The News: This last week in Barcelona all eyes were on the annual Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2023 event — and Cisco did not disappoint. 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. See more details on the ISC related announcements from Cisco here.
Cisco at ISE 2023: Multiple Webex Announcements Around Advancing the Hybrid Work Experience With Audio AI Innovations
Analyst Take: At ISE 2023 in Barcelona this week, 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. Webex by Cisco 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.
I like seeing the team at Cisco continue to innovate and evolve, working to meet the needs of hybrid workers and developing solutions designed to serve up greater inclusivity and choice, both of which play a big role in the success of team collaboration efforts. I’ll take this a step further and note that while inclusivity and choice during meetings/collaboration is important, these kinds of decisions from a solution standpoint go a long way toward speaking to the overall corporate culture within an organization and showcasing in a very real way how important inclusivity and choice are at the leadership levels within organizations
The innovations showcased by Cisco at ISE 2023 not only meet the needs of hybrid workers, delivering more inclusivity and choice for meetings, they also clearly are designed to help improve the manageability, configuration, and security required by IT — and that’s another win.
Cisco’s strategy here is to deliver exceptional and inclusive experiences, and feature AI-powered intelligence and software that makes it possible for employee experiences and collaboration to not be defined by platform, device, or location.
The new collaboration devices and interoperability features Webex by Cisco announced at ISE 2023 include:
- Microsoft Teams Rooms Availability: Interoperability is so key these days, and Cisco is the first vendor to offer devices with Microsoft Teams Rooms as the default experience, offering support to join Webex meetings with all the features and functionality customers enjoy today – without rebooting or reconfiguration by IT. Such a big win for users here. 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: Also exciting is the new Cisco Table Microphone Pro device. This 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. I’m very much looking forward to trying this out, as better audio experiences, even for those of us working remotely, make all the difference when it comes to productive meetings.
- Enhanced Audio Interoperability: Cisco has extended 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. Again, we see interoperability playing a key role here which is exactly what users, and their companies, want. I’m excited to see this and it’s a smart move by Cisco.
Wrapping up, this is great news from Cisco out of this year’s ISE 2023 event. Hybrid work is here to stay and I see Cisco’s continued push to innovate, facilitate interoperability as often as possible, and leverage AI to level up remote meeting/conferencing capabilities with true-to-life video and audio as smart, strategic moves.
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.”
