Cisco reveals three new Webex collaboration hardware solutions

Cisco has revealed a trio of collaboration hardware products to alleviate the pain points for what it calls “huddle spaces,” locations where small teams work together in spaces that aren’t equipped with the right tech.

First up is the Webex Share – a palm-sized adapter that plugs into a device and connects to any screen without a dongle or cable to share screens. It’s also compatible with Cisco’s collaboration software, Webex Meeting and Teams.

Next is the Webex Room Kit Mini, a custom-made camera with AI capabilities that can be placed in any room to help facilitate remote meetings and share content. The camera can identity up to five people in a room and display name tags for each participant. Cisco also showed off the camera’s self-correcting software which removes the “fish eye” effect and straightens out curves.

Lastly is the latest version of Webex Board, Cisco’s digital whiteboard solution. Cisco was light on detail with the new Webex Board 55, formally known as Cisco Spark Board, other than demonstrating its integration with Microsoft’s OneDrive during a live demo at Cisco Partner Summit in Las Vegas this week.

“Whether you’re placing a call or huddling with your team, it’s our mission to give you the most secure, reliable and awesome collaboration tools to get the job done,” Cisco SVP and GM of collaboration Amy Chang said.

“The service provider channel gives us an incredible opportunity to get these tools to more teams, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish together.”

Cisco also announced that Webex Teams, the vendor’s teamwork app, will be available as a full PBX solution through service providers. Cisco BroadCloud Calling comes thanks to Cisco’s acquisition of Broadsoft and will be available in 19 countries, including Australia.

The solution is built for companies with 100 or more employees in mind that can be deployed on-prem, in the cloud or in a hybrid environment. It will also be added to Cisco’s Collaboration Flex Plan subscription model.

The journalist travelled to Cisco Partner Summit as a guest of Cisco.