Cisco has announced they are going to add a number of user-requested features to Webex this summer. There are many video conferencing solutions on the market and while Cisco Webex is one of the most secure platforms, it has lacked some of the features its competitors have.
But not for long…
One of the most requested features has been virtual backgrounds. While I personally don’t see this as improving the usability of video conferencing, it can make it a bit more fun and people want it. For a while you have been able to use virtual backgrounds on the iOS Webex app and the feature should launch on the Android platform soon. You should already be able to blur your background which has been added to the desktop app. Blurring virtual backgrounds should soon follow.
Waiting Rooms On The Way
Another much-requested feature and in my opinion one that adds more function than a virtual background in on the horizon as well. This is the ability to enable waiting rooms for all meetings in Webex. Currently you only have this ability in personal meetings. This helps prevent uninvited attendees from joining the meeting by requiring the host to “admit” them if this feature is enabled for that particular meeting.
If you have ever used the Webex Training platform, you may be familiar with breakout rooms. This allows you to setup a virtual room that a subset of the attendees can join and have a smaller group meeting. These breakout rooms currently do not support video. In August, Cisco promises to bring video enable breakout rooms to Webex Meetings and at a later date the feature will be added to the Webex Training platform.
While adding these features is much needed, I think the most exciting is the new AI (artificial intelligence) meeting assistant. This feature adds automatic transcription, note taking and post-meeting follow-ups. Checkout this video that highlights this cool new feature.
Related Links:
Cisco Collaboration Training
Configuring, Managing, Monitoring and Troubleshooting Cisco Telepresence Cloud Conferencing and WebEx Teams (CLOUD-CONFT-CT)
