Unified Communications and WebEx Connect

Unified Communications is about collaboration and collaborative business processes. It's about connecting PC's, laptops, mobile phones, IP phones, email. With the range of different operating systems, different open and private networks and complex business applications, they still all need to come together and work as a unified "workspace" so that any and everyone can collaborate quickly and effectively on any device. This is Unified Communications.

Cisco talks about the "Intelligent Network" as the platform to unify workspaces and deliver collaboration. The Intelligent Network is an OPEN platform that enables entry points for all devices at all levels to connect into. It's also a highly SCALABLE architecture that provides multi-layered SECURITY.

Similarly, the WebEx Connect strategy is about the workspace and unifying the knowledge workers, customers, partners and vendors within workspaces to communicate and collaborate together through instant messaging or real-time web meetings. The"MediaTone Network," is the heart of WebEx Connect. The ability to integrate 3rd party applications into the MediaTone Network is easily accomplished with OPEN API's or out of the box integration with applications like Salesforce.com, Siebel On-Demand, Litescape IP Telephony, Parature ServiceDesk AOL's Instant Messaging solution (AIM Pro Business Edition)or Dell's System Management solution.

The MediaTone Network is also highly SCALABLE as there are over 100,000 WebEx meetings per business day across 70 different countries. Last, the MediaTone Network has multi-layered SECURITY at the end user level, OSI layer, and is WebTrust Certified and SAS-70 Type I & Type II Certified.

WebEx is a leader in the Software as a Service (SaaS) space and has been for the past 8 years. Whether WebEx knows it or not, its overall messaging and value proposition has always had a unified communications feel to it. OPEN architecture, SCALABLE, SECURITY, bringing people, devices and data, such as voice, video, audio, email together to increase corporate productivity and mobility.

A few years ago, the term "convergent properties" and "convergence" were industry buzzwords. In my opinion, convergence has morph into Unified Communications. It makes 100% sense why Cisco acquired WebEx and why John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, has said multiple times that of the 130 acquisitions Cisco has ever made, the WebEx acquisition could be in the top 2 of all time.

Without Unified Communications or WebEx Connect, communications are misdirected and unproductive, decisions are delayed, business processes are stagnant, and corporate productivity and performance decline.

Thanks,
David Chao
The Web Conferencing Expert

Comments

[Amit Ingale]

Dear David,

Nice Blog I must say. Cisco has already started promoting PAAS (Platform as a Service). It seems it has acquired WebEx connect to promote SAAS along with their platform. However could you throw some light on exact value proposition that WebEx connect will bring to Cisco apart from the meeting centre of WebEx which is already a hit.

Regards,
Amit

[Amit Ingale]

Dear David,

Nice Blog I must say. Cisco has already started promoting PAAS (Platform as a Service). It seems it has acquired WebEx connect to promote SAAS along with their platform. However could you throw some light on exact value proposition that WebEx connect will bring to Cisco apart from the meeting centre of WebEx which is already a hit.

Regards,
Amit