SaaS Updates Summary: September 26–30

Big news: Google has rebranded Google Apps for Work as G Suite. In other Google news, it’s rolled out new Early Adopter Programs for Team Drives and a new Hangouts video meetings experience, and also introduced “Explore” in Docs, Sheets, and Slides to bring you insights and research recommendations. Smart scheduling features are also coming to Google Calendar for iOS, and a new Quick Access feature in Drive will shave off 50% of the average time to find the right file. Freshdesk published a roundup of all the apps added to the Freshdesk Marketplace/App Gallery, and Salesforce introduced a new release of the Force.com IDE with improved support for developing with the Lightning Framework.

• G Suite | New Early Adopter Programs: Team Drives and a new Hangouts video meetings experience
• G Suite | Explore in Docs, Sheets and Slides makes work a breeze — and makes you look good, too
• G Suite | Save time with smart scheduling in Google Calendar
• G Suite | All Together Now. Introducing G Suite.
• G Suite | Save time with Quick Access in Drive
• G Suite | Introducing Google Cloud
• Freshdesk | Freshdesk Gets More Apps
• Salesforce | New Lightning Support in the Force.com IDE – and Everywhere!

Google announced that it’s no longer possible to download historical data or access it outside of Google Sheets using Apps Script or an API. Microsoft introduced a new version of the Office 365 App Launcher. DocuSign for Salesforce is now Lightning ready, and Dropbox announced it’s now certified under Privacy Shield. Insightly introduced Advanced Permissions to secure your company’s data. Workday unveiled plans to deliver Data-as-a-Service and also introduced Worksheets, the first native spreadsheet experience for enterprise cloud applications.

• Google Apps | Historical GOOGLEFINANCE data no longer accessible outside of Google Sheets
• Office 365 | Introducing the new Office 365 App Launcher
• DocuSign | DocuSign for Salesforce is Now Lightning Ready
• Dropbox | Dropbox achieves Privacy Shield Certification
• Insightly | Secure your company’s data with Insightly’s Advanced Permissions
• Workday | Workday Worksheets: Introducing Spreadsheets for Today’s Collaborative Workforce
• Workday | Workday Unveils Data-as-a-Service Based on Customer Demand

A new update from Google lets you now use “regular expressions” to search in Google Docs. Microsoft announced new improvements to the Office 365 admin center (now out of preview) and introduced new Outlook partner integrations. Slack introduced new integrations with Salesforce CRM, Trello introduced four new power-ups, and Zendesk introduced a few new apps and integrations.

• Google Apps | Use regular expressions to search in Google Docs
• Office 365 | Office 365 administration announcements: new admin center reaches general availability and introducing the Service health dashboard
• Office 365 | New Outlook partner integrations help you extend your email capabilities
• Slack | Slack: Now with more Salesforce, and vice versa
• Trello | Four New Power-Ups Are Here To Boost Sales, Development & Design Workflows
• Zendesk | Extend your Zendesk with new apps and integrations

With Microsoft Ignite underway, there’s been no shortage of Office 365 updates. Microsoft announced the public preview of Microsoft StaffHub, along with new innovations and updates for SharePoint, OneDrive, Delve Analytics, Yammer, and Outlook for iOS and Android.

• Office 365 | Announcing the public preview of Microsoft StaffHub—the new app for deskless workers
• Office 365 | SharePoint innovations further advance intelligence and collaboration in Office 365
• Office 365 | Major OneDrive updates at Ignite 2016 include SharePoint Online sync preview
• Office 365 | Announcing Feature Pack 1 for SharePoint Server 2016—cloud-born and future-proof
• Office 365 | Enhanced conditional access controls, encryption controls and site classification in SharePoint and OneDrive
• Office 365 | Create better work habits with MyAnalytics (formerly Delve Analytics)
• Office 365 | Yammer strengthens team collaboration through integration with Office 365 Groups
• Office 365 | Applying intelligence to security and compliance in Office 365
• Office 365 | Connect to expertise and content with new people experiences throughout Office 365
• Office 365 | Outlook for iOS and Android is now fully powered by the Microsoft Cloud

For yesterday’s Saas updates (and beyond), click here for our archive.