions, a series of integrations that let users start and finish workflows—like signing contracts and annotating videos—on the Dropbox platform. Users can also:

- Start Slack conversations and send files to Slack channels directly from Dropbox, and easily share Dropbox files within Slack conversations

- Join or add Zoom Meetings directly from Dropbox, and present files directly from Dropbox in Zoom. 

Source: Dropbox. The new Dropbox app.

- See Slack and Zoom sharing activities right next to files in Dropbox. The company has also formed a strategic partnership with Atlassian, the makers of Trello and a software provider focused on improving software development, project management, collaboration and code quality. In the coming months, the companies will integrate the Dropbox and Atlassian platforms to create a better way for teams to organise, co-ordinate and run projects.

Available via early access with the new desktop app, folders now have improved capabilities across desktop, mobile, and web, providing a rich workspace for teams. Users can:

- Pin files to the top of a folder to give anyone with access to the folder quick access to important content.

- Add folder descriptions to give everyone context on the files they see.

- Create to-dos at the top of a folder.

- @mention teammates to draw attention to folder descriptions or to-dos.

- Get updates on file activity, including content shared in Slack and Zoom from any device.

- See who has viewed files with the viewer info feature now available on desktop.

- Comment on shared content across desktop, mobile, and web.

"The proliferation of cloud files and work apps is staggering, and can make work feel scattered and overwhelming,” said IDC analyst Marci Maddox, Research Manager, Enterprise Content Strategies.

"The new Dropbox experience offers a modernised central workspace where users can access all of their files-including web-based and traditional files, seamlessly integrate popular tools, and better coordinate with team members. It's the first time anyone has natively integrated these new modes of work in one place.”


Dropbox has more than 500 million registered users across more than 180 countries, and 12 offices around the world.

Details:

All Dropbox users can opt in to the new desktop app through the Dropbox early access programme. Admins can opt their teams in via the admin console. All other features are either already generally available to all users or will be rolling out over the next few weeks.

Video-enabled huddle rooms could improve collaboration

• India, China and Singapore lead the region in use of collaboration technology in small meeting rooms
• Less than half (41%) of small meeting rooms or huddle spaces in Singapore are video-enabled, in contrast to 77% in India and 74% in China
• Almost all (96%) of Singapore and Asia Pacific (APAC) workers said that collaboration technologies help them to be more productive and to work smarter

Source: Polycom. People videoconferencing in a huddle room.

Singapore is among countries in Asia Pacific leading the use of collaboration technologies in small meeting rooms, or huddle rooms, but there remain significant opportunities to improve productivity through advanced collaboration tools.

A new study released by Polycom - now part of Plantronics - revealed that while content sharing is the preferred collaboration tool for Singapore workers, the nation’s adoption of videoconferencing is lagging in the region, providing an opportunity for productivity gain by using the latest collaboration tools such as video-conferencing and digital whiteboards.

The survey, Growing Big Ideas from Small Spaces, set out to discover the top collaboration preferences among workers in Asia Pacific – Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. The report also sought to understand the growth in popularity of using smaller meeting spaces.

The study, which surveyed over 2,000 APAC workers, including 202 respondents from Singapore, showed that 96% of Singapore and APAC workers said that collaboration technologies help them to be more productive and to work smarter. Singapore workers are leading the region in using collaborative technologies to improve collaboration (77%), transfer knowledge (74%), increase productivity (70%) and enhance innovation and new idea generation (56%).

“Huddle rooms or workspaces are exactly what they sound like – small areas typically designed to accommodate no more than six people. Modern workplaces are incorporating more huddle spaces over larger conference rooms to encourage frequent team meetings and offer quiet focus areas in open environments,” explains Mei Lin Low, Director of APAC Solutions Marketing at Polycom.

“Today’s digital workers want to work smarter – connect and interact spontaneously, produce outcomes and drive results quicker. Technology-enabled huddle rooms satisfy this need for real-time, productive collaboration and are now, more than ever, an important component in an organisation’s digital transformation journey.” 

Half of the Singapore workers (49%) use small meeting rooms only one to two times per week, while one out of three workers used it almost every day (three to five times a week), predominantly for internal meetings, followed by customer meetings and brainstorming sessions.

