Stories by Matthew Finnegan

A Teams app directory is among the new features added to the company’s Office 365 group chat tool. Analysts say Microsoft is looking to match rivals like Slack in functionality.

HP, Acer, Asus and Lenovo debut Windows 10 laptops and PCs supporting Alexa at this year’s CES. IT leaders are generally supportive of Amazon’s enterprise push.

‘Collaboration is hot. It will stay hot,’ says one analyst. Look for more, and larger, deployments in the year ahead.

Amazon hopes to push Alexa into the office. At the same time, Cisco and Microsoft also see potential for voice-activated A.I. assistants to automate mundane tasks such as starting video conferences and booking meeting rooms.

Facebook launches a Workplace Chat desktop app, and says the number of paid users has doubled in six months; Slack adds interactive screen sharing; and Google looks to bolster Gmail with add-ons.

The company has launched beta versions of macOS and Windows desktop apps for the business version of Messenger, adding screen-sharing capabilities.

With 14,000 organizations worldwide using its business collaboration app, Facebook has a foothold in the enterprise, but it faces stiff competition on multiple fronts.

The company’s Slack rival, launched six months ago, will ‘over time’ become the primary communications client in Office 365.

The two firms extend partnership with integrations involving Adobe Sign and Microsoft’s collaboration platform.

With WhatsApp Business, the company could be eyeing future collaboration efforts.

Pilot scheme in London follows a successful six month trial in Norwich by Proxama and Exterion Media

Developers will play a fundamental role in the adoption of the internet of things, but must be aware of the security and privacy risks as billions of devices become connected, said Intel's internet of things (IoT) chief, Doug Davis.

Apple has partnered with Dutch chip maker, NXP, to supply near field communication technology that could enable smartphone payments in the next iPhone, according to the FT.

Opening large data sets up to customers is vital to helping the finance sector sector regain lost trust, according to a panel of industry experts.

Big data analytics tools will be crucial to enterprise security as criminals deploy faster and more sophisticated attacks in attempts to steal sensitive data, according to security firm RSA.