Video conferencing has gained a lot of momentum during the last few years due to the many benefits that come with it, especially with enterprise communications. Using video in enterprises boost employee productivity and cut down costs. In fact, a survey from Interact Group shows that 94 percent of respondents believe video conferencing improves employee productivity while another 87 percent believe that it cuts travel costs and expedites the decision making process.
These benefits have been possible only because of the technological improvements that have enhanced the quality of conferencing. The latest development in this front comes from Cisco. The networking giant has revealed two new desktops and a cloud service intended purely for video conferencing. The DX80 and DX70 desktops come with many features such as HD video, touchscreen capabilities, Web conferencing and large screens. These desktops also have a new noise-canceling technology that cancels the background noise, so the person hears only from the people who are in the video.
Besides these conferencing features, the desktops also enable integrated business applications. Moreover, the underlying architecture is designed in such a way that third-party developers can take the APIs to develop new apps or to extend the functionality of these desktops. Also, these desktops contain Cisco's proprietary software called Proximity, which allows users to connect mobile phones with a desktop. As a result, users can pull out the contact list and call history from their mobile phone and use it on the desktop.
Other than the desktops, Cisco has also revealed its new cloud service called Collaboration Meeting Rooms (CMR). This service will give companies their own private space that is available all the time for video conferencing.
With these innovative products, Cisco has set the bar high for real time communications products.
Edited by
Rachel Ramsey
