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Cisco Systems is bringing its WebEx collaboration offering to Apple’s iPad.
When Apple’s tablet goes on sale April 3, owners will be able to download Cisco’s WebEx Meeting Center app, enabling them to participate in online meetings.
The move April 2 is the latest by Cisco to enable businesspeople to use its collaboration technology on the device of their choice, according to Debra Chrapaty, senior vice president and general manager of the vendor’s Collaboration Software Group.
“When a powerful collaboration solution like Cisco WebEx Meeting Center for the iPad is combined with an intuitive and WiFi-enabled user experience, businesses and users both win,” Chrapaty said in a statement.
Cisco is offering the business app for free on the iPad App Store. After downloading the WebEx app, users can participate in an online meeting by tapping the meeting URL located in the email or calendar invitation, according to Cisco officials.
With WebEx, iPad users will have access to all the features available in the collaboration product. They’ll be able to participate in meetings, view shared presentations, applications and desktops, view the meeting participant list, see who’s talking and talk privately with someone else in the meeting.
They’ll also have access to the VOIP (voice over IP) communication through WebEx or get a call back on a phone, officials said.
Like the iPhone, Apple officials are positioning the iPad as a consumer device. However, also like the iPhone, businesses applications will be included in the iPad’s ever-expanding App Store.
That’s already begun, with a number of data storage vendors introducing iPad applications, as well as tech companies like desktop virtualization vendor Wyse Technology.
According to application research firm Flurry, there aremore than 20,000 applications in development for the iPad App Store. Apple currently lists more than 2,000 apps for the iPad.