On 5th Anniversary of Cisco TelePresence, Company Showcases How the Technology Is Enabling Companies of All Sizes to Benefit from the Power of In-Person Collaboration

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, 7 December 2011 -Just five years ago, Cisco introduced Cisco TelePresence® technology, which delivered a video experience so intuitive, so lifelike and natural that it felt as if people were in the same room even when they were miles apart. But what started out as a way to save travel costs and optimize employee time at large companies has evolved into a way of accelerating time to market, expanding access to experts and transforming how companies do business. Today, Cisco is introducing new and expanded offerings -- from value-priced endpoints to a HD video software client to a hosted solution that are designed specifically to make the TelePresence experience available to everyone, everywhere, including small and medium-sized businesses.  

Today's announcements highlight how Cisco is delivering people-centric collaboration to more individuals and businesses around the world. Cisco is also expanding the community of users that can share in-person experiences with co-workers, customers and suppliers in the following ways:

  • Extending Cisco TelePresence solutions to companies of all sizes
  • Driving TelePresence solutions from the boardroom to the desktop and beyond
  • Expanding TelePresence technology beyond just meetings

Extending Cisco TelePresence Solutions to Companies of All Sizes
Smaller businesses typically need technology solutions that don't require a large capital outlay and can be installed and managed without a lot of IT oversight. To address this need, Cisco is introducing Cisco TelePresence for small and medium-sized business. With this offer, customers can purchase or lease, select multipurpose and personal endpoints and connect those endpoints to a hosted service called Cisco TelePresence Callway, part of the Cisco Collaboration Cloud. The hosted service reduces the complexity and costs with TelePresence which have been hurdles to adoption for smaller businesses in the past. 

The Callway service is managed by Cisco and sold through Cisco Authorized Partners. Callway subscriptions start at $99 per month and include unlimited calls to any TelePresence endpoint as well as to any standards-based video device from third parties over the Internet. Multi-party bridging capabilities for up to 12 participants are also available.

This offer, combined with industry leading on-premises infrastructure and trusted partnerships with 14 service providers delivering hosted TelePresence offerings, fully enables Cisco to deliver TelePresence solutions to companies of all sizes. Callway is commercially available in the United States.

From the Boardroom to the Desktop and Beyond
Cisco is expanding its industry-leading portfolio of endpoints from the boardroom to the desktop and beyond, while also further integrating TelePresence offerings into Cisco's collaboration and video architectures.

  • Cisco Jabber™ Video for TelePresence is a standards-based, HD video-calling software application designed to quickly and easily invite participants to join TelePresence calls from their desktop PCs, laptops or tablets. A TelePresence customer simply goes to a globally accessible website and sends an invitation so that mobile co-workers, customers and suppliers may quickly and easily join a TelePresence call for free. A global beta program for Cisco Jabber Video for TelePresence is targeted for the first quarter of 2012.

  • Cisco TelePresence MX300 is a multi-purpose, room-based TelePresence system designed to make it easier and more cost effective to enable deeper integration of TelePresence into customers' businesses. The MX300 can be set up in as little as 15 minutes quickly, easily turning any small to medium-sized meeting room into a nine-person TelePresence team room The system offers 1080p, 30 frames per second, high-quality video at an affordable price. Global availability is targeted for the first quarter of 2012.

Extending TelePresence Beyond Meetings
Organizations are embracing TelePresence for more than just meetings. Cisco recently announced new enterprise video capabilities that broaden the audience for video assets - enabling customers to capture video from any TelePresence endpoint across their network, and then share that content with any user on any device. Today's news further integrates TelePresence technology into the way that organizations interact with their customers, clients and patients, delivering remote expertise where needed at a moment's notice.

  • Cisco TelePresence VX- Clinical Assistant is a purpose-built, mobile telemedicine cart designed for use in healthcare settings. TelePresence VX Clinical Assistant brings the power of TelePresence technology directly to patients and medical professionals through a high-definition video collaboration system that makes it well-suited for medical use cases ranging from remote patient consultations to virtual care teams and medical education. Global availability is targeted for the first quarter of 2012.

Sajed Shamma, Collaboration Product Manager, Cisco Saudi
"With 52 percent global market share, Cisco TelePresence has been forging the path for new ways of working together, where everyone, everywhere can be "present" to make better and faster decisions. The next phase of TelePresence will democratize the in-person experience for people in all sizes and types of organizations."

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Availabilty Disclaimer: Many of the products and features described herein remain in varying stages of development and will be offered on a when-and-if-available basis. This products and features are subject to change at the sole discretion of Cisco, and Cisco will have no liability for delay in the delivery or failure to deliver any of the products or features set forth in this document.

For further information, please contact:
Mary Khamasmieh
M:Communications
Mobile: +971 50 2731 753
Email: khamasmieh@mcomgroup.com

© Press Release 2011