Getting a Video-first Meeting Experience Today with WebEx

What does video-first really mean, anyway? I define it as making it even easier for people to visually connect and collaborate in richer ways — no matter where they are in the world. I use video for most of my meetings because I need to connect with my team, customers, and partners whether I’m in an office, at home, or on the road.

Video conferencing is the next best thing to face-to-face meetings. I’m excited to share some of the enhanced features we’ve recently delivered. They are designed to make video conferencing that much closer to interacting and collaborating in the same room.

Simple join experience

First, we’ve integrated our award-winning video room and desktop devices with Cisco WebEx using Cisco Hybrid Calendar Service for an easy join experience. Just click the big green join button on any Cisco cloud-registered video device (not just premises-registered) and you are in the meeting.

You can also have more control over who you see in the meeting. The new grid layout gives you the option to see up to six equally sized live video streams at once. Or you can “lock and pin” the video so that you can focus on one person. This is a great feature when you need to see and adjust to someone’s reaction as you deliver or listen to a presentation.

The grid layout lets you see six meeting participants at once.

You also have the option to start every meeting with full-screen video so you can engage with remote attendees just as effectively as if they were in the room with you. It’s human nature to want to make eye contact with others. And there’s just something about seeing the faces of your colleagues and being able to connect — before the meeting starts and as the content sharing begins.

Better mobile meetings

We’ve optimized video viewing for smaller-screen mobile devices, as well. Video grid views are now available on mobile devices so that you can more easily see meeting attendees. We’ve integrated camera control on the mobile device into WebEx, which is a great feature if you need to show participants your surroundings while continuing to view them and their reactions.

Many of the features you’ve enjoyed on your desktop, like screen sharing and access to meeting tools, are now part of your mobile experience.

Cisco WebEx allows you to “lock and pin” video so you can focus on one person.

Solid cloud network

Amazing video experiences require a rock-solid global cloud infrastructure and network backbone. We know a thing or two about networking and have invested heavily in building a video-first meeting network that gives you the same amazing video experience wherever you might be.

Whether collaborating inside or outside of the firewall, around the globe, or across campus, people rely on video-based meetings more than ever before. We are committed to making sure WebEx users get the best video experience on the market, and we’re just getting started.

Stay tuned for exciting additions to WebEx in the coming weeks and months. Check out some of these video meeting features (available today) and let us know what you think.