Tag: WebEx

Cisco and Microsoft Partner to Bring Teams to Cisco Hardware

Cisco and Microsoft have entered an unlikely partnership, paving the way for Microsoft Teams to run as the default on Cisco hardware.

Cisco and Microsoft both make video conferencing software, WebEx and Teams respectively. Given the two companies compete in the same space, a partnership is somewhat surprising, although it’s likely more an acknowledgment of Teams’ dominant position in the market.

The partnership will see Microsoft Teams run natively on select Certified for Microsoft Teams devices in the Cisco Room and Desk lineup and can even be set as the default option.

“Interoperability has always been at the forefront of our hybrid work strategy, understanding that customers want collaboration to happen on their terms — regardless of device or meeting platform,” said Jeetu Patel, EVP and GM, Security & Collaboration, Cisco. “Our partnership with Microsoft brings together two collaboration leaders to completely reimagine the hybrid work experience.”

“Our vision to make Teams the best collaboration experience for physical spaces is brought to life by our incredible ecosystem of hardware partners,” said Jeff Teper, president, collaborative apps and platforms at Microsoft. “By welcoming Cisco as our newest partner building devices Certified for Microsoft Teams, we are excited to bring leading collaboration hardware and software to market together for our joint customers.”

Few programs or platforms have seen such a meteoric rise as Teams. Prior to the pandemic, Slack, Zoom, and WebEx were major contenders in the corporate messaging and videoconferencing markets. Thanks in no small part to its being bundled as part of Microsoft 365, Teams quickly surpassed Slack and has carved out a major presence in the video conferencing market.

The deal with Cisco is sure to help further Microsoft’s reach even more.

October 12, 2022
Cisco Wants to Fix Hybrid Work With Webex
Despite being a big supporter of hybrid and remote work, Cisco believes its current incarnation could use some work and is tackling the problem with new Webex features.

While Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack often get the lion’s share of the press about remote work tools, Cisco’s Webex is a popular choice in the business and enterprise space. The company wants to tackle what it sees as some of the biggest issues with current solutions in an effort to help remote users feel more a part of company meetings.

In an interview with ZDNet, Jeetu Patel, EVP & GM, Security and Collaboration Business Units, identified three main issues with the current state of remote and hybrid videoconferencing meetings:
- Remote workers can’t always see presentations and whiteboards present in the meeting.
- It can be difficult to pick up on non-verbal cues via a camera.
- Technical issues can impact the audio and video and impair the overall experience.
Cisco is working on some novel solutions, including Webex Whiteboard. The solution is a physical whiteboard that automatically integrates with Webex to display its contents to those connected remotely. As an added benefit, both in-person and remote attendees can interact with it.

The company is also testing People Focus, a feature that can zoom in on a person and make it easier to pick up on non-verbal cues.

Cisco is working on the audio aspect of meetings, improving noise cancellation, silencing background conversations, and removing echoes. The company’s Meraki routers can be used to seamlessly switch over to an LTE connection if the main internet connection drops.

Patel made it clear in his interview with ZDNet that these innovations are designed to help make remote and hybrid work as successful as possible, something he and Cisco see as an important factor moving forward.

“Wouldn’t it be sad if after the pandemic is over, we all said, ‘Let’s revert back and go 100% to the office?’ The beauty about what we learned in the past couple of years is that talent is available anywhere, globally. And they should be able to participate in the global economy.

“We’ve made a lot of progress over the last couple of years, and we should take that forward,” Patel continued.
June 15, 2022
Cisco Webex Go Improves Mobile Experience for Hybrid Work

Cisco is launching its Webex Go phone service, designed to streamline hybrid and remote workers’ workflow, eliminating the need for multiple devices.

Webex is a popular videoconferencing application that Cisco has offered for years. Although Zoom gets the lion’s share of public attention, and has become a household name as a result of the pandemic, Webex is widely used in the corporate and enterprise markets.

Cisco is working to make it even easier for hybrid and remote workers to get the most from Webex by eliminating the need for multiple devices. Instead, enterprise-grade Webex features can be added to a user’s personal phone as a dedicated business line.

“The past year has further heightened the need for a maniacal focus on delivering an experience that delights users,” said Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager, Cisco Security and Collaboration. “Our innovations released today enable enterprises to be closer to their customers than ever, helping them deliver the best possible customer experience across all channels in real time.”

