Cisco announces new partnerships and updates to Webex suite

California-based digital communications technology company Cisco made a number of announcements at its annual collaboration conference, WebexOne 2022, including unveiling updates to the Webex suite and partnerships with Microsoft and Apple. With these innovations, Cisco seeks to enhance the hybrid workspace and adapt to people’s different working needs and styles.

“Hybrid work is both different and harder than how we worked before. Regardless of job function – frontline worker, knowledge worker, IT admin, or contact center agent – people expect and deserve an amazing experience no matter where or how they work,” said Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager of Cisco Security and Collaboration.

New features and updates to Webex Suite

1. Cisco Room Kit EQ – is a new collaboration device, powered by Cisco Codec EQ and designed for large workspaces to enable true-to-life meeting experiences and foster an inclusive hybrid work model
2. Hybrid Workspace Blueprint – Encompassing Cisco’s Smart Building Solutions, this new solution seeks to help customers design advanced hybrid workspaces. It supports triple screens, offers embedded camera, automatic noise cancellation, and the option to switch to bring your own device (BYOD) to facilitate collaboration
3. Whiteboard App – Workers can benefit from a whiteboarding experience, start or join a whiteboard and work together, wherever they are, from a browser, the Webex App, or a Cisco device. Whiteboards can be combined with Slido polls, saved, and shared in a Webex space for asynchronous ideation.
4. Asynchronous video – New AI-powered editing capability added to Cisco’s video messaging tool, Vidcast to facilitate content polishing. And a new integration with interaction app Slido incorporates polling and audience engagement into shared video content.
5. Calling innovations – A new integration enables users to make Webex calls in Microsoft Teams. Group Call Management is now available for Webex Calling to allow businesses to activate informal call center services, upgrade customer calling experience, measure performance and so forth
6. Hybrid Events – A new lobby experience and production tools have been added to Webex Webinars to support customizations such as agendas, sponsors and more. Stage Manager allows hosts to add custom branding and personalizations, and integration with NewTek Network Device Interface (NDI), an interconnected production workflow that allows multiple video systems to identify and communicate with one another over IP, gives event production teams a new tool for professional broadcasts. 
7. Audio Watermarking – Tags audio streams to every participant in a confidential meeting with a marker that cannot be heard by the human ear. This new feature seeks to allow organizations in a hybrid setting to protect intellectual property.
8. Webex Control Hub – Now integrated with Cisco Spaces to offer employees real-time data to improve performance and drive efficiency.
9. IT Digital Coach – The Control Hub as a Coach capability seeks to eliminate the complexity of improving hybrid work experiences, guide admins to establish best practices and create greater efficiency for managing and supporting workers.

Partnerships

1. Microsoft – enabling the Microsoft Teams Rooms experience on Cisco’s collaboration devices.
2. Apple – iPhone and iPad users can now share content from the rear and front-facing cameras via the Webex Meetings app and annotate what they are seeing with Mobile Camera Share.