A new year creates anticipation and inspires contemplation. In the final days of 2023, we’re looking back at the most significant innovations, new features, and topics that have made this year a pivotal one—like the tremendous impact of AI on the industry, the convergence of unified communications and contact center, and the importance of interoperability in creating seamless user experiences. And we’re giving a look-ahead on the highly anticipated, can’t-miss events of 2024.
Relive the excitement of 2023. Watch our Rewind highlights reel with Brittany and Bridget in our beautiful Chicago office. Then, keep reading for our top 5 picks on industry-leading innovations, favorite features, best reads, top videos, and more.
Hybrid work is no longer new, but it is here to stay, with 98% of meetings including at least one remote participant. We’ve come a long way, but challenges persist in making hybrid work, work. Both people and technology leaders are trying to make hybrid work productive and secure—whether from home, the office, or anywhere in between—and AI promises enormous benefits that provide real value for employees and keep data secure.
We’ve added generative AI across the Webex platform with the new AI Assistant, building on our existing AI capabilities. Webex AI’s incredible audio and video quality through the AI Audio Codec and Super Resolution set it apart. It combines Large Language Models with Real-time Media Models data to recognize non-verbal cues like body language and facial gestures. The benefit is a richer experience for users to help them get the full context of meetings and interactions.
Webex Calling has added an incredible 6 million users in the past year by offering ever-increasing value in the cloud, including enhanced survivability, the new attendant console, and a redesigned user interface for Microsoft Teams integration. Plus, Webex Go offers flexible mobile integration with bring-your-own-device and Webex Go with AT&T options.
Distance Zero is our vision for creating life-like experiences in hybrid meetings so that collaborating remotely is just like being there in person. RoomOS, the brains powering our devices, delivers on Distance Zero with AI-powered cinematic meeting experiences that give everyone a seat at the table with speaker tracking, multi-camera, multi-stream capabilities, and meeting zones. Plus, we introduced new flagship devices for these experiences, the Cisco Room Kit EQX and the Cisco Room Bar Pro, making it easier for you to reimagine all your workspaces for hybrid work.
The average person will spend 43 days on hold in their lifetime. We’re changing all that with virtual agents supercharged by AI and seamless handoffs to live agents with AI-powered conversation summaries, agent answers, and agent wellness tools. Plus, Webex Customer Experience Essentials extends call center features to any Webex Calling user, ideal for delivering amazing experiences at the frontline.
Webex works seamlessly wherever you are. This year, we announced certification for Webex Contact Center and Cisco Collaboration Devices with Microsoft Teams, in addition to Webex Calling for Microsoft Teams enhancements. Webex for Auto delivers in-car collaboration across several popular infotainment systems and in-car apps. We announced new integrations with Apple TV 4K, Apple Watch and enhanced Webex for iPad. Plus, our forward-thinking device partnerships with NVIDIA for 20x the AI capabilities of previous generations and Bang & Olufsen for premium wireless audio create best-in-class hybrid work experiences.
We’ve picked 5 of our top features that users can take advantage of immediately to get the most out of the Webex experience:
1. Quiet Hours: Empower employees to pause their notifications for quiet time to disconnect from work.
2. Message Reminders: Users can set a due date and time on a message so they can remember to come back to it when they have time to work on it.
3. Android Auto: Supported by over 500 vehicle models, connect Android phones to Android Auto-enabled cars to view Webex meetings, recent calls, and contacts on large car displays safely.
4. Inclusivity Enhancements: We’re constantly working to make Webex as inclusive as possible, with new features for sign language interpreters and users to see each other more clearly in meetings, the addition of Voiceitt integration for non-standard speech, the ability to set pronouns, and closed captioning and transcripts for Webinars (already available for Webex Meetings).
5. Sign in with a QR Code on tablets: Easily sign in to a Webex account on a tablet devices, without entering a password manually.
Check out some of our top content from our blog and analysts covering the Hybrid Work and Customer Experience spaces:
1. Customer Champion Award Winners: Hear how Under Armor, First Horizon Bank, AXIS Capital, and more are innovating with Webex.
2. Gartner® Magic Quadrant™: We’re proud to be recognized on three quadrants across our portfolio: Unified Communications-as-a-Service, Contact Center as a Service, and Communications Platform as a Service
3. Forrester Total Economic Impact Studies: Forrester’s analysis shows a 204% return on investment (ROI) for the Webex Suite and a 304% ROI for Webex Contact Center through increased efficiencies for end users and IT, faster pace of end-user adoption, and more.
4. Incredible value from Webex Suite: Looking for ways to optimize IT budget in 2023? Webex suite offers 8 powerful workflows out of the box.
5. Industry-First Sustainability Innovations: Sustainability is a core part of our mission to power an inclusive future for all. Learn how Webex enables customers to visualize and manage carbon emissions, including features like office hours to reduce energy usage.
Experience our innovation from the front row. Take a peek at our top videos from the past year:
1. WebexOne 2023 Opening Keynote: If you watch one Webex video for the year—we recommend this one! With over 26,000 in-person and virtual attendees, our fourth annual WebexOne showcased how we’re reimagining work, workspaces, and customer experience with AI.
2. Cinematic meetings on Cisco devices: Get the best view in any meeting with a director-like experience for a wide range of conference set-ups, from auditoriums to board rooms.
3. Dancing to hold music is now a choice with Webex Contact Center: With Webex Contact Center, customers can text, call, message and chat directly with customer service instead of waiting on hold.
4. Elevate your Microsoft Teams Rooms experience with Cisco devices: Get Microsoft Teams and fully-featured Webex meetings on the same devices.
5. See teamwork through a new lens | Cisco Room Bar Pro: the easy-to-deploy integrated video bar that brings the benefits of AI to medium-sized meeting rooms.
That’s a wrap!
Enjoy the holiday season and we’ll see you back here for Webex Rewind January 2024.
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