Cisco hopes to make Webex Go available in the first half of 2022.

October 20, 2021
Microsoft Teams Now Features Live Transcription

Microsoft Teams has added live transcription, along with speaker attribution, as the battle over corporate communication heats up.

Microsoft Teams has quickly emerged as one of leading corporate messaging platforms, and a part of Microsoft’s business that could one day rival and surpass the web browser in importance.

An important new feature is live transcription in Teams meetings. The feature uses artificial intelligence to analyze the participants and meeting details to accurately transcribe the contents.

Live transcription in Teams uses a meeting’s invitation, participant names, attachments, etc. to improve the accuracy and recognize meeting-specific jargon for each transcript automatically, without any human involvement. This means no one at Microsoft ever sees the meeting’s content, and the models are automatically deleted immediately after each meeting. In addition, Microsoft doesn’t use or store this data for improving its own AI.

Webex, Google Chrome and Zoom all have closed captioning or transcription. Microsoft including the feature in Teams is an important step in maintaining its position in the market.

March 26, 2021
Real-Time Translation Coming to Cisco WebEx

In the battle for the videoconferencing market, Cisco has announced that WebEx will be gaining live translation for more than 100 languages.

Zoom may have become the poster child for pandemic-based videoconferencing, but WebEx remains a popular choice, especially among businesses, thanks to its blend of features, price and security. Like Zoom, Teams and others, WebEx has continued to evolve and add features customers need, especially as a result of the current state of remote work.

In one of its biggest additions, available for testing later this month, Cisco is adding live translation for more than 100 languages.

In late March, Webex will begin a trial of real-time translation – from English to 100+ languages (note not all dialects included in translations). That means, non-native English speakers and/or hearing-impaired participants can choose closed captioning translation from English to one of the 108 additional languages supported from Afrikaans to Zulu. Real-time translation aids understanding and creates a more inclusive meeting, where language no longer be a barrier to great collaboration.

The feature will likely help WebEx make inroads in multi-language teams, providing an effective way to communicate without purchasing expensive, third-party translation services.

The feature is expected to be generally available in May.

March 2, 2021
There Are No People In Headquarters Right Now, Says Cisco CEO

“We have a significant business that is related to corporate headquarter facilities and there are no people in those headquarters right now,” says Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. “So there is a lot of discussion around what does corporate real estate look like? I personally believe that once we get through the vaccine period that people will want to get back to the offices in general. It’s going to be fine.”

Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco Systems discusses the impact of COVID on their business strategy considering Q4 earnings and how this will impact their future:

There Are No People In Headquarters Right Now

It doesn’t feel much different today than it did 90 days ago. We have a significant business that is related to corporate headquarter facilities and there are no people in those headquarters right now. So there is a lot of discussion around what does corporate real estate look like? I personally believe that once we get through the vaccine period that people will want to get back to the offices in general. It’s going to be fine.

We are going to use this opportunity to actually shift our investments and prepare for that moment. I think that when we get to the other side of this thing that with the strategy and the portfolio we have we are going to be fine.

Why Webex Didn’t Carry The Day For Us

I heard several comments that are questioning why Webex didn’t carry the day for us today. Webex grew double digits so we had good success with it. But in the context of our almost $50 business, it’s a small percentage. It’s a very small number in that context. We had success, it’s still growing and the teams are doing a great job.

There is a whole lot of innovation that is planned over the coming months for that platform. We’re excited about what’s going on. As we’ve talked about, it is secure and enterprise-grade and that’s where it shines.

There Are No People In Headquarters Right Now, Says Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins

August 13, 2020
Enterprise Connect: Google And Cisco Partner For Chromebook Offerings

Google and Cisco have partnered up to offer Cisco WebEx and Cisco UC on Chromebooks. Rajen Sheth, Googles’s Director of Product Management on Chrome for Business announced the news at Enterprise Connect, where he demonstrated a proof of concept of the WebEx offering.

“We’re also integrating Cisco UC technologies into Google Apps, helping our joint customers work better together,” writes Chrome for Business Product Manager Saswat Panigrahi. “Imagine joining a WebEx meeting directly from Calendar, or starting an instant meeting from Contacts or the Gmail People widget. Starting today, if you use Cisco and Google Apps, features you love, like messaging, fax, click-to-call and Cisco presence, are visible alongside Gmail.”

Google is telling Cisco customers to get in touch with the Google sales team or Google Enterprise sales via this form to see about getting set up.

