The networking vendor is extending its Jabber UC platform to iPads and Windows systems, while offering a newly designed TelePresence solution.
Cisco Systems
is continuing to make its vast collaboration portfolio more like a single
platform that enables users to leverage everything from a room-based
TelePresence solution to a unified communications application on a tablet.
At the
Enterprise Connect 2012 show March 27 in Orlando, Fla., Cisco officials
unveiled the latest addition to its TelePresence video collaboration lineup and
announced that it is bringing its Jabber UC platform to Apples popular iPad
and to Windows-based devices. Its part of a larger push by the networking
giant to expand collaboration beyond the desktop, according to Michael Smith,
director of marketing for Ciscos collaboration software applications.
We are in a
post-PC world, Smith told
eWEEK, adding that collaboration in todays business world is more dynamic
and more ad hoc than in the past, and thus needs to be done on everything from
immersive solutions in boardrooms to mobile devices like tablets and
smartphones.
And it needs
to be more than just communications between people, he said. Users need to be
able to show and edit documents, use whiteboard features and communicate
through multiple avenues, from video to audio to instant messaging (IM).
Smith pointed
to numerous drivers of these demands. Ninety percent of companies are preparing
for the current
bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend, with
employees looking to use a growing variety of consumer deviceslike tablets and
smartphonesat work. At the same time, smartphones and tablets are increasing
in popularity, as is social software; 65 percent of businesses are deploying or
looking to deploy some sort of social software tool, he said.
The growth of
video, virtualization and cloud computing also is fueling the new demands on
collaboration technology.
At the show,
Cisco is announcing that its Jabber UC platformwhich includes everything, from
IM, presence and desktop sharing to video, voice and voice mailwill soon be
available on the iPad and on Windows devices. Jabber currently runs on devices
with Googles Android operating system, as well as Apples iOS and Mac, Research
In Motion's BlackBerry and Ciscos Cius business tablet.
At the same
time, Cisco is growing the integration between Jabber and TelePresence, making
it easier for users to connect into TelePresence video sessions in the office
or through their mobile devices.
Both the
Jabber for iPad and for Windows use such standards as Extensible Messaging and
Presence Protocol (XMPP) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and give users
a full collaboration experience, according to Smith. They also can be deployed
on-premise or in the cloud. Jabber for iPad and Jabber for Windows are both
expected to be available in the second quarter, and will be included as part of
Ciscos Unified Workspace licensing.
With the BYOD
trend, the new Jabber offerings really round out our portfolio of tools we can
offer everyone to collaborate where they want and when they want, Smith said.
Cisco also is
introducing a new offering to its six-year-old TelePresence family. The newly
designed three-screen TX9000 offers better ways not only to collaborate in a
conference room, but also better enables people with other endpoints to
participate.
The
enhancements include better integration with Ciscos WebEx online meeting
technology, including the ability to schedule and start integrated WebEx and
TelePresence meetings with a single push of a button, and to add WebEx in an ad
hoc fashion to any TelePresence meeting using Ciscos TelePresence Touch
interface.
There also is
a new, sleek design for TelePresence itself, according to Smith. Theres a more
modern look, new cameras enable better eye contact among participants and blend
better into the system design, and the TX9000 can accommodate six users. In
addition, the TX9200 comes with a second table that can seat up to 18 people.
The system
also supports 1080p, 60 frames per second, while data sharing features support
1080p, 30 fps. In addition, the TX9000 offers new collaboration capabilities
like being able to put content on the main TelePresence screens, pointing and
highlighting data, moving content from one screen to the next, white boarding
and offering data from multiple content sources.
Smith said the
TX9000 also is easier to set up and costs less to own. According to Cisco, the
new TelePresence solution requires 20 percent less bandwidth than earlier
systems, does not require specialized lighting or audio, and can be set up and
deployed within two days.
The TX9000
will begin shipping in the second quarter, starting at $229,000.
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