Webex Meetings January 2020 Update: New improvements and new integrations for the new year

In the first Webex Meetings update of the new decade, we’re taking on some irritations of video conferencing, such as when networks are lossy or when the background is noisy. Plus, we’ve added some new integrations and are sharing the next evolution of our VDI client strategy which will make Webex Meetings more accessible to you and easier for your organization to deploy.

Great video even when your network is not

If you’re working at home, at the airport, or at a coffee shop, we all know network fluctuations are a fact of life. And that means, the video you send into Webex Meetings is also at the mercy of those network ups and downs. Because our “workplace” is more and more variable these days, we’ve tuned Webex Meetings so that your video resolution is less sensitive to network instabilities. Now, the Webex desktop app only downgrades your video when packet loss or network delay is consistently degraded. So, you’ll be able to send stable video at high resolutions into your meeting even as the quality of the network fluctuates. This applies to both Windows and Mac desktops.

Background noise? No problem.

Speaking of working outside the office, it can also be noisy in all of those places where networks are iffy. We’re working to solve this with improved noise detection and suppression algorithms in Webex Meetings so that your voice won’t be negatively impacted by background noises. As a result, when you’re using the Webex Meetings desktop app with computer audio, your voice will remain clear even when the barista is yelling out the next order.

More Webex for better learning

Webex Meetings has added Blackboard Learn to our already extensive list of popular learning management systems. With this integration, instructors can have the full Webex Meetings experience within the Blackboard Learn environment. Aside from being able to hold virtual classes for distance learning, instructors can also have office hours and ad-hoc meetings with students, and even message students – all within the Blackboard learning interface. These integrations give teachers and students a great way to connect within the environment to which they are accustomed.

Webex Meetings desktop app optimized for VDI

We’re excited to announce beta trials for the Webex Meetings desktop app, which is fully optimized for VDI environments. With this optimization, when your users attend a meeting in a VDI environment, Webex Meetings routes all audio and video streams directly between the thin client and the Webex Cloud without going through a hosted desktop. There’s no requirement for Cisco Unified Call Manager or Cisco Expressways to deploy and use this app. This is initially available on Citrix-hosted desktops and Windows thin clients. If you’re interested in trialing this functionality, please reach out to your Cisco Collaboration account manager.

Additional info

For more information on these features, please visit the Webex Help Portal – What’s New for the latest versions of Webex Meetings (40.1).

Learn More

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