Cisco launching 'people centric,' cloud-based initiatives for Jabber, WebEx

Looking to take its popular WebEx and Jabber products beyond the desktop, Cisco today unveiled plans to make them more "people centric," by allowing users to collaborate anywhere, anytime and on any device or application.

The move recognizes that the "bring-your-own-device" phenomenon is here to stay, and Cisco is embracing it by offering a free basic version of WebEx.

"What is happening is that there is definitely a transition taking place from people thinking about collaboration as something they do on one single PC on their desktop at work, to a point of view where collaboration is more about ‘What do I do on multiple devices, particularly on mobile devices?'" Cisco's Michael Smith told FierceEnterpriseCommunications. "Our objective is to reach more people on more devices."

Cisco describes the latest iterations as "the next generation" of the software, and, with everything it has added, that may not be a reach.

WebEx, for example, has introduced "Meetings spaces," where users can access files and presentations stores in the cloud before a meeting from their PC or mobile device in real time at any time. They can check on colleagues' availability through presence and initiate synchronous conversations via IM to prepare, collaborate and follow up. They can also schedule meetings and share agendas, notes, action items, recordings and other relevant documents.

Users also can engage in two-way high-quality video meetings on mobile devices with new support for Cisco's Cius tablet, and Apple's iPhone on top of the currently supported iPad. VoIP is now also available on the iPhone and iPad.

Cisco has also taken a big step toward interoperability (of a sort), with its "one-button-to-push" technology; WebEx users can now easily connect into Cisco TelePresence meetings from the Cisco Cius and Apple mobile devices.

The free WebEx version, meanwhile, supports up to three meeting participants and provides users with VoIP audio, standard video, IM, presence, desktop sharing and 250 MB of storage.

Cisco is targeting a December launch for the beta version, with general availability planned for the first quarter of 2012. The Basic Edition should be available in the first quarter of 2012.

A new Jabber web plug-in, meanwhile, will enable companies and developers to embed Cisco UC capabilities in Web browsers on Internet-connected devices. That means users in a public cloud-based application can easily find co-workers using presence, communicate using IM and click-to-call or click-to-video to enable a rich, real-time collaboration experience.

Cisco also is launching a developer community. Within the Cisco Developer Network, developers with be able to find sample codes, instructional videos and an online community for asking technical questions and sharing best practices.

For more:
- see this release

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