I used to hate meetings. But we all know meetings are critical to running a business. They are basically the operating engine of a company. Meetings are just how people get work done… even though they are often boring and occasionally painful.
Which is why I love WebEx. With WebEx, meetings are better: simpler, easier to run, and more personal. Because of WebEx, my work life is easier. It allows me to run my business wherever I am, whether in my home office, at headquarters, or halfway around the world meeting with customers. And it allows me to connect personally through the power of video.
With the latest WebEx releases, we’ve made meetings even simpler and more personal. You now have a new place to start your meeting: a virtual, personal meeting room that feels like your physical office. We made it look like a real room, from pictures on your “wall,” to a desk, and a virtual beverage of choice. We made the Start Meeting button bigger so you can’t miss it. And we further optimized the time to join a meeting, down from 20+ seconds to less than 5 seconds.
This WebEx has a modern, interactive design with avatars for all participants. No more interchangeable gray blobs. We aligned the icons with our portfolio. We created a fluid, flexible, responsive layout that lets you have your WebEx meeting how you want it; maximize shared content or show video only. Everything about this update is faster. And the design is more beautiful than ever.
I could go on and on, but my real point is the video.
Do you know how many times I hear “What?! WebEx has video?”
Hard to believe! But in fact, many people don’t know video is an integral part of the WebEx client. It’s high-quality and we’ve offered it for more than eight years. Others know it’s there, but don’t realize that video is the best way to have a great meeting: to build trust, gain context, and get work done. At the end of the day, not everyone uses video.
This may be in part because, frankly, we used to charge extra for video conferencing. Our bad. If we want people to experience the power of video, and how it can improve meetings and the way you run your business, we have to change the paradigm.
So we’ve put video “back” into web conferencing. As of May 2nd, anyone can use video in WebEx – from within WebEx, a telepresence system, Microsoft Lync, anything. Because all video in WebEx is now available to anyone with a WebEx subscription. Anyone.
I believe in the power of video. And I want everyone to have the delightful experience of joining a WebEx meeting from a video system (preferably a Cisco one!). So let me reiterate:
WebEx includes video conferencing from any standards-based video-enabled device, including mobile, desktop endpoint, soft-client, or room-based video systems, and Microsoft Lync / Skype for Business clients at NO additional charge.
Seriously.
Everyone can have the same conferencing experience with integrated voice, video, and content sharing. You no longer need to be concerned about separate video and web conferencing. Or think about what type of meeting to have or which one will require video interoperability. It’s just one meeting. Simple. Easy. Personal.
And my favorite new innovation? We’ve added a “video dial-back” feature. Simple: have WebEx call you. It works with any video system – both on-premises and in the cloud – and makes joining meetings pretty simple. No one else in the industry can do this. No one.
Now do you see why I love WebEx? At Cisco, we have built the world’s best video systems, the best endpoints, and the best web conferencing, integrated to create one amazing experience. All powered by the world’s best infrastructure.
Get more details about the latest WebEx features.
I know, I work @Cisco, so you probably think I’m bias…I am… I LOVE WebEx. As a remote employee, WebEx video allows me to be in the room with everyone, all around the world. It is funny, when I turn on my video, others feel comfortable to turn on their video…once everyone’s video is on it is like you unleash this powerful positivity and creativity. It is really a powerful tool. (And the dial-back feature is the BEST!) When WebEx and telepresence combine…TOTALLY AWESOME! #NeverBetter
(True Story: Last week I had to show my mom how to turn the volume up on her Smartphone…so I launched a WebEx with video, she joined – without issue…someone that didn’t know how to turn up the volume on her smart phone, was able to join a WebEx w/video…and I was able to show her how!)
Yes but when TP system with webex on premise ?
We also love webex on premise and cisco video but we would like to use it together.
One of the things I like about the new WebEx is the call back feature where it calls my VC room or even my DX80 at my desk.
This makes it so easy to use my Video end point seamlessly in the WebEx session.
Great article! The future is now. Can’t wait to see more in the Collaboration space here at Cisco…
That’s big news and a bold move Jens! WebEx CMR for the masses. Our Cyviz meeting room customers are going to love this…ability to connect easily to WebEx CMR video bridge in the cloud.
It’s after May 2nd and if I set up a meeting on a host account that doesn’t have the CMR checkbox “checked” on the user details page, I don’t even get a video address to call in to with an SX80, SX20, SX10, etc. If I do check the box, it eats up one of my CMR licenses.
So I’m not seeing the results of this free video as of yet on our telepresence systems.
CMR Cloud is a separate license that your sales partner will need to add – one for each MC license. The site admin can then assign the CMR license to a user or all users. As an existing customer, you’ll need to work with your sales partner to enable CMR for everyone.
I am our site admin. By “work with” my sales partner, I assume you mean buy additional licensing (which would mean it’s not free)? If not, please let me know and I’ll refer our partner to this blog and ask them to sort it out. Last June I had to buy CMR licenses to support the SX series of video conference phones in Webex, and my contract is due for renewal next month. It would be great if I could cut those items off my bill.
Very cool. Just used WebEx and connected to a DX80 yesterday. Loved the film strip to show all participants just like our immersive systems. Love the new WebEx!