The survey, however, showed that less than half (41%) of small meeting rooms in Singapore are video-enabled, in contrast to 77% in India and 74% in China. These findings suggest significant opportunities for Singapore’s IT decision-makers to improve collaboration experiences and adopt current well-rounded technology-enabled environments for their businesses; particularly in light of national innovation efforts such as Smart Nation.

In fact, when 84% of Singapore workers use collaboration solutions to conduct team meetings with colleagues in other locations, 70% of them use it for workshops, brainstorming or problem-solving sessions with remote participants. Adopting collaboration tools like video conference has great potential to increase productivity through more interactive face-to-face communications.

Low continues: “While you don’t need expensive equipment to make great collaboration happen, a huddle room has to serve its purpose in enabling team meetings across any distance. Collaboration technology has evolved to adapt to people’s needs and new ways of working. But Frost & Sullivan research* has found that the majority of small meeting rooms globally are audio-visually challenged, leaving considerable opportunity for organisations in Singapore to create smarter huddle spaces.”

Other findings from Singapore included:

- Content-sharing via laptop is more prevalent for 71% of Singapore respondents while 37% use a mobile device.

- Creating the human-to-human connection is a priority – 72% are connecting to remote participants from their small meeting rooms, using audio, video, or content sharing technologies.

- Teleworking is also making an impact for workers in Singapore – respondents here showed a higher preference for using collaboration technology to connect with colleagues when working remotely.

Audrey William, Senior Fellow and Head of Research, Frost & Sullivan Australia and New Zealand said: “Creating intelligent workspaces like the huddle room, is the future of work. Small meeting spaces are fast becoming smart workspaces where high performance collaboration like problem solving and idea generation are taking place.

“Over time, expect that collaboration technologies like video will evolve even further with many already starting to include the integration of smart devices and voice activated speakers powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.”

Details:

Read the Growing Big Ideas from Small Spaces report

*http://digitaltransformation.frost.com/expert-insights/viewpoints/huddle-room-video-conferencing-looking-beyond-hype/

New collaborative platform aims to create business opportunities in the region

● Millet World Trading Post is a “co-working space+” concept that goes beyond physical co-working spaces and emphasises connectivity and collaboration

● The Millet World Trading Post platform dentifies opportunities and matches them with members in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and India

● Two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to be signed with Temasek Polytechnic* and Australian developer San Chuan

A new co-working space+, Millet World Trading Post (MWTP), has been rolled out to target small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), micro businesses, and operators in the arts, culture and creative industry in Asia. 

Inspired by the trading posts of the past, the Trading Posts feature physical working spaces as well as a virtual network accessible through a mobile app for members across Asia. The Asia Pacific-wide online platform originating from Singapore connects the supply and demand dots by identifying opportunities and matching them with members across Southeast Asia, North and South Asia as well as Oceania. MWTP will also work on a membership subscription basis for access to a variety of spaces, ancillary facilities, events and activities.

“Beyond co-working spaces, MWTP’s greatest value-add is to be a business exchange platform for its members,” says Jimmy Soon, Executive Director of Millet Holdings, the parent company of MWTP. “We are confident that it is a scalable business model that will provide deal flows and create a virtuous cycle among small business owners, entrepreneurs and individuals. We hope to create 10,000 MWTP nodes in the region by 2020.”

Two MOUs were signed, with Temasek Polytechnic and with an Australian developer, San Chuan Australia. Soon said that Temasek Polytechnic will use MWTP to provide access to the region for current students and alumni members while San Chuan will give Millet Holdings "immediate access to the Australian market”.

Source: MWTP. From left: Victor Ng, Board Member of Millet Holdings; Jimmy Soon, Executive Director, Millet Holdings; Jorren Yang, Director, San Chuan Australia, part of the SANC Group of Companies; Annie Lim, Director, My Property Global.

Source: MWTP. Samuel Ang, Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department of Temasek Polytechnic (left) with Soon (right) officiating the launch of MWTP node at Launchpad @ Temasek Polytechnic.

