Cisco Puts Collaboration in Context with New Application and Mobile Device Integration Capabilities

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 30, 2009 - Cisco today announced enhancements to the company's Unified Communications system that enable mobile access, improve video collaboration and extend interoperability across applications and devices such as Cisco WebEx® Connect, Cisco TelePresence^TM, Microsoft Office Communicator and the Apple iPhone. For businesses, the new Cisco® Unified Communications solutions streamline workflows, optimize collaboration and accelerate decision making. For all customers, the solutions enable collaboration anywhere, on any device and any network.

Today's news builds on the Cisco collaboration portfolio announcement in September, when Cisco entered the $34 billion collaboration market. The Cisco collaboration portfolio comprises unified communications, Cisco TelePresence and Web 2.0 applications built on an open, interoperable architecture that enables people to connect, communicate and collaborate in any workspace.

Facts/Highlights:

Cisco Unified Communications Desktop Integration: A new extensible unified client services framework exposes Cisco Unified Communications services, including softphone with mid-call control features, messaging, conferencing, desk phone control, and phone presence, and allows them to be integrated within desktop applications. These services enable users to access Cisco communications capabilities within the context of a business process.

Cisco Unified Communications Integration^TM for Cisco WebEx Connect: By integrating WebEx Connect, the Cisco Web 2.0 collaboration application, with Cisco Unified Communications capabilities, Cisco provides a seamless experience for customers. This integration combines the flexibility of a cloud-based service with the comprehensive capabilities of Cisco's on-premises Unified Communications solutions.

Cisco Unified Communications Integration^TM for Microsoft Office Communicator: This integration illustrates the openness of the new client services framework and allows customers to access simplified and highly secure call control features and other Cisco Unified Communications services. Cisco currently offers similar integration with IBM Lotus Sametime.

Cisco WebEx Meeting Center with Cisco Unified Video Conferencing: With "any to any" video interoperability, Cisco WebEx Meeting Center meetings with Cisco Unified Video Conferencing provide advanced video capabilities for WebEx that enable an experience close to an actual in-person interaction. Any device that can connect to a Cisco Unified Video Conferencing multipoint control unit can now be deployed in a Meeting Center meeting to support immersive experiences such as those enabled by Cisco TelePresence as well as by video conferencing and desktop collaboration applications. The solution increases the number of viewable attendees to 16, lets customers display high-definition video, and adds video controls.

Cisco Mobile Supervisor for Apple iPhone: With Mobile Supervisor for Cisco Unified Contact Center Express, contact center supervisors can receive real-time reports, notices and performance metrics on an Apple iPhone or iPod touch device. Cisco Mobile Supervisor allows users to stay on top of contact center operations while on the move to quickly analyze and respond to situation changes and issues. The new Cisco Unified Contact Center Express client is a download available today via the Apple iTunes store.

One Button to Cisco WebEx Meeting Center from a Cisco Unified IP Phone: Cisco Unified IP Phone users can instantly escalate to a WebEx Meeting Center or Training Center meeting on the desktop with the press of a single button on a Cisco Unified IP Phone. The integration is possible through the Cisco Unified Application Environment, an innovative development platform for easily integrating Web 2.0 applications and communications applications.

In related news, Cisco enhanced its collaboration portfolio with significant announcements around Cisco TelePresence. The news includes a Cisco TelePresence experience for multipurpose rooms and applications designed to make immersive video collaboration accessible by everyone, everywhere. More information on this collaboration portfolio announcement can be found here.

Supporting Quotes:

"Cisco Unified Communications Integration for Microsoft Office Communicator aligns with our strategic objective of leveraging technology to improve customer service while simplifying our IT operations. This simple desktop integration is expected to enhance lawyer productivity by enabling them to operate their Cisco phone from within the instant messaging and other desktop applications they already use," said Phillip Rightler, chief information officer, Thompson Coburn LLP. "From the various alternatives we evaluated, this solution provides the most reliable method for providing call control from the desktop, while enhancing our investment and reducing the complexity of the system."

"BT and Cisco have a long-standing and successful relationship in the area of Unified Communications," said Steve Masters, global head of Unified Communications, BT Global Services. "Cisco Unified Communications Integration for Microsoft Office Communicator delivers proven and trusted Cisco voice capabilities, already deployed to many BT customers, through a seamless integration with a user's existing instant messaging desktop client. This integration allows BT to deliver a fully integrated unified communications experience in a controllable, scalable way, whilst preserving the desktop user experience."

"Cisco is delivering a differentiated architectural approach to unified communications and collaboration that allows customers to integrate and interoperate with Cisco solutions, homegrown business applications and third-party products," said Laurent Philonenko, vice president and general manager, Cisco Unified Communications business unit. "By delivering an 'any to any' platform, Cisco gives customers flexibility in how they transform communication and collaboration in any workspace, whether that workspace is a mobile device, contact center environment, desktop client or Cisco Unified IP Phone."

Tags / Keywords:

Cisco, collaboration, unified communications, TelePresence, contact center, Microsoft, video conferencing, interoperability, video collaboration, video, innovation, business productivity