Salesforce has released new updates for its core products that allow users to use the work collaboration app Quip right from within its own service.

The company purchased Quip for $750 million in August for its collaborative word processing and spreadsheet apps that also include messaging features similar to those offered by Slack.

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Facebook, Google and Microsoft are currently locked in a battle over which bot platform will have more developers, and currently it's Google that's winning -- but it's not that simple.

Just before releasing its chat app Allo, Google acquired API.ai, a bot-building platform through which developers can make bots for various platforms. API.ai is currently being used by 60,000 developers, according to VentureBeat, putting Google at the top of the pack. Considering that it has just only acquired the start-up, it’s easy to argue that the company didn’t really do much to hit that milestone.

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In the next three years, there will be more cyberattacks than there were in the past five, a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) claims -- it points the finger at the growth of IoT.

The report says that out of 200 operators of critical infrastructure worldwide, 80 percent say the proliferation of IoT and Big Data is making them more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

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"Third time's the charm", VirnetX is probably now thinking, as a US court has, for the third time, ruled that Apple has infringed the company’s patents. A federal judge in Tyler, Texas ruled on Sunday that Apple must pay $302.4 million (£235.10m) for infringing VirnetX’s patents in services like FaceTime and iMessage.

Back in 2010, VirnetX was awarded $368.2 (£286.25m), but the ruling was partially overturned because it wasn’t exactly clear how the jury calculated the damages. The second time, earlier this year, the court ruled Apple should pay, setting the figure at $625.6 million (£486.37), but that ruling too was voided because the "repeated references to the earlier case could have confused jurors and were unfair to Apple".

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Every business leader understands the importance of regulatory compliance and is aware of how dire the consequences can be if an organization is found to be out of compliance. With stringent regulations enforcing compliance, such as HIPAA or Sarbanes-Oxley, it’s imperative that companies maintain strict procedures to avoid facing potential fines or lawsuits, and risking consumer distrust. Any one of these factors can seriously threaten the long-term viability of the brand.

However, implementing the right infrastructure and policies to adhere to these requirements is a challenge that every company faces. With the hundreds, if not thousands, of customer interactions and exchanges of data that happen every day, it only takes one slip or lapse in protocol to put the entire organization at risk. Now, business leaders are turning to analytics solutions to mitigate risk and remove uncertainty.  Whether it’s the contact center, data center, or online social communities, analytics are proving a powerful tool to help keep businesses out of regulatory hot water.

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Microsoft has announced that its investments in cloud computing in Europe exceeded $3 billion, as it plans to open a new data center in the country next year. Besides making this announcement, Microsoft has also released a new book, entitled A Cloud for Global Good, containing policy recommendations for things like data protection.

The company’s CEO, Satya Nadella, says the investment comes as a result of a "growing demand" from both European customers and partners. "Building a global, trusted, intelligent cloud platform is core to our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. There’s never been a better time for organizations across Europe to seize new growth and opportunity with the Microsoft Cloud".

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Oracle has once again been unsuccessful in its latest effort to obtain a new trial in its Java API copyright claim against Google. Judge William Alsup of the San Francisco District Court has denied Oracle's latest motion to have its case reheard on the grounds of misconduct on the part of Google's lawyers.

Since 2010, the two companies have been in an ongoing legal war that was ruled in Google's favor. However, in the six years that have passed Oracle has repeatedly appealed the ruling multiple times.

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In an attempt to improve its financial capabilities, IBM will acquire the Promontory Financial Group which will be integrated with its global business and will aid in training its Watson artificial intelligence (AI) platform. The company announced the acquisition on Thursday but it did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

Promontory was founded by Eugene A. Ludwig, who is a former top banking regulator and a friend of of former President Bill Clinton from law school. The Washington firm became one of the leading financial organizations following the 2008 financial crisis. Promontory's current employees include many former financial regulators from across the globe, and it has advised numerous banks on regulatory matters.

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You know that Yahoo breach that just happened recently? The one where 500 million credentials were stolen? Well, a highly respected security researcher claims the hack was done by the same group that breached MySpace, LinkedIn, Badoo, VK.com, and a few others.

The researcher in question is Andrew Komarov, and he told The Register that not only did the same group do all these things, but the number of breached Yahoo accounts is probably a billion. Double what was reported. Komarov says the group, referred to as "Group E", is a "small Eastern European hacking outfit" that makes money by hacking big companies and selling their data to whoever is willing to pay.

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The developing digital landscape has changed the way people interact with hardware. We are now more device-agnostic than ever -- both in our personal and professional lives -- meaning we are often carrying around two, sometimes three, devices to complete different tasks.

The 2-in-1 (or hybrid) market has looked to address this by merging the power and performance of a laptop with the flexibility and mobility of a tablet. For the most part, Microsoft has led the way in this area with its Surface and Surface Pro devices, but is now being pushed hard by the likes of Apple and Huawei.

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In order to help boost sales of its mobile device amongst enterprises, Apple has announced a partnership with the consulting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP.

On Wednesday, the two companies said that they had formed a new service called Enterprise Next, which would entail 5,000 consultants from Deloitte advising clients in a range of enterprises as to how they could put Apple devices to the best use within their organization.

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In an effort to better compete against Apple Music and other music streaming services, Spotify may be considering purchasing SoundCloud. Apparently the two companies are in "advanced talks", that could result in Spotify acquiring its rival that has been valued at $700 million.

Recently, Spotify has faced a great deal of competition from other subscription-based music streaming services, including Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Prime and Deezer.

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Lenovo is already a well-established brand in Western Europe thanks to its personal computer brand which counts the legendary ThinkPad range and German manufacturer, Medion, amongst its ranks. It also absorbed storage vendor Iomega, IBM’s Intel-based server business and NEC personal computer range.

The company has acquired phone manufacturer Motorola, inheriting yet another iconic brand whose name still carries a lot of value for a mainstream audience. But the latest move of the Chinese company, which is also the biggest PC vendor in the world, has been surprising.

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In the last 12 months, the average IT contractor day rates have jumped 9.11 percent, and have hit £431, according to a new report by Experis. The Tech Cities Job Watch Survey says the UK’s Gig economy is picking up pace, with an almost double year-on-year growth in permanent salaries, up by 4.61 percent.

The "freelance dream", which includes higher pay and flexible hours is becoming a reality for a larger number of people, as now 15 percent of the UK workforce works solo. There is now more demand for solo workers, than there is for permanent workers -- 2.23 percent against 1.95 percent.

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Microsoft has just announced that it will be releasing the first preview of its new cloud-based tool called Project Springfield. It has been designed to aid developers in spotting "million dollar bugs" in their Windows applications before launch.

The reason the company is making Project Springfield available to Windows developers is to save them from the "costly effort" of having to release patches to fix broken software after it has already been made public.

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