Cisco Cisco WebEx Meeting Center WBS31 Libro bianco

8     TalkingPointz

September 23, 2016

More specifically, Cisco’s video conferencing 
solution set includes:

•  Cisco desktop and room-based video  

conferencing solutions that can be config-
ured to act as WebEx endpoints 

•  A cloud-based video conferencing service 

for up to 1,025 participants that is built in 
with WebEx Meeting Center, formerly known 
as Collaboration Meeting Rooms

•  Strong mobile clients across multiple  

operating systems including MacOS, iOS, 
and Android 

•  Spark, a cloud-based, workstream  

messaging and collaboration platform

Cisco introduced Spark just a few years ago 
as a solution for workstream messaging. Cisco 
Spark initially seemed to overlap many of Cisco’s 
existing solutions and services associated with 
collaboration. It is now clear that Spark will 
be central to Cisco’s Collaboration effort. The 
platform is quickly evolving to include a com-
plete collaboration solution bringing together 
persistent messaging, calling, and conferencing 
with API services for development. Spark also 
includes a new cloud-enabled security model 
that will rival premises-based solutions. It is ex-
pected that WebEx conferencing capabilities will 
converge with Spark into a single experience.

Getting employees to use modern collaboration 
tools should be a critical objective, as these tools 
can drive down costs and improve productivity. 
For these efforts to succeed, adoption is para-
mount – more important than individual features, 
delivery models, scalability, and UI design. 
Successful adoption results from ease of use, a 
beneficial experience, and proven reliability. 

The solutions and services from both Cisco and 
Microsoft appear to have quite a bit in common. 
Solutions from both companies offer: 

• Integrated voice, video, and messaging 
•  A cloud-first model that leverages existing 

solutions with a hybrid model

•  Access from room systems, desktops, and 

mobile devices 

However, the significant differences in adoption 
rates suggest that Cisco’s conferencing solutions, 
such as WebEx, are generally preferred by  
enterprises. Organizations looking to expand 
their strategy for collaboration are advised to 
consider the following: 

•  Go beyond features, and evaluate usability.  

This can include reference checks as well  
as a pilot among selected users. Cloud- 
delivered services are accommodating  
to pilots.

•  Prioritize conferencing.  

It may lack the sizzle of other technologies, 
but conferencing is one of the most basic 
elements of effective collaboration. It is in-
creasingly important as work teams become 
more distributed.