Highlights:

  • With its brand-new Cisco Devices for Microsoft Teams, Cisco is endorsing a selection of current communications tools for Microsoft’s well-liked collaboration platform.
  • A more inclusive experience that is not constrained by location, device, or meeting platform is what Jeetu Patel, general manager, and executive vice president and of collaboration and security at Cisco, says is necessary for hybrid work.

To promote a more inclusive hybrid work environment, Cisco Systems Inc. recently announced that it is making some of its workplace collaboration devices compatible with Microsoft Teams.

A digital, multidirectional table microphone for collaborative workspaces, the new Cisco Table Microphone Pro, was also introduced at the same time as the announcement.

With its brand-new Cisco Devices for Microsoft Teams, Cisco is endorsing a selection of current communications tools for Microsoft’s well-liked collaboration platform. In addition to remote work accessories like the Cisco Desk Camera 4K, the Cisco Headset 320, and the Headset 720, the list also includes the Cisco Room Bar, Cisco Board Pro 55 and 75, Cisco Room Kit Pro, the Cisco Room Kit EQ, the Cisco Room Navigator, and the Cisco Desk Pro.

According to Cisco, the new Cisco Devices for Microsoft Teams are all about giving clients greater flexibility in how they carry out hybrid work. The idea behind these devices is that they will handle Teams meetings and calls, additionally with Webex, Cisco’s collaboration platform, for which they were initially designed. The new devices are currently only available in a beta test mode, with general availability set for February.

With certification for Teams, Cisco claims that its devices will be the first to allow seamless switching between various meeting experiences without requiring a device reboot or configuration change. They operate both Teams and Webex meetings natively because Cisco’s RoomOS power them, and the Cisco Control Hub handles comprehensive device management and analytics as usual.

A more inclusive experience that is not constrained by location, device, or meeting platform is what Jeetu Patel, general manager and executive vice president of collaboration and security at Cisco, says is necessary for hybrid work. He said, “Cisco is bringing true audio intelligence to its best-in-class devices and software with interoperability, flexibility and security.”

The new Cisco Table Microphone Pro is a brand-new gadget designed to ensure that all meeting room participants can be heard clearly regardless of their proximity to the listening device or the volume of any background noise. It is a multidirectional device that uses what Cisco refers to as “advanced audio intelligence capabilities,” which enable it to recognize people’s voices and cancel out any background noise to ensure that each participant can be heard clearly. Large conference rooms, custom AV deployments, huddle rooms, and other workplaces are just a few of the places it can be used, according to Cisco.