Cisco Cisco WebEx Meeting Center WBS29.8 White Paper
3 TalkingPointz
September 23, 2016
capabilities, and supportability – but adoption
is often assumed. It’s unfortunate, because the
financial, productivity, and opportunity costs
associated with poorly adopted technology can
be staggering.
is often assumed. It’s unfortunate, because the
financial, productivity, and opportunity costs
associated with poorly adopted technology can
be staggering.
From a business perspective, it is often difficult
to determine which collaboration technology is
best, is most likely to be used widely, and has
the most staying power. Making capital invest-
ments in collaboration and conferencing solu-
tions is not trivial. A web and video conferencing
provider entails more than a long list of features
and technical capabilities. It’s an extension of
the work environment that should
include participants in differ-
ent locations, regions, and
even companies.
to determine which collaboration technology is
best, is most likely to be used widely, and has
the most staying power. Making capital invest-
ments in collaboration and conferencing solu-
tions is not trivial. A web and video conferencing
provider entails more than a long list of features
and technical capabilities. It’s an extension of
the work environment that should
include participants in differ-
ent locations, regions, and
even companies.
Web and video conferencing
are intuitive ways for em-
ployees to communicate and
collaborate, but don’t assume
they will adopt these forms of
collaboration automatically. End users’ require-
ments are changing rapidly with increased
familiarity, experience, and more capable mobile
devices. As just one example, participation
from a remote, wireless mobile device was not
practical just a few years ago, whereas now it is
becoming commonplace.
are intuitive ways for em-
ployees to communicate and
collaborate, but don’t assume
they will adopt these forms of
collaboration automatically. End users’ require-
ments are changing rapidly with increased
familiarity, experience, and more capable mobile
devices. As just one example, participation
from a remote, wireless mobile device was not
practical just a few years ago, whereas now it is
becoming commonplace.
Collaboration technologies are evolving quickly,
too, which means that cloud services offer an
inherent advantage with regard to upgrades.
The use of cloud technologies for collaboration
too, which means that cloud services offer an
inherent advantage with regard to upgrades.
The use of cloud technologies for collaboration
has reduced the risk of adoption by eliminating
or lowering long-term capital investments. While
this decreases financial risk, it does little to as-
sure adoption. The lower financial bar, however,
makes it easier to evaluate cloud services. Or-
ganizations should consider piloting new cloud-
based technologies to gauge adoption success
before moving forward with full implementation.
or lowering long-term capital investments. While
this decreases financial risk, it does little to as-
sure adoption. The lower financial bar, however,
makes it easier to evaluate cloud services. Or-
ganizations should consider piloting new cloud-
based technologies to gauge adoption success
before moving forward with full implementation.
Conferencing from
Cisco and Microsoft
Both Cisco and Microsoft offer enterprise
conferencing solutions.
conferencing solutions.
Cisco’s core conferencing solu-
tion is WebEx, which includes
Telepresence for video confer-
encing and Unified Communi-
cations Manager for UC. Cisco
is currently integrating these
solutions into Cisco Spark.
tion is WebEx, which includes
Telepresence for video confer-
encing and Unified Communi-
cations Manager for UC. Cisco
is currently integrating these
solutions into Cisco Spark.
Microsoft’s core solution is
Skype for Business, which
Skype for Business, which
includes elements of Exchange, Yammer, and the
Office productivity suite. Microsoft is in the pro-
cess of converging many of these point products
into its cloud-based Office 365 service.
Office productivity suite. Microsoft is in the pro-
cess of converging many of these point products
into its cloud-based Office 365 service.
Cisco is the dominant provider of web and
video conferencing services. According to
Synergy Research Group, Cisco commands more
than 53% of the market.
video conferencing services. According to
Synergy Research Group, Cisco commands more
than 53% of the market.
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This large customer
base reflects the degree to which enterprises have
come to rely on WebEx for conferencing, both
internally among geographically dispersed
come to rely on WebEx for conferencing, both
internally among geographically dispersed