The Future of Collaboration: Real-Time Artificial Intelligence Insights at Your Fingertips

Artificial Intelligence-Driven Database

With the acquisition of Accompany in 2018, Cisco became the proud owner of an artificially-driven database filled with insights and profiles for millions of people and companies. These profiles will enhance the Webex platform, helping users develop stronger professional relationships through rich, real-time intel on the people they collaborate with—all available within the Webex services they use every day.

The Accompany team, now part of the Webex Intelligence team, spent years building this standalone data platform. Without relying on social networks or third-party APIs, the self-learning database collects and aggregates information from public sources. Through the use of proprietary algorithms and machine learning, this information is then grouped together in an intelligent and useful way.

While the team’s accomplishments can be summed up in a few sentences, this achievement was no small feat. It would take another team of talented engineers quite some time to attempt to replicate the process and platform, placing Cisco leaps and bounds ahead of the competition when it comes to relationship intelligence.

From the collected data we’re able to build rich, automated profiles that help users quickly get up to speed on the people they’re meeting with. People profiles include information like professional bios and work histories, educational backgrounds, social links, and news mentions. Company profiles feature backgrounds and key stats, stock prices and financial information, and recent news.

The database now contains profiles for 300 million people and 26 million companies, and is capable of scaling to meet the demands of enterprise customers. With the use of advanced discernment logic, you can expect to see useful insights on the Sally Smith you’re meeting with now—not the 4,628 Sally Smiths you don’t know.

We’re excited to introduce the first stage of the data platform’s integration in Webex’s upcoming People Insights feature. Looking ahead, we’re eager to help drive the future of cognitive collaboration under the guidance of Accompany’s founder, Amy Chang, who now serves as SVP of the Collaboration Technology Group.

AI-Powered Platform

What might that future look like? Imagine being able to quickly prep for the day ahead with personalized insights served up on a silver platter. Our AI-powered platform is capable of providing up-to-the-minute, contextual insights by detecting the people who matter to you most and highlighting important anomalies so you’re always in the know. As we continue to weave insights and intelligence into Webex you’ll begin to see more and more personalized experiences available at your fingertips.

Interested in joining the Webex Intelligence team and working with us to shape the future of collaboration? Check out our current job openings, and keep an eye out for the upcoming launch of People Insights.

To learn more about cognitive collaboration and how AI and machine learning are transforming the way we work, read the whitepaper: The Future of Collaboration: How AI is Transforming the Way We Work.