Cisco launches Webex Hologram, an augmented reality meeting solution

At WebexOne, Cisco unveiled a preview of its next-generation hybrid work collaboration product. Webex Hologram is the industry’s only real-time meeting solution that takes advantage of augmented reality headsets to combine feature rich Webex meeting functionality with immersive 3D holograms.

With 64% of employees agreeing that the ability to work remotely directly affects whether they stay or leave a job, organizations will increasingly offer flexible work arrangements. Yet this poses a challenge for teams that require hands-on collaboration, such as design or training with a physical object. With Webex Hologram’s holographic capabilities, participants can now interact in ways previously possible only in-person.

“Our mission at Cisco is to empower the 3 billion digital workers on the planet to participate equally from anywhere in the world,” said Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager, Cisco Security and Collaboration. “Webex Hologram represents a large step toward our mission of delivering a delivering a work experience so seamless that there is no gap between virtual and in-person collaboration.”

Global COVID-19 pandemic safety protocols have also heightened the need for enterprises to offer immersive virtual meetings. For example, in the healthcare industry when a new surgical device is introduced, physicians, technicians, sales and support teams need to be trained quickly. With Webex Hologram, this training can be handled remotely to save time and travel, while providing the ability to see the surgical device from every angle and at its actual size as if a physician were in the room.

“Webex Hologram is a powerful tool for our design engineers, drivers and crews as we continue to reimagine hybrid sports and supporting our team on tracks around the world,” said Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing. “Rather than flying a technician to the racing team or explaining procedures through flat images, with the Hologram technology we can immediately show an engine component from every angle, convey sizing, and instruct on assembly and usage as if they were in person – all while saving countless hours in travel time.”

Additional capabilities of Webex Hologram include:

  • Immersive technology in-use today: Unlike 2D and virtual meeting experiences in the market today, only Webex Hologram enables a feeling of co-presence by delivering photorealistic, real-time holograms of actual people. For participants, this means an experience that’s more engaging and realistic, as opposed to using avatars. This can make all the difference when it comes to training and problem-solving.
  • Ability to share physical and digital content: With Webex Hologram, the presenter can share both physical content and digital content that allows users to co-create and truly collaborate. Take an auto manufacturer, for instance. Participants can interact with a physical prototype of a vehicle that’s shared in the AR experience to examine and provide feedback on the vehicle’s engine and undercarriage. Design renderings of the car and other digital content can also be shared during the immersive experience.
  • Multi-dimensional experience for multiple users: Support for a “1:many” presenter experience that enables remote participation from multiple users. Each user simultaneously receives a multi-dimensional experience, as opposed to other offerings that limit usage to single angle views.
  • Headset agnostic: Webex Hologram is compatible with industry-leading AR headsets, such as Magic Leap and Microsoft HoloLens.

Webex Hologram will soon further bolster the Webex Suite, enabling remote and hybrid workers to engage in immersive experiences using the AR headset of choice. In the past year, Webex by Cisco has introduced nearly 1,000 new features and devices to market, and continues to innovate with emerging technologies.

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Cisco unveils Webex innovations that ensure equal opportunity and voice

As the world transitions to hybrid, organizations require solutions that are flexible, supportive and inclusive. Cisco unveiled an all-new Webex Suite with innovations to serve as the foundation for inclusive hybrid work and events, delivering unmatched levels of flexibility and personalization for everyone.

With 98 percent of future meetings expected to include at least one remote participant, this mixed mode of working (blending remote and in-person interactions) is fueling long-lasting implications on work culture, event engagement and technology. This requires investing more broadly – beyond the traditional conference room – to fundamentally reimagine the new requirements of hybrid events and a hybrid workforce. The way organizations worked pre-pandemic and during the pandemic will be starkly different in this next wave of work – where good enough is simply not enough.

“Cisco’s collaboration business is incredibly essential to our customers,” said Chuck Robbins, CEO, Cisco. “With all the integrations the team has added – 800 new features and devices since September – we truly have the most comprehensive meetings, calling, messaging, and event management solution on the market powering the future of hybrid work.”

“To be successful in the era of hybrid work, organizations need to make sure their solutions are flexible, inclusive, supportive, secure, and easily managed on the backend by IT,” said Jeetu Patel, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Security and Collaboration. “The all-new Webex Suite ensures everyone in a hybrid workforce has equal opportunity and voice.”

Webex want to ensure their dedication to a simple, delightful user experience is clear in every interaction our customers have with us: our products that are used by millions of customers today, our website that reaches millions of readers, and the presentations we deliver to live and virtual audiences of all sizes.

They used their own products daily and rely on Webex to overcome distance gaps, time zones, and language barriers. My team of marketers spans multiple continents, languages, and time zones, but they feel like they live next door. We relentlessly focus on quality and simplicity, and we are passionate and proud of our journey and the story it continues to shape.

The Webex brand system is much more than logos or colors. It’s a reflection of our purpose. The new logo was inspired by their guiding design principle of inclusion, a core value that is at the heart of everything they do, Introducing Webex by Cisco.

The new logo – the “W” is a rotating double helix which showcases two hands coming together – the perfect metaphor for teams in flow, each member participating and contributing equally to create something wonderful.

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