There’s a little doubt that COVID-19 has changed the world around us, and it’ll completely change the way we operate. We’re seeing the incredible rise of videoconferencing apps, along with many other apps that make the remote work easier and efficient. It’s also heartening to see companies offering their products and services for free during these tough times, and we’ve prepared a handy list of 150+ such offerings for your convenience. And as the week is coming to an end, it’s time to look at the world of SaaS, which was busier than usual.
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News of the week
Microsoft aims to make its Office 365 “personal”
In the past week, the Redmond giant was in news a lot. Firstly it’s announced a new plan dubbed “Microsoft 365” which combines both the Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home for a family of up to six people. There are also new features such as 300 new fonts, 200 new premium templates, and more. Then there’s AI-powered Microsoft Editor for Word and Outlook.com as well as extensions for Chrome and Microsoft Edge, ala Grammarly. AI will also help you have better presentations on PowerPoint by listening to your voice and suggesting changes with Presenter Coach. The company has also introduced a new app called Microsoft Family Safety which offers location sharing, manages screen time across various devices, and more.
The company has also announced Microsoft Teams for consumers, while announcing that Skype passed 40million daily active users amidst Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking of Skype, The Verge has done an in-depth feature on how despite being a pioneer in the video conferencing space, Skype lost to Zoom and others.
Zoom’s privacy nightmare continues
While we’re at the topic of Zoom, the darling (it’s even being used in weddings!) for everyone when social distancing is to be followed, it’s worth noting that the app has a lot of privacy concerns. Just last week, Vice had reported that it sends user data to Facebook without explicitly mentioning so. And while the company was quick to fix it, many other privacy issues have been floated in the past few days. Here’s a sample:
Zoom meetings aren’t end-to-end encrypted, despite misleading marketing
Zoom Lets Attackers Steal Windows Credentials, Run Programs via UNC Links
Zoom is leaking peoples’ email addresses and photos to strangers
A quick look at the confidentiality of Zoom meetings
Even New York’s AG has also sent a letter to Zoom asking about its security measures since more and more users are using it for sensitive matters.
Related tweet: https://twitter.com/c1truz_/status/1244737672930824193
The good news is that Zoom is quick to respond to the concerns and has fixed some of the issues mentioned above, including the ability for hackers to get Windows credentials and the macOS installer. Its CEO Eric S. Yuan has also noted that the company will continue to work on privacy concerns along with highlighting that the app has reached over 200million DAUs.
Also read: All eyes on Zoom: how the at-home era’s breakout tool is coping with surging demand and scrutiny
Zoho takes Freshworks to court in the first battle of Indian unicorns
Zoho, the pioneer in the SaaS space, which started from India and is now being used across the globe is dragging another popular SaaS startup from the subcontinent, Freshworks, to the court. As per Zoho, Freshworks’ founders worked at the former company for nine years and thus had access to a variety of information before going on to start their own company.
Atlassian’s Confluence gets a new template gallery
Popular project management software Confluence has got some new updates. The biggest addition of 75 new templates, which will be catering to design, marketing and HR teams.
Okta debuts Okta Platform Services to help build custom ID management tools
Okta is one of the leading players in the identity and access management space is introducing more capabilities. Dubbed Okta Platform Services, the new features will help organizations ensure secure access to their offerings.
Slack launches call integrations for Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and more
Slack is marching on to add new integrations, and while it might be counterintuitive for the popular collaboration software to provide support for video calls via its arch-rival Microsoft Teams, it has offered that. Along with that, users can also initiate Zoom, Cisco Jabber, RingCentral, and Dialpad.
Investment quotient
Popularly referred to as Slack for deskless workers, Orion Labs has raised $29million Series B funding. Led by Dell Technologies Capital, the company offers communication and automation for deskless workers. It has also announced the new CEO, who was previously with HighQ and Triple Point Technology Inc.
Notion hits $2 billion valuation in new raise
Notion is the latest startup to become a unicorn as it has raised $50million from Index Ventures and other investors. Its latest round of funding takes its valuation to $2billion. The company has also mentioned that it has grown rapidly in recent months and the userbase has nearly quadrupled since early 2019.
Must-reads
SaaS CAC ratio: how to calculate and why it matters
The 8 KPIs that actually matter and how to measure them
White-label SaaS products: are they legit enough to sell?
Listen to
How to get acquired with Waseem Daher of Pilot
Pilot, an accounting software, is among the buzziest startups by making a modern bookkeeping solution. In this podcast, its CEO and Founder Waseem Daher shares the idea behind the company, his experience of the previous two startups. He also shares how his startups got acquired by Oracle and Dropbox, respectively.
In this podcast / video, Figma’s founder shares how Figma started and its journey over the years. He also dives into how the graphic-designing product stands out from the competition, how he raised funding and about the SaaS industry in general.
Front’s CMO Anthony Kennada talks about marketing playbook for new-age SaaS companies as he discusses his experience from the previous company, Gainsight. He also talks about why branding is important, how to track brand marketing among other things.
Watch
How to optimize for SaaS retention
Shopify’s CRO, Shanelle shares insights about the retention for SaaS businesses. She then goes on to suggest ways to have better retention and busts the myth that it’s different than customer acquisition. Towards the end of the video, she also answers some questions about retention marketing.