Dr Sharon Lim, Chairman Designate of MWTP added: “As business networking is the main pillar of MWTP’s value proposition, MWTP will facilitate a pipeline of activities such as workshops, talks and conferences on the latest innovations and trends, serving as a business exchange centre and a modern 'Trading Post’. This pipeline of interactive activities will support Singapore small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to ‘grow in a pack’ and create collaborative paths into new markets.”

The Trading Post concept has helped Millet secure interest of businesses such as IQkidz, which runs educational programmes for children; Malaysian chocolate maker 18C, and Garam Lada, an Indonesian bakery which caters to special dietary needs.

"Today, these small businesses from the region see an advantage in leveraging on the MWTP network here to create a footprint in Singapore. Likewise, local firms are excited about the prospect of using the MWTP platform to cross venture into regional markets. This kind of massive connectivity of Trading Posts and ecosystem of regional cross-ventures excites us,” said Dr Lim.

There will be seven MWTP “nodes” or venues in Singapore initially: at Temasek Polytechnic, 20 Temenggong Road, The Pavilion at Far East Square, 10 Square@Orchard Central, Northpoint City I and II, and Platform E by SIM.  The spaces currently range from 31 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft in size.  

MWTP nodes will soon roll out in key cities in the region as well, such as Manila, the Philippines; Kuala Lumpur and Malacca in Malaysia; Xiamen and Chengdu in China, as well as New Delhi, India. These will be followed by nodes in countries such as Australia, Laos and Vietnam in early 2019.

MWTP has found investors who are willing to turn their commercial spaces into Trading Posts. The earliest investor in MWTP’s business is Bobby Kok, MD, CJ Stamford Management. Kok will be driving the launch of MWTP in Manila.

Said Kok: “I was keen to invest in MWTP because I could see its potential to impact the lives of entrepreneurs and small business owners, and MWTP has the ability to scale up to serve the region as it gets more like-minded investors who want to make an impact with their investments.”

OCBC Bank, StarHub partner to support Singapore's collaborative economy

Source: OCBC Bank. OCBC Bank’s Group CEO, Samuel Tsien (left), and StarHub’s CEO, Tan Tong Hai (right), forge Singapore’s first bank-telco strategic partnership with the first store-in-store at OCBC Bank’s orchardgateway branch.

OCBC Bank and StarHub have announced Singapore’s first bank-telco strategic partnership to drive Singapore’s collaborative economy, also known as the ‘We Economy’. To mark the start of this partnership, the two companies launched the first store-in-store at OCBC Bank’s orchardgateway branch, which illustrates the benefits customers can expect out of the We Economy.

Combining OCBC Bank’s financial capabilities and StarHub’s catalogue of info-communications and entertainment services, customers can now seamlessly manage their banking and digital lifestyle needs in one store. This store-in-store concept will be expanded in stages to cover more retail outlets.

The partnership between OCBC Bank and StarHub is the first step in a multi-year plan towards bringing together essential businesses across industries. These include transport, retail, insurance, health and wellness, and real estate. The partnership will welcome companies that share the same ideology to be part of its We Economy ecosystem.

OCBC Bank and StarHub identified the potential of the We Economy from working on two key thrusts for many years – digital innovation and customer experience. OCBC Bank started the use of data analytics in 2002 to obtain deep consumer insights in its continuing drive to find new ways to better serve its customers. It was the first to roll out fingerprint biometrics (2015), voice biometrics (2015), speech recognition (2016), open APIs (application programming interfaces) in 2016, specialised AI chatbots (2017) and transactional APIs (2017).

StarHub, Singapore’s first fully-integrated info-communications and entertainment service provider, innovates continually to bring greater benefits to customers, from streaming Asia’s first ‘live’ virtual reality concert to enabling Singapore’s first autonomous hotel room service robot and comprehensive mobile device after-sales support. Earlier this year, it also launched a new facility called Hubtricity to help accelerate Smart Nation initiatives and to showcase its deep capabilities in connectivity, cyber security and data analytics.

Samuel Tsien, Group CEO of OCBC Bank said: “This partnership is born out of the strong belief by both of us that by innovating together, rather than each doing its own thing, we can serve our consumers more comprehensively, effectively and efficiently. StarHub and OCBC have been very active in the space of digital innovation. Our partnership is the beginning and a part of a multi-year plan towards building Singapore’s first We Economy.”

