Google Hangouts is an impressive and frustrating suite of communications. Hangouts was initially launched with Google+, the provider's inconsequential social network, but was expanded to general Gmail and Google For Work customers in 2013. Hangouts is a suite of communications services for chat, voice, and video.
UC vendors by necessity will update their products over time. Usually the journey is straightforward, as in adding new features and functionality or enhancing performance or security. Occasionally the changes are not straightforward and consumers, enterprises, partners, and competitors are left scratching their heads over what the vendor is trying to accomplish. Vendors argue that these puzzling changes they make reflect business or technical decisions that they expect to pay off in the long-run at some measured short-term disadvantage or loss of momentum.