Blog home
>
Video Conferencing
>
Our Commitment to Bring the Best of Webex to our Government Customers

Our Commitment to Bring the Best of Webex to our Government Customers

Feb 22, 2021 — Javed Khan

Advancing the Collaboration Ecosystem: Webex for Government

In December 2020, Webex announced new features across its portfolio, bolstering the rich user experience our customers have come to trust. With new capabilities across calling, messaging, and meetings, we’re bringing 10X better experiences than in-person interactions to the entire Webex portfolio. Plus, with the revamped Webex Control Hub, we’re providing the tools, data, and insights IT admins need to manage their collaboration ecosystems better.

Today, we are proud to announce an improved FedRAMP Moderate collaboration solution, Webex for Government. Available now, this solution provides a modern experience to government employees on par with commercial Webex solution available to private corporations. For the first time, it integrates calling, messaging, meetings, devices, and Webex Control Hub management for federal customers. Webex for Government features a secure and seamless work experience for users and a lower total cost of ownership for organizations. This builds on our existing FedRAMP authorized calling and meeting solutions that have enabled federal workers to connect as never before. Learn more here.

Providing a rich user experience, Webex for Government features one-button-to-push, high-quality video meetings and seamless integration with Cisco devices such as Webex Rooms. In between calls and meetings, you can stay connected by chatting and sharing files with colleagues in dedicated and persistent team spaces. You can make calls easily by connecting cloud or on-premise Cisco calling services like Unified Communications Manager Cloud for Government (UCMC-G) or Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) to the Webex app, allowing you to call from any device with your business number.

Integrated with software applications you already use, Webex for Government enables seamless Microsoft Office calendar integration. Organizations can let users join meetings from their desktops, tablets, or smartphones directly from their calendars with a push of a button. Additionally, there are ready-made integrations with Enterprise Content Management applications such as Box or Microsoft OneDrive.

Bringing a Rich User Experience to the Department of Defense: We’re Prepared

With United States Navy’s sponsorship as required by the accreditation authority, Cisco Webex has started the process with DISA Cloud Assessment & Authorization Division to achieve DoD Impact Level 5 (IL-5) provisional authorization to modernize DoD Collaboration experiences and support DoD mission objectives. Webex for Defense will provide a modern and secure Collaboration platform with calling, messaging, and meeting capabilities — all managed through Webex Control Hub.

The new initiative to build Webex for Defense will extend the same capabilities and user experience of Webex for Government to the Department of Defense. It continues our commitment to a Webex solution that meets the US Federal Government’s needs with the same increased productivity gains realized in the private market. It will also expand the solutions already available to the DoD, including the IL-5 authorized Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution for Defense (HCS-D).

At Webex, we understand how to help teams collaborate securely. Cisco was recognized as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Meeting Solutions13 times in a row and also a leader in the Aragon Globe for Team Collaboration, Aragon Globe for Web and Video Conferencing, and the IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Enterprise Videoconferencing. We remain steadfast in our commitment and investment to our federal partners and the entire ecosystem that supports the US Government mission.

The Need for Highly Secure Collaboration

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the use of digital collaboration tools has increased 74%, based on research conducted by Futurum Research. Remote work already adopted by federal agencies and their civilian counterparts will continue as they evolve into hybrid work models. With the remote workforce continuing for the foreseeable future, the need to conform to security policies including data loss prevention (DLP) is substantiated by a recent Metrigy study* that found more than 60% of organizations plan to actively deploy collaboration security as part of their security plan.

Like the private sector, the federal government expanded telework and overnight, adapted to a largely remote workforce to provide vital citizen services and keep our nation functioning and secure. This was a herculean task — one of the most significant changes in their history. Throughout this time of unprecedented collaboration, the Webex platform has provided users the ability to call, message, meet, and thrive as a team – whether in their headquarters, a field office, or at their kitchen table – all while keeping sensitive data safe and secure.

A Heritage of Security

Throughout its history, Cisco has been the trusted leader in security. Following our philosophy of “built-in, not bolted on,” Webex for Government goes beyond FedRAMP certification requirements to be a highly secure solution with capabilities like standards-based End-to-End Encryption, real-time Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and security for mobile devices. Additional security capabilities allow IT admins to block external communications, control sharing, and create ethical walls to meet compliance standards.