Brief

Cisco enters software application business with launch of WebEx connect

Cisco announced its new collaboration portfolio, consisting of Unified Communications, TelePresence and a new Web 2.0 application platform which will enable people “to connect, communicate, and collaborate” from any application, device and workspace.

Commenting on the market opportunities, Manjula Talreja, vice president, Strategy and Business Operations, Software Group, Cisco said, “Cisco entered the VoIP market ten years back where the market opportunity is now one billion dollars. We enhanced our strategy and went into IP Telephony space where the market opportunity is $12 billion. We later moved into Unified Communication space where possible growth is around $27 billion. As of today, we are moving into collaboration space where the anticipated growth is $34 billion. This is a huge market size and huge opportunity for Cisco.”

Cisco’s new portfolio products include:

• Unified Communications: Unified Communications System Release 7.0 offers improvements in total cost of ownership, ease of use, and interoperability with business applications.
• Video: TelePresence Expert on Demand integrates TelePresence into the contact centre for in-branch customer service and the ability to summon expertise directly from a TelePresence meeting.
• Web 2.0 Applications platform: WebEx Connect, a new software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, integrates presence, instant messaging, Web meetings and team spaces with traditional and Web 2.0 business applications.

UC encompasses IP telephony, unified messaging, web and audio conferencing and contact centre solutions. The second pillar of collaboration is video, which ranges from Telepresence to desktop video-to-video conferencing. The third pillar of collaboration is Web 2.0 applications. “Now we are in the software application business. Through Web 2.0, people can create mash-ups,” she added.

Informing about Cisco’s partnership with Infosys, Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Infosys, in a video played during the Cisco conference, said, “Infosys was the first to adopt Cisco IP phones and today we have 40,000 nodes around the world running on Cisco UC. We are also supplying our services to Cisco spanning the entire gamut of things including R&D, product development, BPO and order processing.”

Talreja recalled that UC used to be available in the past on BlackBerry and Symbian environments. “As of today we are launching it in the Windows Mobile environment and we will be integrating it over the next few months and launching it on the iPhone.”

“We are focusing on interoperability with other vendors and have created integration with MOC (Microsoft Office Communicator) and we have also created integration with IBM Lotus Sametime.”

With Cisco’s telepresence solutions, whenever a customer needs advice or any solution, from an expert, specialist or any resource, they will be available from all over enterprise for clearing customer’s concepts.

“Integrated WebEx connect with UC. It is also interoperable with enterprise level applications like Oracle and SAPs that will be providing widgets into this overall environment. It is Web 2.0 application-enabled, developers can create applications, mash-ups, and widgets in order to deliver to WebEx connect. It is not only delivered to desktops but in few months it will be available on mobile phones,” Talreja said.

Cisco Acquisitions in recent past include Jabber (Presence), Post Path (E-mail) and Securant (Digital Rights Management).