Cisco buys Office collaboration startup Versly
Cisco on Monday announced it has acquired Versly, a young privately-held startup that develops tools to help users collaborate using Microsoft Office programs.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Versly’s plug-ins let groups collaborate using Word, PowerPoint, Excel and email. The acquisition pairs well with Cisco’s goal of increasing business collaboration and social networking opportunities. Versly’s software will be integrated into several of Cisco’s collaboration offerings, including WebEx, Quad and Jabber.
Rob Salvagno, … Continue Reading
King of Code finalist: Sérgio Silva empowers small business owners to go mobile
(The King of Code contest is sponsored by Windows Phone and is open to developers on any mobile platform.)
In today’s connected world, small business owners can’t be restricted to their homes or offices. They need to be able to make decisions and react to news on the fly. That’s the conviction behind Cube, a suite of mobile applications spearheaded by developer Sérgio Silva.
His motto: “Your business anytime, anywhere.”
Designed for doctors, lawyers, … Continue Reading
Hands on with Office 365: a smart option for small businesses
If you’re a small business or startup, Microsoft Office 365 should be on your technology shortlist. It’s a cloud-based suite based on the world’s most popular office software that launched in late June. It will likely get small businesses and enterprises to start considering cloud software solutions if they haven’t already. Microsoft also hopes this offering can edge into the space Google Apps has had to itself for several years.
After testing the suite’s small … Continue Reading
Office 365: meet the new suite, same as the old suite
Microsoft’s online office suite, Office 365, finally hit the streets Tuesday. But it’s about five or six years too late to the cloud-based office software game and unlikely to provide much benefit to smaller and mid-sized companies, according to a number of executives of large enterprise software providers.
Microsoft has the edge in familiarity because many of the world’s largest companies already use its Office suite of productivity software. But while that may offer Microsoft … Continue Reading
Box.net starts move to new Palo Alto office (exclusive)
Enterprise cloud-storage provider Box.net is preparing to move into new quarters, a larger office space located between Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills, VentureBeat has learned. Box.net chief executive Aaron Levie confirmed the move in a phone call Tuesday afternoon.
The move, which will happen in the next four to eight weeks, follows the quick growth the company has seen since it launched in 2005. Box.net raised $48 million in its most recent round of … Continue Reading
Xbox and Kinect shine in Microsoft earnings report
The Xbox and Kinect motion controller are again Microsoft’s brightest stars as the company posted strong earnings and 60 percent growth in its entertainment division, even though sales of its flagship Windows operating system fell slightly amid weak personal computer demand.
Microsoft posted solid gains in the third fiscal quarter this year when compared to last year. Revenue rose 13 percent to $16.4 billion, up from $14.5 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. … Continue Reading
Microsoft brings cloud productivity to all with Office 365 beta
Microsoft’s cloud-focused Office 365, a subscription service that brings online Office apps and other Web tools to small businesses, has opened up to public beta testing today, the company announced this morning.
Office 365, which is expected to launch later this year, represents a major shift for Microsoft because it’s more than just another major Office release. Instead, it combines features like subscription access to desktop Office software (Office Professional Plus, to be exact); Office … Continue Reading
Microsoft mixes in a bit of Phone and Office in Windows 8's interface
Microsoft is apparently using some recent design innovations from Windows Phone 7 and Office in early test versions of Windows 8, including aspects of its mobile Metro user interface and Office’s Ribbon.
The news comes from a series of leaked screenshots that have hit the Web over the past few days from the Windows news power duo Paul Thurrott and Rafael Rivera.
The early design changes tell us that Microsoft will likely be looking for … Continue Reading
Report: Windows Mobile was for work, Windows Phone 7 is for fun
Microsoft seems to have a new mantra: When all else fails, shoot for a bigger audience.
All of Microsoft’s top-downloaded paid applications for its newest Windows Phone 7 mobile devices are games — much like other mobile operating systems — compared to just one for its older Windows Mobile operating system, according to a report by Distimo.
Microsoft is running a pretty well-known and reliable play to reclaim its share in the mobile operating system … Continue Reading
Foursquare looks for full team of West Coast engineers
If you’re an engineer on the West Coast looking to join a hot startups, here’s a good reason to prepare your resume. According to a company blog post, popular mobile check-in application Foursquare has decided to put together a full team of engineers in its new West Coast office.
Foursquare is going from basically squatting at the Square office in San Francisco to claiming additional space for a larger team of engineers, who are needed … Continue Reading
Microsoft brings its Office applications online with Office 365
Microsoft is bringing its Office applications online to compete with Web-based office software like Google Apps, the company announced today at a press event in San Francisco.
The new Office is geared toward small businesses, and businesses with remote employees who telecommute. It integrates cloud services like SharePoint and Exchange with its traditional Word and PowerPoint office applications, bringing everything online with a subscription service.
“End users aren’t going to see much of a difference, … Continue Reading
Microsoft launches Windows Phone 7, hitting the US on Nov. 8
Microsoft finally launched its new mobile platform, Windows Phone 7, at a press conference in New York today. CEO Steve Ballmer hit the stage to give us a glimpse at the OS and the platform’s launch phones.
Windows Phone 7 will launch on October 21 in Europe and Asia, and the first U.S. handset will be on sale November 8. The platform will find itself in 30 countries, and across 60 cellphone carriers, by the … Continue Reading
BlackBerry maker RIM acquires Office document platform developer DataViz
BlackBerry creator Research in Motion has acquired the developer of the Documents To Go app, DataViz, according to a report by AllThingsD, a technology blog published by the Wall Street Journal.
By picking up DataViz, the BlackBerry manufacturer may be making a move to provide a free version of Documents To Go for BlackBerry users and maintain a hold on its big-business clients. Research In Motion also made another recent acquisition — Cellmania — in … Continue Reading
