Cisco introduced new features for its collaboration solution, Webex Suite, geared towards helping businesses grow as they embrace the hybrid work environment.
A study conducted by Cisco showed that in the hybrid form of work, 98% of meetings will have participants who will not be in the same physical location or will attend their meetings remotely.
“At the core of what we do at Cisco, is our drive to deliver innovations in technology that can create pathways to economic prosperity for all, continue to connect the unconnected, and bring the ecosystem around our business along with us to a future that is inclusive, where no one is left behind,” said Karrie Ilagan, managing director of Cisco Philippines.
The survey also indicated that 95% of Filipino workers want more choices in terms of where do they work from even when the pandemic is over. This scenario signifies that people can work together while not being physically together, and there is a strong feeling of trust from their leaders even they are not physically together.
With Webex Suite, this setup is already happening in the Philippines. The Department of Health has already logged over 2-million minutes in meetings and consultations as of last year, and the Senate of the Philippines conducts 7-hour sessions over Webex on a daily basis. In the private sector, institutions like the International Center for Beginning Beginners opted to conduct online classes over Webex to ensure the security and safety of their preschool students.
Ilagan noted that with Webex Suite, everyone has a seat at the table, everyone’s voice can be heard, and it’s a platform where discussions are made equitable.
”In the last six months, we have added 800 new features and devices to Webex all geared towards creating the most flexible and inclusive user experience for businesses who are looking to be more inclusive in their hybrid work approach and for people who continue to work from anywhere ,” said Hariharan S, Managing Director, Software, Cloud and Collaboration, Cisco APJC. “The all-new Webex Suite ensures everyone in a hybrid workforce has equal opportunity and voice.”
Additional features of Webex Suite include the following:
- Increased Value: The all-new Webex Suite is the industry’s first suite for hybrid work to combine meetings, calling, messaging, polling and events in one offering for up to 40% less than a-la-carte. The new Webex identity and logo unveiled earlier this month were reinvented to reflect the powerful purpose and value Webex brings to the market, its customers and people’s lives.
- End-to-End Events: A complete events execution and management platform necessary in the next era of hybrid events. Full capabilities of the industry’s first end-to-end event experience at scale will become available upon completion of Cisco’s Socio acquisition.
- Audience Interaction Tools: Polling, quizzes, Q&A and more powered by Slido, is the industry’s first audience engagement solution to be integrated across all collaboration experiences. Polling is available now in Meetings and will be coming soon to Events.
- Speech Intelligence: Building upon Webex’s market-leading noise removal and speech enhancement capabilities, users will have the new ability of speech optimization for remote and shared workspaces through My Voice Only to eliminate background noise, including speech from people in the background, and solely focus on the main speaker’s speech. My Voice Only will be available worldwide in August 2021.
- Camera Intelligence: People Focus, announced earlier this year, is coming to Webex in 2021. People Focus uses machine learning and AI technology to individually re-frame meeting participants who are spread across a meeting room allowing remote participants to feel more connected and everyone in the meeting to benefit from seeing body language, facial expressions and more.
- Next-level Devices: The Webex Desk provides a powerful all-in-one collaboration device designed for the desk at work or home. Immersive collaboration experiences are also available with modern touch interactions via RoomOS that connects workflows with less context switching, as well as Webex Assistant Skills platform that opens up of universe of voice-powered extensions to seamlessly and easily integrate more controls, content and applications for Webex Devices.
