Today marks a major milestone in our commitment to helping create the digital office our teams need to get work done, be more efficient, and collaborate effectively with colleagues. We are thrilled to announce 6 new features for your favorite meetings and chat solution: New filters in video settings: Animations will make it appear as if you are focusing intently, even if you are checking your phone or surfing the web  Awards show mode: Music will automatically fade in when the meeting goes past the scheduled end time — or attendees can activate it manually to drown out someone who is being dominating and annoying  Picture-in-picture pet mode: A new setting allows for you to have your camera display one window for you, and one window for your pet (who only seems to wander around or bark when you have meetings with management)  Social media security settings: A custom notification will display if you are sharing your screen and distractedly attempt to go over to the browser tab that has Facebook open  New AI integrations: When you suddenly are asked a question in a meeting when you weren’t paying attention, you can summon Siri or Alexa to answer it for you — run through a special Sametime voice-matching filter set up to sound like you  New audio settings: Less embarrassing, pre-set sounds, such as water running or a carn horn honking, will be auto played to drown out toilets flushing or family members yelling in the background.    Happy April Fool’s Day. Of course, this was a joke! But you know what’s no joke? The upcoming global premiere of the newest version of HCL Sametime on June 7. And, the fact that Sametime beats the competition — hands-down. Let us show you how.  

HCL Software is pleased to announce the tech preview of an installable HCL Sametime meetings desktop client. This desktop client is available for both Windows and macOS and works with any Sametime Premium v11.5 deployment. It provides the same UI features as our browser experience and can be pinned to the taskbar (screenshot below).   Once installed, simply clicking a meeting URL will automatically let you join via the desktop client. Additionally, you can use the client by itself to join or create meetings.  This desktop client is available through our HCL license and delivery portal (FlexNet) for all our Sametime Premium customers. For our mobile users, you can continue to use the existing HCL Sametime app, available on Apple and Google app stores, that supports both chat and meetings features.  For more information, please read this article to learn how to install and use the Sametime meetings desktop client.  HCL Sametime Product Team  

HCL Sametime Premium is a proven and trusted video meetings platform, built for how today’s modern organizations need to be working — nimbly, securely, and remotely — all while reducing your operational costs. HCL Software intends to extend Sametime Premium with telephony capabilities from an ecosystem of complementary partners. Today, HCL is announcing it is working with ilink, a leading provider of solutions and services for unified communications customers worldwide and an active HCL business partner. The goal is to provide telephony services for the new release of Sametime Premium coming in the first half of 2021. HCL expects to add other such partnerships in 2021. The integration with ilink will enable Sametime Premium users to call into any Sametime meeting from their phone and participate via telephony-based audio in addition to the internet-based audio available today. A meeting moderator can also dial out from a Sametime meeting to bring in additional participants in audio only mode. Additional telephony features, such as direct “call me” functionality, will be added to later releases. HCL believes this approach will help organizations further reduce their costs compared to other video meeting solutions, where telephony costs can be significantly higher per user.  Further details of the integration will be available nearer to the release. HCL Sametime Product Team About ilink  ilink is an independent software company based in Berlin, Germany. ilink offers enterprise products and services for unified communication solutions for worldwide customers and has excellent know-how and many years of experience in telephony/audio integrations in the datacenter and in the cloud. More details about this partnership are available directly at the ilink site here. Disclaimer – HCL’s statements regarding its plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice at HCL’s sole discretion. Information regarding potential future products is intended to outline our general product direction and it should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision. The information mentioned...

In today’s work world, chat and video meetings are integral to getting work done.  But organizations need to pick solutions that are safe, cost-effective, and make sense for the business. And, given the global push toward remote work, employee engagement is key. Connecting employees in a meaningful way takes more than just an easy chat feature. It’s also ensuring that the information shared is reaching the intended audience — while meeting the regulatory standards of your industry. Providing your teams with a secure chat messaging accomplishes both important goals — connection and protection — freeing your enterprise from security and compliance concerns and creating more time to focus on doing great work. But what, specifically, makes secure chat important, and why should enterprise companies care? Employees are Already Using Chat Apps, But They Need Secure Messaging The reality is that most people are using a chat service to connect with colleagues. Knowing that should motivate enterprises to standardize the chat platform it offers its employees. Not offering a secure chat option won’t deter employees from using a messaging app, it will just result in them using whatever chat service they personally like, secure or not.  This is also known as a shadow IT problem. A universal chat solution can streamline workflow while enhancing the company's data transparency and keeping things secure. As mobile messaging platforms continue to grow in popularity and functionality, people accustomed to consumer messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger will incorporate those into their work life unless given an alternative.  Those consumer platforms are fine for personal chat, but the end-to-end encryption they include blocks access to communication data that is required in many enterprise verticals. The solutions your organization provides needs to be easy to use, secure, and modern. Enterprise systems must provide a collaboration...