Tan Tong Hai, CEO, StarHub said: "In this new economy, effective collaboration can drive business success. We are happy to team up with OCBC Bank, leveraging our shared strengths in digital lifestyle solutions and omnichannel engagements to deliver enhanced customer experiences. Our form of collective intelligence becomes even more vital as it enables us and our partners to anticipate and better respond to customers’ evolving motivations and preferences.”

Explore:

All current and new customers affiliated with both OCBC Bank and StarHub can sign up online to receive an additional 3% rebate on their StarHub bills for 12 months. The rebate of up to S$5 per month will be credited into customers’ OCBC credit card or bank account. Customers can look forward to enjoying more perks in future.

Guangzhou companies sign LoIs with Singapore entities

Source: Guangzhou Municipal Government. Cai.

The Guangzhou municipal government has hosted a roadshow in Singapore to discuss openness, innovation and collaboration between the two commercial hubs. Two letters of intent (LoI) were signed, between the Sino-Singapore International Joint Research Institute and Chinese Academy of Sciences Holdings Company,  and between Guangzhou Gas Group, Guangzhou Port Group and industrial group Royal Golden Eagle.

Guangzhou Vice Mayor, Cai Chaolin, who is also Party Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Nansha District Committee, and Director General of the Administrative Committee of the Nansha Development District (Nansha Free Trade Zone), said Guangzhou and Singapore share many similarities, including city scale, cultural background, languages.  “What’s more, our forward-thinking outlook and cooperation through the years have enabled us to pursue meaningful projects together that enrich our economies. What lies ahead is exciting, and we look forward to more collaborations,” he said.

Guangzhou is one of the most important business centres in China and a gateway to the outside world.  In the last five years, Guangzhou’s GDP saw an average increase of 10.1%  with the local service industry’s growth approaching that of developed economies, representing 66.77% of total GDP in 2016. Guangzhou has continued to increase its investment in advancing technologies and talent, and to improve the convenience, effectiveness and efficiency of trade facilitation and services. As a result, the relationship with, and opportunities for, Singapore in the region have been further expanded.

In recent years, Guangzhou has introduced a series of policies to encourage even more innovation in the region, and is providing on-going support for enterprises, startups and talent. Guangzhou also continues to further optimise the local business environment and reduce the burden on foreign enterprises through governmental self-reforms, including the streamlining of administrative examinations and approval permissions.

To develop a more business-friendly environment, Guangzhou has reduced administrative fees, set up government funds, implemented policies to lower insurance rates, and continues to provide incentives for foreign corporations.

“With more than 2,230 years of history, we are surely an ancient city,” said Vice Mayor Cai. “But today, all eyes are on the future and what tremendous things are still to come for the region.”

Successful organisations display collective ambition: Aon Hewitt

• All surveyed organisations said collective ambition was key to their growth trajectory. 
• Organisations with leaders who are united under a singular vision, purpose, and aspiration develop more effective succession pipelines.

A study* of Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) from more than 15 industries representing 1.1 million employees demonstrated that organisations who drive stellar growth have "collective ambition", according to the People Fuel Growth study by Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement, and health solutions business of Aon.

Collective ambition is fuelled by competitive, yet collaborative leadership and ensures achievement of common goals. The leadership team has a strong desire to be successful, but is also highly aware that that this only occurs when leaders are able to work jointly.

In order to achieve collective ambition, the Aon Hewitt People Fuel Growth study reinforces the belief that ambition in absence of a group is meaningless and the leadership team must have an understanding of growth and how to achieve it. The study found it essential that:

1. Leaders review the organisation's mission and growth plan regularly.

2. Hold meetings to discuss their growth plans at least once a year.

3. Have a regular cadence for their senior leadership meetings; most organisations surveyed meet on a monthly basis to ensure leaders work in unison to accomplish organisational goals.

4. Goals are tied to concrete measures. In high-growth organisations, these are usually crafted so that all employees understand how they contribute to and share in organisational success.

