Enabling Smart Hybrid Work Experiences

The WebexOne series highlights a wave of Webex innovation to drive experiences that are 10x better than in-person interactions, help organizations collaborate seamlessly, and transform their employees and customer experiences to power an inclusive future for all.

Empowering the Remote Worker and Enabling a Safe Return to Office

In a time where staying close means keeping our distance, we have seen the world find innovative ways to keep going whereas a global community we have quickly changed from collaboration being simply a tool to it being the connective tissue within an organization’s culture. Going forward, collaboration will include remote participants 98% of the time, so as we reimagine how we work, what if our opportunity for evolution is to collaborate with 10x better experiences than in-person interactions? Enhanced interactions such as real time transcription, AI triggered gestures, and synchronous digital whiteboarding all make this possible at a time when people are already acclimating to new behaviors – truly helping to bridge the gap of where we’ve been to where we’re going. With the new devices announced at WebexONE, together with the rest of Cisco’s intelligent portfolio, we further this journey in providing consistent experiences so that the workplace can truly be wherever you find yourself working.

Redesigning our Desk Portfolio

To that point, collaboration tools at home need to work seamlessly with the ones in the office, and the same is true in reverse. As announced at WebexONE, Cisco now has an unprecedented desk line up by introducing three new devices:

Webex Desk Camera. Packed with the intelligent features you already know from our video portfolio, the Webex Desk Camera is perfect for both the home and the office. And in an industry first that no other USB camera can do, you can now mute and unmute your microphone with a simple gesture—without ever touching your computer. In an ever-evolving workplace, IT needs to be able to support people wherever they are. Like the rest of the Webex Desk portfolio, the Desk Camera is simple to manage via Webex Control Hub. IT can deploy at scale, with inventory management, diagnostics, and the latest software experiences – so you can always make your best impression.

Webex Desk Hub. With the new Webex Desk Hub, it’s super simple to make any available desk your personal space. This new category of device is powerful enough to provide amazing quality video meetings and phone calls but also allows you to pair, charge, and connect all the things you’ve come to rely on for productivity and collaboration such as your own camera, headset, display, laptop and mobile. In addition, Webex Desk Hub lets you reserve a desk using your laptop, badge, or cell phone to authenticate your identity. This is not a basic device for hotdesking as you know it; the Webex Desk Hub is truly built for a new way of working.

Webex Desk. Just like it’s “big sister” the Webex Desk Pro, the 24-inch Webex Desk transforms your experience by enabling you to connect to meetings, co-create and stay productive whether you’re at home or in the office. It is competitively priced for an all-in-one device with intelligent features users want like noise cancellation, virtual backgrounds, and facial recognition. Use it as your primary display and connect to any meetings service. With a high-quality camera, microphone, and speakers, it is super simple to set up, with no IT or technical knowledge required. You can be up and running in minutes.

All these devices have access to simple management and rich workplace analytics from Webex Control Hub providing things like real-time environmental data, occupancy, and desk usage to help manage wherever you work. This also includes access to Workspaces. Use ‘workspaces’ to provide richer insight into your meeting spaces, ensuring the best collaboration experiences at work and at home – perfect for the hybrid workplace.

The Tough Smartphone Built for Frontline Workers

We all rely on essential workers to help us get on with our daily lives – they make sure the supermarkets are stocked so we can feed our families, help us when we are sick, and simply makes society go around. And they too deserve the latest technology. That’s why I am super excited to introduce the Cisco Webex Wireless Phone, a wireless phone designed to handle the most demanding workstyles. With its ruggedized surface, the Webex Wireless Phone can handle just about anything. If that’s not enough, it integrates with the world’s more secure calling apps. You wouldn’t really expect anything less from Webex, would you?

The Webex Open Platform – Introducing the Webex Technology Ecosystem

Our open ecosystem allows our vendor partners to create integrations to the Webex Platform to solve customer use-cases. For Webex Devices, we are now ensuring that they deliver the best meeting experience through our new Webex Technology Ecosystem program. With two tiers of certification, Webex Compatible (baseline tier) and Webex Certified (strategic tier), it gives our customers peace of mind that they are getting a premium experience, while partners get access to joint marketing initiatives and engineering support.

For example, one of the benefits is our integration and certification of Appspace, a market-leading workplace experience vendor. Through integration, we can further unify teams by enabling tools for corporate communications, enhanced workplace management, and digital signage for a more advanced return to office experience. Simply put, at a time where change can be stressful, Cisco Webex and Webex Devices connect us using an open hardware and software platform to help solve your meeting headaches and provide you with the best experience possible.

Going Beyond Connecting People With Technology

And the best possible experience comes from empathetic design. Embedded in every device and all the software we develop is a desire for people to thrive when faced with distance. We are a global village where collaboration connects us, and technology keeps us face to face. And with Cisco Webex and Webex Devices, we are now going beyond just connecting people with technology to helping create bonds, foster culture, and humanize collaboration. As a global village, we must be empowered to create 10x better experiences than in-person interactions. With the announcements yesterday, I’m thrilled that we are doing just that.