We're excited to announce the release of Zulip Server 1.9, containing hundreds of new features and bug fixes. Especially relevant for users migrating from the recently discontinued HipChat is our new HipChat data import tool.

Nowadays, the press doesn’t have to look too far for the next cyber attack story! Whether it’s the surprise theft of customer data, like British Airways suffered this year, or a fresh Facebook hack, if there’s one thing we’ve learned this year – no one, regardless of size and sophistication, is immune to attack.

When it comes to the specifics of working with customers, you’ll see a wide variety of terms thrown around. Phrases such as “customer care”, “customer support”, and “after-sales service” are all frequently used, but there are a few terms that truly stand out in their meaning (despite the confusion surrounding them).

Even in the age of email, social media, and whatever new support channel is just around the corner, customers still want the option to call a support agent. Whether it’s to resolve complex support issues or to receive personalized service, many people appreciate companies that make the investment in providing quality support over the phone.

All aboard! Here are the latest app integrations available on the Marketplace.

You might be familiar with some of the changes Freshworks has gone through in the last year. We rebranded the company1, introduced new products, and gave Freshdesk a new look. Although these developments have been a delight to our customers, we’ll be honest, the journey didn’t start easy for one team in particular within the company. Our customer support team.

In this month’s roundup, we are excited to announce that the Freshworks Marketplace has hit 500 apps! That’s right, we now have 500 apps across Freshdesk, Freshservice, and Freshsales. You can view the entire gallery of Marketplace apps, here. For now, here’s a look at just a few of the apps that joined the Freshdesk Marketplace this month, keep in mind this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Are you craving your own dedicated Matrix homeserver, but don’t want to run your own? At last, we’re incredibly excited to introduce Modular: the world’s first ever “one click” paid service for all your Matrix hosting needs!

Company growth is a great thing and it puts a buzz in the air that is tough to match. With this increase in revenue and customers, however, often comes a higher volume of help desk tickets. Before you know it, your lone help desk employee is working overtime to keep up. After adding a couple people to truly make your own help desk “team”, you realize that spreadsheets and emails aren’t the way to go.

It would be easy to think the benefits of AI are massively overhyped. Every day there’s another article extolling the future of robots answering customer questions and reducing the need for customer support representatives. But you could be forgiven for thinking this is all hype. So far, results have been less than impressive.