Cisco, Microsoft Announce Teams Interoperability on Cisco Devices

At the Microsoft Ignite event today, Cisco and Microsoft announced a new partnership that'll bring native Microsoft Teams interoperability to Cisco Room and Desk devices, marking the first time that Cisco devices will be certified for Microsoft Teams.

Starting in early 2023, six Cisco meeting devices and three peripherals will be certified for Teams. The first wave of devices will include the Cisco Room Bar, the Cisco Board Pro 55-inch and 75-inch, and the Cisco Room Kit Pro, followed by the Cisco Desk Pro, and Cisco Room Navigator. For peripherals, Cisco announced the Cisco Desk Camera 4K will be released by the end of October, and two headphones with Teams buttons will be available by early 2023.

Enterprises that purchase these devices will have the option to default the experience to Microsoft Teams Room or the Webex meeting experience. Additionally, all the devices will be manageable in the Teams Admin Center, the Teams Rooms Pro Management Portal, and the Cisco Control hub device management.

"Interoperability has always been at the forefront of our hybrid work strategy, understanding that customers want collaboration to happen on their terms — regardless of device or meeting platform," said Jeetu Patel, EVP and GM of security & collaboration for Cisco. "Our partnership with Microsoft brings together two collaboration leaders to completely reimagine the hybrid work experience."

Related:Microsoft Ignite 2022 Shows Users How To Do More With Less

Cisco Has Not Given Up on the Video Meeting Race

While “some people might look at it as a capitulation by Cisco” on the video conferencing side of things, Omdia analyst Brent Kelly doesn’t think that’s the case.

“Cisco has several different revenue streams. One, of course, is from Webex meetings. But another revenue stream is from the devices,” Kelly said. “There are different ways to generate revenue…, and if they want to increase the revenue from their devices, this is an awesome way to do it.”

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