Apple iOS 11 and the enterprise: This week, Apple held its much-anticipated launch event for the iPhone 8, iPhone X, new Apple Watch and other hardware. But for enterprises, just as much attention—if not more—to the implications of iOS 11, which will arrive on Sept. 19. Here's a look at just a few of the bullet points to consider.
- iOS 11 supports only 64-bit devices, which means iPhone 5 and iPhone 4 users are out of luck. It also means, however, that applications written for 32-bit devices won't work on iOS 11. Apple has been discussing this since last year, but many time and resource-strapped enterprises may not be prepared. Assessing that level of readiness is a crucial task.
- A revamped App Store is coming along with iOS 11, with the redesign said to improve discoverability. Concurrently, enterprises need to review their app restrictions policies, lest employees end up downloading a few too many undesirable apps.
- iOS 11 introduces a large number of productivity improvements that could make the case for iPads replacing Macbooks as a primary work platform. These include a new app called Files, an expanded Dock, and Drag and Drop, which as the name implies allows users to easily move images and other files between apps.
- Business Chat, a new feature within iMessage, lets companies communicate directly with customers on iOS devices when they opt-in. A user can start a conversation natively from apps such as Safari or Maps. The feature works in conjunction with customer service platforms from Salesforce, Nuance and other vendors. For now, Business Chat supports human-to-human conversations, not chatbots.
Microsoft Teams adds guest access to Teams: Six months after its general availability, there are now more than 125,000 organizations using Microsoft's Teams group communication software, which is included with Office 365 subscriptions, Redmond says. Now the company is hoping to build up that momentum with a much-requested new feature: Guest access. Here are some key details from Microsoft's announcement:
We designed guest access in Teams with three principles at the forefront:
Teamwork—Teams come in all shapes and sizes, and you need to be able to easily communicate and share with others you want to work with, including people outside your organization. Beginning today, anyone with an Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) account can be added as a guest in Teams. That means anyone with one of the more than 870 million user accounts—across Microsoft commercial cloud services and third-party Azure AD integrated apps—can be added as a guest in Teams.
Security and compliance—Customers have told us they expect guest access in Teams to provide enterprise-grade security and compliance assurances. In Teams, guest accounts are added and securely managed within Azure AD through Azure AD B2B Collaboration. This enables enterprise-grade security, like conditional access policies for guest user access.
Microsoft has also built in tools that enable IT to manage guest users in a centralized manner. It also places a fair number of limitations on guest users, as this document shows, but none of them are unexpected.
POV: Microsoft needed to deliver guest access to Teams in order to keep pace with Slack, which already offered a similar feature. Nor is Slack standing still; one day after Microsoft's announcement, it unveiled Shared Channels, which allow different organizations to communicate within Slack without any need for guest accounts.
Still, Microsoft's Teams update is extremely important, since they enable external people to participate in collaborative processes with Microsoft teams, says Constellation VP and principal analyst Alan Lepofsky: "It opens a much broader range of use cases."
Rackspace buys Datapipe—the implications for CIOs: Continuing its shift away from IaaS delivery to managed cloud services, Rackspace is buying Datapipe in a deal it calls the biggest in its history. (Terms were not disclosed). Here are the key details from its announcement:
Customers have been asking Rackspace to rapidly expand its abilities in managing multiple clouds at scale, and with the acquisition of Datapipe, Rackspace will be able to meet this growing demand.
Among the new capabilities that Datapipe will bring to Rackspace are:
Experience serving high-profile public sector customers, including the U.S. Departments of Defense, Energy, and Treasury, as well as the U.K. Cabinet Office, Ministry of Justice, and Department of Transport
Professional services, software and tooling that will help better serve enterprise customers
Data centers and offices in key markets where Rackspace today has little or no presence, including the West Coast of the U.S., Brazil, mainland China, and Russia
Rackspace also cited synergies Datapipe's existing customers will enjoy, such as its experience in Microsoft, VMWare and OpenStack-based private cloud deployments as well as managed services for enterprise applications.
Datapipe has 825 employees and 29 data centers spread across nine countries. Key customers include Johnson & Johnson and McDonalds, according to a statement.
POV: The deal shows how Rackspace is transforming from IaaS to services, but there's a possibility it will rev up its IaaS play in Europe, where cloud uptake lags the Americas, says Constellation VP and principal analyst Holger Mueller. This opportunity only has a three to five-year window, he adds.
For CIOs, the deal has implications that vary depending on their role and location, Mueller says.
U.S. CIOs using Rackspace should look for the same services abroad and determine when Rackspace will offer them, he says. U.S. CIOs that aren't Rackspace customers but have operations outside the U.S. should investigate combined offerings from Rackspace. European CIOs using Datapipe should check over their contracts and be ready for a potential migration over time, Mueller adds.