Na Boon Chong, Senior Client Partner, Aon Hewitt Singapore, said: "Collective ambition means that leaders are united under a singular vision, purpose, and aspiration. By uniting leadership around a common goal, supported by intentional alignment from a "people" standpoint and customer centricity that ensures relevance, it helps organisations to best leverage their talent and drive growth from the top down, be it at a firm or at a national level."

Interested?


Learn more about the study

Read a white paper on study findings

*The People Fuel Growth study sought to understand the impact people have on growth through interviews with CHROs of high-growth Fortune 1000 companies, representing 1.1 million employees across more than 15 industries. Aon Hewitt also analysed its proprietary data to identify differences between high and average growth firms. 

Great Women Malaysia kicks off the Great Women Connect Series

Source: Great Women Malaysia. Puan Nadira Yusoff.

Great Women Malaysia today kicked off the Great Women Connect Series, a platform to spark opportunities for women-in-business globally to share ideas and experiences in trading. It also aims to facilitate global partnerships, establishing networks and realising potentials especially for those with intentions and readiness to go outside Malaysia.

Great Women Malaysia (GMW) is an initiative aimed at helping and facilitating Malaysian women in the underserved and rural communities move up the economic and value chain through participation of entrepreneurial or artisanal activities, focusing on fashion and lifestyle industry.

The GWM is part of a larger initiative called ASEAN Great Women, which enables Great Women initiatives from all participating ASEAN countries to collaborate on resources, cultural and ethnic materials, designs, skills and talents, and to develop products that can be commercialised globally. The Great Women development model had its start in the Philippines in 2011, motivated by the need to assist women entrepreneurs to overcome challenges of product sourcing, design, production, packaging and marketing. ASEAN Great Women was launched in 2015 as a regional platform for gender economic empowerment as well as competitive supply-chain integration in ASEAN.

The Great Women Connect Series seeks to develop the women's professional sector locally, regionally and globally in three main areas of economic, professional and social life. It aims to do this through dialogues with local and global initiatives. The series will also mobilise international diplomatic support for the advancement of women in society.

According to Puan Nadira Yusoff, head of Great Women Malaysia, “Empowering women and fully engaging them in the business and economic sectors has become a key global development priority, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where significant gender gap in economic participation persist. Promoting opportunities for both women and men makes good economic sense. It is important that both men and women are able to fully contribute to national and regional economic growth and trade. And this is the reason why we hold today’s interactive session.”

“Women’s SMEs in Malaysia have experienced strong annual growth albeit a relatively low initial level of women’s participation in SMEs. While cultural norms continue to limit women’s role in business, the general business environment in Malaysia is comparatively favourable. Women-in-business needs support from the government as well as from initiatives like us,” she added.

Puan Nadira Yusoff is a thought leader in the Malaysian's entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as CEO at Nadi-Ayu Technologies. She is involved in programmes that are initiated by the ministries in Malaysia, such as 1ASEAN Entrepreneurship Summit (1AES), 1Malaysian Entrepreneurs (1MET), Global Entrepreneurship Movement (GEM), GREAT and many more. She currently leads several NGOs/initiatives namely Great Women Malaysia (GWM), Women Entrepreneurs Network Association (WENA) and Girls in Tech (GIT).

Representatives from the Sharjah Business Women Council of the UAE participated in today's session, including Nada Al Lawati, Founder and CEO of Seed Group International, Huda Al Lawati, Senior Private Equity Professional, most recently Chief Investment Officer for the Abraaj Group in MENA, Sally Denton from Head of Irthi, Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council (part of NAMA*), Dr Amal Al Ali, Founder of CARDIFF Management Consulting & Training and Assistant Professor in Sharjah University, Ayesha Jasem, Membership and Services Senior Executive of the Sharjah Business Women Council, and Lina Mohammed Hamdan, Senior Manager - Strategy of the Sharjah Business Women Council.

Interested?

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog posts about the launch of GEM in Malaysia and WENA's Vital Voices Mentoring Walk in March 2016

*The NAMA Women Advancement Establishment was set up in the UAE in December 2015. It aims to develop opportunities for women in the economic, professional and social sectors. NAMA Women Advancement Establishment will also organise training, mentorships, provide advice and examine law and legislation concerning women.