In case you’re wondering how long Chrome OS for enterprise devices is supported, it’s four years.

Images via Google

March 18, 2014
Exclusive: Cisco Issues Response to SalesCrunch’s $1 Bid for WebEx

As WebProNews previously reported, SalesCrunch has made an offer to Cisco to buy its web conferencing platform WebEx for $1 plus equity. SalesCrunch is primarily after WebEx’s userbase but believes the two companies “make sense.”

Check out our recent interview with SalesCrunch CEO and Founder Sean Black for all the details of the offer:

Although Black and SalesCrunch are confident that talks with Cisco will ensue, the networking giant indicates otherwise. In a statement released to WPN, Cisco said:

“This is a cute publicity stunt from SalesCrunch, and we appreciate that they like our technology, but we have no intention of selling Webex.”

There has been speculation around Cisco killing WebEx after its announcement last year that it would be making cuts and focusing on its core business. The rumors escalated after it cut more than 500 employees and killed both Flip and Umi Telepresence.

However, given Cisco’s response, it doesn’t appear that it has the same plan for WebEx, which is bad news for SalesCrunch.

March 23, 2012
Interview: SalesCrunch to Acquire Cisco’s WebEx for $1 Plus Equity?

This week, online meeting platform SalesCrunch made an offer to buy WebEx from Cisco. What’s interesting about the offer is the fact that it offered Cisco $1 plus a 15 percent stake in the new company.

For a little background information, WebEx is actually the first online meeting platform to be successful. In 2007, Cisco bought WebEx for $3.2 billion in an effort to break into the collaboration space. However, last year, the company said it was making cuts and narrowing its focus to its core business.

Cisco did, in fact, lay off some employees and kill the digital camera company Flip. Also, earlier this year, it dropped Umi Home Telepresence, which had some people wondering if WebEx could be next.

As a result of these developments, SalesCrunch began thinking about an acquisition of WebEx. Sean Black, the CEO and Founder of SalesCrunch, told WebProNews that the companies had talked several months ago but had not reached a deal. Now, in light of the recent events, he thinks the company may be more open to his offer.

“They’re increasingly paying attention to their shareholders and getting back to what is their core business,” he said. “It’s been long questioned that WebEx fit to that core switches and routers’ business – that’s, I think, why the offer makes so much sense.”

Should Cisco sell WebEx for $1 and equity? What do you think?

Black told us that, although WebEx was successful in its prime, the software was very outdated for today’s expectations. In other words, SalesCrunch wants WebEx for its userbase.

According to Black, statements such as this from Morningstar analyst Grady Burkett help provide proof that Cisco should sell:

“What investors would like is to see them more focused on their core market, like routers, switches and data centers, and de-emphasize or even exit some of these consumer businesses.”

In a presentation he created that pitches the offer, Black also cites this statement from Michael Arrington, former founder and co-editor of TechCrunch, when he wrote about Cisco buying WebEx:

“Webex is still ubiquitous (I am asked to view a WebEx presentation almost daily), but it’s expensive and bulky. And if you aren’t on a newish Windows PC, there’s a good chance it isn’t going to work properly. WebEx is exactly the kind of a company that is being disrupted by new web startups, who are creating cheaper and better alternatives to older web applications.”

“[For Cisco,] the WebEx business just makes no sense at all,” said Black.

If Cisco does not accept his offer, he believes it will either kill the service or do nothing and allow it to continue to lose market share. He said both scenarios are bad since they could result in layoffs and, ultimately, a bad user experience.

On the other hand, Black believes a joint company would have a bright future. He told us that the users from WebEx combined with the modern browser-based platform from SalesCrunch that also integrates social networking, analysis, and other necessary elements would make a “really great next generation meeting platform.”

Although Black said he has received a lot of support for the offer, Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners, did raise some skepticism.

“Cash deals draw more serious attention, and this one is for $1. I don’t see them parting with WebEx anytime soon. The company’s clearly restructuring, but WebEx is not one that they have been telegraphing as up for sale.”

Black, however, remains confident that talks with Cisco will begin shortly.

Could SalesCrunch and WebEx provide a better service if they merged? Please comment.

Update: In a response to WebProNews, Cisco issued this statement:

“This is a cute publicity stunt from SalesCrunch, and we appreciate that they like our technology, but we have no intention of selling Webex.”

March 23, 2012