The News: At ISE 2023, Webex by Cisco unveiled new innovations in audio interoperability and AI designed to meet the needs of hybrid workers and ensure organizations are poised for growth within the hybrid work environment. Read more in Cisco’s Press Release here.
At ISE 2023, Webex by Cisco’s Announcements Centered on Enhancing the Hybrid Work Experience with Audio AI Innovations
Analyst Take: Last week at ISE 2023, Webex by Cisco unveiled new innovations in audio interoperability and AI to meet the needs of hybrid workers and ensure organizations are poised for growth within the hybrid work environment. Webex showcased its new range of collaboration devices for Microsoft Teams and unveiled the new Cisco Table Microphone Pro, a digital and multi-directional table microphone for hybrid workspaces, along with audio interoperability advancements. As we’ve seen from Cisco over the course of the past several years, the company continues to iterate and innovate to meet the needs of hybrid workers, delivering more inclusivity and choice for meetings, while also focusing on improving the manageability, configuration, and security required by IT. Audio intelligence capabilities and software that features interoperability, flexibility, and security is exactly what today’s work from anywhere, and from any device hybrid workplace demands.
The new collaboration devices and interoperability features Webex announced at ISE 2023 include:
- Microsoft Teams Rooms Availability: Cisco is the first vendor to offer devices with Microsoft Teams Rooms as the default experience with support to join Webex meetings with all the features and functionality customers enjoy today – without rebooting or reconfiguration by IT. The industry-first solution, a partnership with Microsoft, is now available in beta for enterprise customers and partners. The first group of devices are expected to be certified and available March 2023.
- New Cisco Table Microphone Pro: The new Table Microphone Pro is a digital and multi-directional table microphone for hybrid workspaces featuring embedded AI technology that intelligently picks up voices in meeting rooms and enables a spatial, true-to-life audio experience for remote meeting attendees. The Cisco Table Microphone Pro is generally available today for customers using the Cisco Room Kit EQ, Cisco Room Kit Pro, and Cisco Room Panorama. Additionally, it will support Cisco Room and Board Devices which are expected for certification for Microsoft Teams Rooms in March 2023.
- Enhanced Audio Interoperability: The enhanced audio interoperability extends video and device interoperability to enable frictionless, IP-based integration with third-party audio systems. This innovation brings robust support for the AES67 standard for reliable, low-latency audio interoperability, offering customers a cost-optimized and flexible integration with Cisco collaboration bars, room kits, and integrated room system.
Wrapping up, the collaboration wars are intense, and serving up interoperability between audio and AI powered functionality are solutions that resonate with users and IT teams alike. And for IT, improving the manageability, configuration, and security they require is always welcome news.
As someone who leads a 100% virtual team, I can say with confidence that remote workers are all in when it comes to solutions that deliver on the inclusivity front, and a focus on continually improving audio experiences and making collaboration with coworkers and clients more seamless and productive is key. Cisco’s announcements coming out of ISE 2023 showcase Webex’s commitment to innovation and continually improving the hybrid work experience as well as delivering solutions, functionality, and security that IT leaders require.
Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.
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Author Information
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years' experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging development, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly's coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”