Enterprise companies choosing a web chat platform value software that will protect vital data.  Ensuring secure messaging and the larger security reputation of the organization is not only a goal but a requirement.  And encryption is a fundamental pillar of that security.     But not all encryption is the same. And the differences matter.  Let’s cover some of the encryption basics and explain why end-to-end encryption isn’t always the best option for enterprises.    Here Are Four Insights Worth Knowing When You Go Shopping for Secure Chat Software  What is end-to-end encryption?     End-to-end has expanded in use due to messaging apps like WhatsApp and iMessage and is lauded for the closed channel it provides users weary of data breaches. End-to-end encryption ensures that only the sender and recipient of a message are able to read it; the message is encrypted on the sender’s end and can only be accessed when unlocked by a private key on the recipient’s end.     In this way the entire communication is blocked from outside examination, available only to the two parties: the sender and the recipient.  2. The downside of using encryption that is end-to-end  The same reason end-to-end is appealing to individuals — the impossibility of accessing data or messages from the outside — makes it less functional for enterprise companies that have regulatory and auditability requirements.  The same factors that protect perfectly legal and safe messages also protect illegal and illicit material, creating a safe space of sorts for malicious parties who can use end-to-end encryption to escape detection and cause harm.   In effect, the privacy upside of end-to-end benefits everyone, including individuals or groups intent on using that privacy for ill.    3. There are alternatives   Despite the growing awareness and popularity of end-to-end, there are alternative encryption methods that are important for enterprise customers to be aware of.  Just because encryption software isn’t end-to-end doesn’t mean it isn’t safe and protected.  In fact, many enterprise companies...

HCL Software announces the availability of a pre-release of HCL Sametime v11.5, the newest version of the trusted video meetings and persistent chat platform: Sametime — your meeting, your data, double the value. Sametime is built for how today’s modern organizations need to be working: nimbly, securely and remotely.   A) Sametime Pre-release v11.5 (Meetings and Chat)   HCL is offering the exclusive opportunity to try the latest version of Meetings and Chat for free in advance of our general product launch in November 2020.    HCL Sametime Pre-release v11.5 allows for secure conversations across any device, with the following benefits:  Rock-solid data privacy, encryption and auditability - Your data and conversations protected — in private cloud or on-premises. Instant meetings and chat with one click.  No waiting - You’re only seconds away from secure team chat, video meetings, and file sharing.  No installation required and no need to wait for a SaaS solution. Deploy on a secure private cloud or on-premises - Faster deployment with containers and scale with Kubernetes, simpler installs and fewer servers.  B) Sametime 11.0 FP2 Chat   HCL Software also announces HCL Sametime 11.0 FP2, for customers with existing entitlements to Chat only.    FP2 highlights:   Improvements to the web chat client UX, performance, chat handling, and contact management.  Added support for MongoDB 3.6 through 4.2 and password management.  Added support for JWT-based single sign-on.  Added support for handling cross-domain SAML login flows.  C) For more information:   For additional details on Sametime v11.0 FP2 and Meetings Pre-Release v11.5:   HCL Sametime 11.0 FP2 | HCL Sametime Meetings Pre-Release 11.5 Release Notes HCL Sametime 11.0 FP2 Fix List HCL Sametime 11.0 FP2 | HCL Sametime Meetings Pre-Release 11.5 System Requirements HCL Sametime 11.0 FP2 | HCL Sametime Meetings Pre-Release 11.5 Install and Administration Guide Whether you are an existing HCL Sametime, HCL Domino, or HCL Software customer and would like to learn more about this pre-release opportunity, please contact your HCL sales representative or an HCL Business Partner.  HCL Sametime Product Team   Disclaimer – HCL’s statements regarding its plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice at HCL’s sole discretion. Information regarding...