SaaSGenius News Digest November 4, 2022

Google Play for PC rolls out in the US and seven new territories

Google Play for PC

This week, we kick off the news with a good piece from Google to PC gamers!

Google has brought its Google Play for PC service to seven more countries including the US this week.

The new rollout makes the program that allows users to play games listed on the Google Play store via a desktop computer available in open beta in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.

Google launched the Google Play for PC program at the start of the year as a limited test in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia. Later on in August, the Google Play for PC beta opened up to all players in those regions.

What does this roll out have in store for PC gamers?

Well, in a blog post, Google Play Games director Arjun Dayal said, 

“We’re thrilled to expand our platform to more markets for players to enjoy their favorite games on Google Play. As we move towards a full release, we will continue to add new features and evaluate developer and player feedback.”

The Google Play Games PC app also syncs progress between PCs and mobile devices so users can pick up where they left off on different platforms. Also, while Google Play Games continues to add new games to its catalog, there are currently only 85 games worldwide on the service.

Check out if it’s already in your region here!

Microsoft extends free tech support for Ukraine through 2023

In other news, Microsoft is extending corporate social responsibility towards the people of Ukraine.

Microsoft Corp announced this week that it would extend technology support for Ukraine free of charge through 2023, as Russia’s invasion of the country drags on.

Microsoft said it would provide additional technology aid of nearly $100 million, bringing its total support for Ukraine to more than $400 million since the crisis started in February.

According to a blog post on the official website, the President of the corporation, Brad Smith pledges the company’s continuous support and says that they

“will ensure that government agencies, critical infrastructure and other sectors in Ukraine can continue to run their digital infrastructure and serve citizens through the Microsoft Cloud.” 

Earlier in June, Microsoft also said it was making substantial cuts to its business in Russia, joining a list of companies that had reduced their exposure or pulled out of the country in response to the invasion.

Oracle announces new technology suite for public safety

It’s not every day that we see technology platforms make specific suites available for law enforcement. So when Oracle announced a new technology that is specific for law enforcement and first responders, it just had to make the news this week!

Oracle announced Oracle Public Safety Services, a new technology platform that provides a unified hardware and software suite that is designed to remove data silos, eliminate manual busy work, and empower first responders with real-time information and situational awareness to help them make more objective decisions when every second counts.

The suite includes dispatch command center, law enforcement records, and jail management software, as well as body worn devices and real-time video communication tools.

Formula 1 and AWS announce extension of their partnership

Formula 1 has in a press release announced the renewal of its partnership with Amazon Web Services. Web giant Amazon’s cloud services have been used by Formula 1 for a wide range of data processing since 2018. However, it was not disclosed for how long the partnership will be extended.

For those who may not be aware, AWS is involved in almost all the data seen during the race and behind-the-scenes. Data provided by AWS can regularly be seen on screen, such as on how many laps drivers can overtake each other or what are the speeds at which the cars go past certain points. In total, there are 20 models on screen during the race provided by AWS.

An AWS and F1 collaboration is one that we love to see continue!

Pantone to force Adobe Photoshop users to pay $15 to use its colors

Here’s a piece of news that may not sit well with Adobe Photoshop users.

Ever since Adobe announced that its apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign will no longer support Pantone-owned colors for free, users have been left wondering what their fate would be.

Now, Pantone is making designers work with black only if they don’t pay $15 a month.

Designers who use Adobe’ Creative Suite tools, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign will be made to pay $90 a year to work with its signature colors in Adobe’s apps.

DivideBuy partners with CRM platform Salesforce

In more collaborations this week, UK LendTech DivideBuy has announced a partnership with Salesforce, the cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform, to offer instant onboarding for its merchants and partners.

DivideBuy’s users will be able to refer their own partners to DivideBuy and benefit from en-masse instant onboarding, through which they can offer POS finance solutions to wider customer bases straight away. 

Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to offer intuitive CRM, DivideBuy will empower merchants to tap into enhanced self-serve capabilities and automated process improvements.

Salesforce’s end-to-end solution will support DivideBuy’s full offering, ensuring real-time feedback for merchants thanks to its machine-learning capabilities.

Recommendation

Want complete features details of the Salesforce CRM that helps you to forecast sales accurately, then head to our Salesforce CRM review page.

Octopus Deploy introduces new integrations with GitHub Actions

The deployment automation company, Octopus Deploy this week announced the general availability of GitHub Actions for Octopus Deploy v2.

This update is intended to support the company’s deployment automation for GitHub Action workflows. With this users gain the ability to incorporate build information into deployment pipelines with GitHub’s introduction of a new push-build-information-action.

GitHub Actions for Octopus Deploy v2 makes it easier for users to reference release tags within workflows. Any alterations made to actions will now automatically update release tags and will be incorporated into workflows.

Capchase announces SaaS expansion to Germany

Finally on this week’s top SaaS news, Capchase is making its grand entry into the German market.

Capchase is a leading provider of non-dilutive capital for SaaS companies, and it announced this week that it’s responding to the demand for its services continues in North America and Europe. Capchase is now expanding on its mission of providing startups with the resources to fund future growth initiatives.

With the new launch, Capchase will be able to provide German startups with its market-leading services including Capchase Grow and Capchase Analytics, and tailored financial insights through its Growth Advisor service.

That’ll be all from us this week!

Author

Jake

Jake

A content writer in the SaaS, FinTech, and eCommerce spaces, Jake Pool has written hundreds of articles and reviews for dozens of corporate blogs and online publications. With four years under his wing, readers can expect many more informative articles in the future.

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