SaaS Updates Summary: January 23–January 27

BetterCloud Monitor

January 29, 2017

3 minute read

This past week, we saw lots of SaaS updates around improving security, like the blocking of .js file attachments in Gmail and two new capabilities called URL Detonation and Dynamic Delivery in Office 365. There were also lots of enhancements, new features, and even an acquisition. Keep reading to get the full week’s scoop.

G Suite:

Announced that on April 3, 2017, it will be shutting down legacy versions of Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides mobile apps.
Announced new controls to help protect your domain’s email reputation from SMTP relay abuse. Currently, Google already notifies super admins if a user is abusing the SMTP relay service to send spam or malicious emails. But after February 6, if Google still detects abuse after 24 hours, then it will automatically suspend the user from sending messages.
Announced that Gmail will not allow .js file attachments for security reasons starting on February 13, 2017. Other types of file attachments (like .exe, .msc, and .bat) are already restricted. If you need to send .js files, you can use Drive or Google Cloud Storage to send it.
Rolled out new features for the Google Docs and Sheets mobile apps. For example, you can insert headers and footers in Docs; change a page’s size, orientation, and colors in Docs; insert and edit solid, dashed, and dotted borders in Sheets, and more.

Microsoft:

Announced several several enhancements to FastTrack for Office 365, as well as previews of FastTrack for Windows 10 and FastTrack for Dynamics 365. It also announced that the School Data Sync (SDS), their online classroom automation solution, is moving from preview to general availability. You can sign up for it and Microsoft will help you deploy it for free.
Announced several new capabilities in OneDrive for Business, like the ability to sync all your files across PCs and Macs, simplified file sharing in and outside of your organization, and more.
Announced two new capabilities–URL Detonation and Dynamic Delivery–which improve security while keeping people productive. URL Detonation helps prevent your users from being compromised by files linked to malicious URLs. Dynamic Delivery lets people read and respond to emails while attachments are being scanned.

Box released a new version of Box Notes, which includes a new Box Notes experience from the browser and a new desktop application for Macs and PCs.

DocuSign announced a new update to its integration with Dynamics CRM. This update includes features like custom buttons, workflows, anchor tags, merge fields, and more.

Insightly introduced the Linked Items Report, which lets you find the email addresses of all contacts linked to all won opportunities and more.

ServiceNow acquired DxContinuum, a machine learning company to further boost their automation efforts. According to ServiceNow, this purchase takes them into the Internet of Things (IoT) era.

Slack rolled out the Reacji Channeler, which lets you easily copy a message from one channel into another (or multiple channels) using emoji. (Reacji = reaction + emoji.) You can gather messages from multiple channels into one place with one click.

Zendesk announced a new feature, the Web SDK, that lets you build a chat widget unique to your website.

Check out the links below for more information.