Entrepreneurs could see synergy working with larger companies

Corporations seek greater revenues from working with entrepreneurs, while large and small businesses are failing to use digital collaboration to innovate together, according to new research* by Accenture. As a result, they are putting at risk a US$1.5 trillion growth opportunity, equivalent to 2.2% of global GDP.

The report, Harnessing the Power of Entrepreneurs to Open Innovation, published in association with the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance, surveyed more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and 1,000 large companies in the G20 economies. It found that 82% of corporates say they can learn from startups/entrepreneurs about how to become a digital business. And they expect the proportion of their revenues generated by collaboration with entrepreneurs to rise from an average of 9% today to 20% in five years.

Large companies and entrepreneurs agree that today’s corporate venturing and incubator models of collaboration will increasingly give way to more open and joint innovation, whereby corporates don’t just fund startups, but use digital collaboration to jointly create innovations in broader networks of partners. However, corporates and entrepreneurs don’t see eye to eye on how to achieve that.

While 78% of large companies say that working with entrepreneurs is important or critical to their own growth and innovation, only 67% of entrepreneurs hold that view. And while 41% of corporates believe small companies are committed to supporting their growth as they work together, only one quarter (24%) of entrepreneurs think large companies are likewise committed to supporting the growth of their smaller partners. Further, entrepreneurs and startups are four times more likely than corporates to say their counterparts lack commitment to working together (29% versus 7%).

“In the digital economy, corporations have the opportunity to disrupt their markets by working more effectively with innovative startups to jointly create new products and services,’ says Paul Daugherty, Chief Technology Officer, Accenture. “That means corporates should not just fund startup innovation, but actively participate in it by pooling ideas, assets and intellectual property. And it will require them to take new approaches to sharing risks and rewards more equitably.”

The report also reveals that greater digital collaboration between G20 large companies and entrepreneurs could result in an additional US$1.5 trillion in global economic output, according to Accenture’s Digital Collaboration Index and economic model, equivalent to a 2.2% uplift to global GDP. US$779 billion of the total would be generated directly through greater revenues by large companies, and US$671 billion would be generated indirectly through economic activity in value chains.

The Index uses the survey data and economic modelling to predict the potential dividend of greater digital collaboration. It shows that the top fifth of those committed to collaboration achieved higher levels of revenue growth and that, if all entrepreneurs and large companies were to achieve the degree of collaboration of the top 20%, revenue growth rates could rise between three and 18 percentage points for entrepreneurs, and between two and 16 percentage points for large companies.

“The journey to open innovation requires large companies to recognise that collaboration cannot continue to be done on their terms, on their premises or just for their benefit,” said Jitendra Kavathekar, MD, Open Innovation, Accenture. “To make a success of digital disruption will require new forms of innovation in which multiple partners collaborate to create, fail and try again in more experimental and entrepreneurial settings. That can only happen if more participants come together through digitally enabled networks to create innovations together.”

*Accenture explored the views and attitudes of entrepreneurs and large companies relating to collaboration and innovation. The research, conducted in cooperation with the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance, comprised of the following:

· An online survey of 1,002 entrepreneurs and 1,020 executives at large companies
· In-depth interviews with 20 executives at companies and institutions
· Analysis of the digital business and collaboration landscape in all G20 countries

StarHub launches SmartUC service for Singapore businesses, powered by Avaya

Avaya, a customer and team engagement solutions provider, and StarHub, an integrated infocommunications company in Singapore, have launched a business communications service, SmartUC, for businesses in Singapore. 

The benefits are fourfold: SmartUC can help businesses become more productive, deliver a first class experience for their customers, differentiate their products and services, and expand.

“The expectations of business users and customers have rapidly evolved in recent years, and that change will only accelerate. We now expect mobility and apps and social and cloud. We expect video and chat and flexibility and ease of use. We expect the world at our click,” observed Pamela Tham, Singapore Country Leader, Avaya.

Providing a suite of unified communications capabilities, SmartUC will be delivered in two different offerings – a Standard option for small businesses with fewer than 50 users, and a Premium option for companies with over 50 users, allowing for seamless business growth and flexibility. The SmartUC Premium option includes all the capabilities of the Standard version, plus support for Android, IOS, Windows and Mac devices, contact centre self-service and multimedia capabilities.

