SAN JOSE, Calif., March 30, 2009 - Cisco today introduced a new suite of Cisco TelePresence^TM products and applications that brings the power of in-person collaboration to more users in more locations, and provides businesses with a way to do more with existing video investments. Global organizations of all sizes, regional branch offices and remote workers will now be able to experience Cisco TelePresence from any conference room environment, standards-based video conferencing session or Web-based video session, including Cisco WebEx^TM online meetings. Supporting this market expansion, Cisco is also delivering Cisco TelePresence for lower bandwidth connections without compromising the high-quality experience.

Cisco TelePresence was initially delivered as an immersive virtual meeting experience to improve collaboration, accelerate decision making, implement green strategies, and reduce travel expenses. Today, Cisco introduced two new applications that take Cisco TelePresence far beyond meetings. The first application transforms rooms into high-definition recording studios with simple one-button-to-push controls to create and publish content. The second application makes it easier for event managers to produce via Cisco TelePresence large-scale events, such as company meetings, seminars or keynote addresses. This new suite of Cisco TelePresence products and applications broadens video capabilities across the Cisco collaboration portfolio.

In a new study conducted by Crimson Consulting Group, global companies reported fast return on investment (ROI) times and transformed business processes from Cisco TelePresence. Participants in the Cisco-commissioned study reported achieving breakeven in an average of 14 months, with some companies achieving breakeven within six months - enabling one company to fund additional units solely from travel budget savings without tapping the IT budget. The ability to conduct real-time, face-to-face meetings over the network is changing the way companies do business across many industries, helping them streamline processes, make decisions faster, and conduct more business without leaving the office.

Facts/Highlights:

• Cisco is delivering Cisco TelePresence technology to more users and organizations with:

• Cisco TelePresence System 1300 Series: The first Cisco TelePresence system designed for up to six people in a shared-use meeting room uses one screen and three cameras. The Cisco TelePresence system 1300-65 uses a 65-inch plasma screen and is the first in a new series of products that takes advantage of existing conference room tables, providing more flexible deployment options for branch offices and businesses of all sizes.
• Cisco TelePresence Extended Reach: Cisco TelePresence can now run over bandwidth connections as low as 1.5 megabits per second (T1) in 720p resolution with quality of service (QoS) while preserving the Cisco TelePresence experience. Extended Reach also supports Cisco TelePresence over open Internet connections, such as high-speed FIOS or DOCSIS connections. This capability adds to the existing immersive experience of Cisco TelePresence at 1080p or 720p resolutions.

• Cisco is expanding the application of Cisco TelePresence beyond meetings with:

• Cisco TelePresence Recording Studio: Cisco TelePresence customers now have a quick and easy way to create high-quality video messages or record presentations for instant, highly secure playback on Cisco TelePresence units in 1080p HD quality. In conjunction with Cisco's recently announced Media Experience Engine, users can also view Cisco TelePresence recordings at standard resolution on many other video-enabled devices, such as a PC, mobile phone or digital sign.
• Cisco TelePresence Event Controls: This new application provides event managers with new tools they can use to produce internal and external Cisco TelePresence events. With a set of simple and powerful controls, event managers can create and host high-quality and cost-effective internal or external events in standard Cisco TelePresence rooms including presentations, keynotes, lectures and seminars.

• Cisco is helping enable seamless "any to any" video collaboration with:

• High definition interoperability: Cisco TelePresence meetings can include video from any standards-based high-definition videoconferencing system as well as standard-definition video conferencing, WebEx and other desktop video applications like Microsoft Office Communicator. This provides organizations with the ability to scale collaboration, take advantage of existing resources, and continue to provide a simple, immersive experience to Cisco TelePresence users.
• Cisco WebEx integration: With "any-to-any" video interoperability, Cisco WebEx Meeting Center meetings with Cisco Unified Video Conferencing provides advanced video capabilities for WebEx® that enable more of an in-person experience. Any device that can connect to a Cisco Unified Video Conferencing multipoint control unit (MCU) can now be displayed in a Meeting Center meeting, including immersive experiences such as Cisco TelePresence as well as videoconferencing and desktop collaboration applications. The solution increases the number of viewable attendees to 16, lets you display high-definition video and adds video controls.

All of these new features take advantage of the underlying system components, the power of the underlying network and intercompany Cisco TelePresence capabilities, bringing to reality the strategy of creating a global interconnected Cisco TelePresence network.

Sharing this vision, AT&T recently announced that BAE Systems, a leading global defense and aerospace contractor, is enhancing international collaboration and productivity with the AT&T Telepresence Solution. For more details on this announcement, go to:
http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=26662

Organizations around the world are increasingly looking to video applications, such as Cisco TelePresence, desktop video, digital signage and video surveillance, to improve collaboration, safety and security, get closer to customers, and transfer knowledge. As such video applications emerge as the primary data type on the network, businesses will need to evolve their infrastructure into medianets to optimize these networks to support and enhance the use of rich media.

In order to continue to broaden the availability of Cisco TelePresence while enabling companies to conserve capital resources, Cisco CapitalSM offers special financing that allows enterprise and mid-size customers to acquire Cisco TelePresence with no payments and no interest up to 120 days, during solution deployment in the United States and Canada.

Cisco TelePresence is Cisco's fastest-growing new product category, with more than 300 customers and 2,000 systems deployed worldwide. Cisco has also installed more than 400 Cisco TelePresence rooms on its own internal network for greater productivity and effective collaboration.

In a related release, Cisco also unveiled several enhancements to its Unified Communications system that offer integration with desktop applications. For more information on this Cisco collaboration portfolio announcement, go to http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2009/prod_033109b.html.

Supporting Quotes:

• Michael Keithley, Chief Information Officer, Creative Artists Agency

"One of the best aspects of Cisco TelePresence at Creative Artists Agency is that the most technologically advanced room is also the easiest to operate. This ease of use is the key to its rapid adoption and ongoing use. Agents are able to connect with their colleagues and clients on the other coast at a moment's notice with a simple touch of a button, to the tune of almost 100 meetings a month. Cisco TelePresence has revolutionized the way we communicate between our offices, beginning with New York and Los Angeles."

• Charles Stucki, vice president and general manager, TelePresence Systems Business Unit, Cisco

"Cisco is reinventing how users can experience Cisco TelePresence and how companies can change the way they do business by collaborating in an entirely new way. From in-person meetings with seamless interoperability, to high-quality broadcast recording, to sophisticated events, this next wave of collaborative applications substantially expands what Cisco TelePresence can enable, making it even more useful and flexible for everyone in every company."

Upcoming Webcast:

Hear more about new Cisco TelePresence products and applications during a webcast with Cisco executives.

Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Time: 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET

Register: For more information and to register for the event, go to: www.cisco.com/offer/telepresence/web/175483_4

Supporting Resources:

• Cisco TelePresence ROI Research
• Cisco Web Site
• Cisco TelePresence
• Cisco TelePresence Public Suites

Images:

• Cisco TelePresence System 500
• Cisco TelePresence System 1000
• Cisco TelePresence System 3000
• Cisco TelePresence System 3200

Recent Announcements:

• Cisco Puts Collaboration in Context with New Application and Mobile Device Integration Capabilities
• AT&T Extends Value of its TelePresence Solution to Companies' Existing Videoconferencing Systems
• BAE Systems to enhance global collaboration with AT&T Telepresence solution
• Cisco Introduces Personal TelePresence

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