"With SmartUC, we bring about a cost-effective value proposition to help Singapore companies to operate more efficiently, while maintaining the fine balance to scale and grow more competitively. Through this innovative approach, we aim to partner our enterprise customers to deliver outstanding service to their businesses,” said Sebastian Tan, Vice President, Enterprise Solutions, Services and Delivery, StarHub.

For small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in particular, a cost effective and high-performance technology solution can help to deliver quicker decision making and better business results. The SmartUC solution ticks all the boxes to help Singapore businesses grow and deliver exceptional service:

· Simple to use and easy to tailor; can be deploy with managed service support

· Monthly subscription offering without the hefty upfront IT expenses or costly feature upgrades associated with traditional corporate phone systems

· Supports a handful of users all the way to 2,500 users

· Integrates easily with existing solutions

· Can work at the workplace, or in the cloud 

SmartUC is based on the Avaya IP Office platform, a solution for SMBs with over 480,000 midmarket systems installed around the world. IP Office helps connect businesses with their customers using the methods those customers prefer - including voice, SMS, web chat, video, email, or fax. IP Office also helps people work from anywhere.

Dropbox and Microsoft, working better together

Source: Microsoft.

Dropbox and Microsoft are integrating their services for collaboration across Dropbox and Microsoft Office on phones, tablets and the Web. According to the companies, over 1.2 billion people use Office to get work done, and Dropbox has become home to more than 35 billion Office files.

When users choose to edit a document in Dropbox, the appropriate Office app is offered as the editing platform. The apps then work together to automatically save the changes back to Dropbox. The capabilities will first be available from within the Dropbox and Office apps on tablets and phones, and will soon be accessible via the Web.

“In our mobile-first and cloud-first world, people need easier ways to create, share and collaborate regardless of their device or platform,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Together, Microsoft and Dropbox will provide our shared customers with flexible tools that put them at the center for the way they live and work today.”

“People around the world have embraced Office and Dropbox to empower the way they live and work today,” said Drew Houston, CEO and Co-founder of Dropbox. “Our partnership with Microsoft will make it easier than ever to collaborate seamlessly across these platforms, giving people the freedom to get more done.”

Dropbox and Microsoft users can now do the following:

• Access Dropbox from Office apps to get to their files and folders faster.
• Edit Office files directly from Dropbox and sync them across devices.
• Share new or edited files from the Office apps using simple Dropbox sharing functionality.

The functionality will first be included in the next updates to the Office apps for iOS and Android. The Web integrations between the Dropbox website and Office Online will be available in the first half of 2015. Dropbox will also make its application available on the Windows Phone and Windows tablet platforms in the coming months.

These capabilities will be available to all Office users with a Dropbox account. Dropbox for Business customers will need an Office 365 subscription. More information can be found by visiting the Dropbox blog and the Office blog.

Office 365 users now eligible for unlimited OneDrive storage at no additional cost

All Microsoft Office 365 subscribers will now receive unlimited OneDrive storage at no additional cost, the company announced in its OneDrive Blog and Office Blog.

Source: Microsoft.

"For OneDrive for Business customers, unlimited storage will be listed on the Office 365 roadmap in the coming days and we will begin updating the First Release customers in 2015, aligned with our promise to provide ample notification for significant service changes," said Chris Jones, Corporate VP for OneDrive & SharePoint at Microsoft in the OneDrive blog post.

The feature will roll out over the coming months, starting with subscribers of Office 365 Home, Personal, and University. 

"OneDrive makes sure you always have all your important content on all your devices and enables multiple people to collaborate and co-author a single document at the same time. Gone are the days of not having that document right when you need it or managing multiple versions of the same document. 

"With OneDrive there is always just one source of truth available across all your devices. What’s more, with Office Delve, that important document your co-worker shared with you on their OneDrive actually finds you, versus you having to find it," adds Julia White, GM, Office 365 Technical Product Management, in the Office 365 blog post.

Users who can't wait to try the storage can click here to get on the list.