A common misconception is that Cisco WebEx Room Kits don’t work with Microsoft Teams. But this isn’t true at all. In fact, Cisco WebEx Room Kits work great on the Microsoft Teams platform and should be seriously considered as an option for your conference rooms, regardless of your preferred conferencing software. In a matter of minutes and without a single line of code, Zapier allows you to automatically send info between Webex and Microsoft Teams. Connect Webex + Microsoft Teams in Minutes It's easy to connect Webex + Microsoft Teams and requires absolutely zero coding experience—the only limit is your own imagination. Group Conversation: Similar to Microsoft Teams, you can have ongoing conversations categorized under various topics or agendas in Cisco Webex. These conversations are saved in the application and can be referred to later. Cisco Webex Video Integration for Microsoft Teams Product overview Many modern workplaces today have a mix of different vendors across their collaboration and extended productivity portfolios, making interoperability and integrations crucial to enable and retain work productivity. Cisco Webex® Video Integration for Microsoft Teams is designed. We have WebEx Room Kit 55 and it is registered in WebEx cloud with SIP URI address is it possible to dial directly from MS Teams app? I know there is a Cisco WebEx Meetings bot that we can integrate with the MS Teams app but how we can invite that WebEx device into a conference call excluding WebEx Teams/Meetings and use only MS Teams?
Collaboration, efficiency, and transparency are essential to the modern workplace experience. And since working from home has become the new normal in today’s business landscape, technology is bridging the gap to ensure employees stay more connected and engaged than ever.
Thankfully, there are plenty of collaboration platforms to choose from, whether you’re focused on communication or project management. However, the ones that have stood the test of time come from two of the world’s top tech heavyweights—Cisco and Microsoft.
From large feature sets to tiered pricing plans, each tool has something to bring to the table. In this article, we will explore how both platforms compare based on key features, what the future of these tools holds in store, and how to select the right one for your business.
Get ready for the ultimate showdown of Microsoft Teams vs. Cisco Webex.
Microsoft Teams vs. Cisco Webex Teams Features and Capabilities
When searching for a new digital workspace solution, you want it to be robust and feature-rich. The more benefits you can derive from a single application, the better. Let’s take a look at some of the basic features that Cisco Webex and Microsoft Teams offer.
Microsoft Teams
Group Conversation: In Microsoft Teams, users can organize chats according to groups of people or topics. These conversations live in the application and are not automatically deleted once you log out. You can access your history from the previous day, week, or month, plus images, files, links, emojis, and GIFs will be retained as well.
Meetings: The consensus regarding Microsoft’s meetings is that they’re simple and intuitive. You can either instantly launch meetings or schedule them out for a later time. Microsoft Teams also lets you customize your backgroundand add live captions during meetings.
File-Sharing: Microsoft Teams allows you to share, save, and organize files your way. Users can even work collaboratively on Word documents or PowerPoint presentations right from inside the application. What’s more, you can share files in several locations like Chat, Teams, and Meetings.
Integrations: By supporting more than 250 third-party integrations like ServiceNow, Trello, Polly, and Jira, Microsoft Teams can help boost your staff’s productivity and simplify workflows.
Video Conferencing: Microsoft offers video conferencing for both mobile and desktop users, supporting up to 250 participants. However, integrating Microsoft Teams with non-Teams room systems does require installing additional software from partners such as BlueJeans, Pexip, or Poly.
Audio Conferencing: With Microsoft Teams’ audio conferencing services, attendees can join meetings using their smartphones instead of the Teams app on desktop or mobile. These meetings also include a dial-in number, making it easier for mobile users and those with spotty internet connections.
Cisco Webex
Group Conversation: Similar to Microsoft Teams, you can have ongoing conversations categorized under various topics or agendas in Cisco Webex. These conversations are saved in the application and can be referred to later.
Meetings: With Webex Meetings, you can either communicate one-on-one or in groups, with users inside or outside your company network. Though, the relationship between WebEx Teams and WebEx Meetings isn’t 100% consistent. After all, using two different tools for meetings and team collaboration can disrupt overall meeting cohesion. But, what sets Webex Meetings apart is the ability to host online events like webinars.
File-Sharing: WebEx allows you to share files with others, all while ensuring your information is secure and encrypted. You can even share documents in a chat with your team, and refer back to them whenever you want.
Integrations: Like Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex allows seamless collaboration byintegrating with popular productivity, project management, and social applications—over 2,000+ to be exact.
Video Conferencing: Cisco is a market leader in online meetings and video conferencing solutions. Currently, Webex Meetings supports up to 200 video users and offers a host of AI capabilities spanning real-time transcriptions, automated closed captioning, voice commands, note-taking, and recorded transcripts.
Audio Conferencing: Cisco is known for its in-depth audio conferencing features. Using Webex’s cloud-based PSTN audio option, audio can operate on a wide range of devices, such as smartphones and IP phones.
Security and Compliance
Microsoft Teams
Since Microsoft has already been developing large-scale solutions for decades, it’s no wonder that security has become second nature. Overall, you can expect the same level of protection that you receive with the rest of the Office365 platform. According to Microsoft, Teams “meets ISO 27001 and 28018 Standards, is both SAAE 16 SOC 1 and 2 Compliant, HIPPA Compliant, and meets EU Model Clauses compliance regulations.”
In addition to the standard two-factor authentication and encryption tools, Microsoft also offers what is called eDiscovery. It is defined as “the electronic aspect of identifying, collecting, and producing electronically stored information in response to a request for production in a lawsuit or investigation.”
Protection Tools:
- eDiscovery
- Compliance content search
- Review
- Export
- Hold
Cisco Webex
Cisco boasts general features like TFA and SSO. Plus, it includes eDiscovery and other security features that promise to deliver a secure web conferencing experience like flexible password management capabilities, advanced encryption options, individual and unique device PINs set by users, and adjustable retention of content. Unlike Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex aimsto put the users in the driver’s seat, giving them ultimate control over what content is stored, how it is stored, and when.
In addition to physical security, role-based access has proven to be effective in reducing cyber threats. With Cisco giving hosts and administrators more permissions, they can choose to grant or revoke access to content and control what specific users do.
Protection Tools:
- eDiscovery
- Encryption technologies
- Firewall compatibility
- Transport layer security
- Single sign-on
Pricing Structure
The adage goes that “nothing in life is free.” This doesn’t ring true here. Like many other team collaboration solutions on the market, Microsoft and Cisco offer varying pricing plans for their respective platforms, as well as a free option. Dt research laptops & desktops driver download for windows.
Microsoft Teams
Because Microsoft Teams is part of the Office365 Business platform, there’s no need to worry about accessibility.
For no cost at all, you can invite up to 300 users. Members of your team can be grouped into channels that include audio and video calling, as well as 10 GB of cloud storage.
If you’re looking for a plan that offers more storage, improved security, and integrations with other Microsoft Office applications, expect to pay $5 per user per month.
Beyond that, access to desktop versions of Outlook and Word, along with higher data caps, will cost $12.50 per user per month.
For $20 per user per month, you can install Office mobile apps on up to five Macs or PCs, five tablets, and five mobile phones per user.
These prices can go up if you opt for a monthly subscription instead of renewing annually.
Pricing Plans:
- Microsoft Teams Plan: Free (no-commitment)
- Office365 Business Essentials Plan: $5.00/user/month (annually)
- Office365 Business Premium Plan: $12.50/user/month (annually)
- Office365 E3 Plan: $20.00/user/month (annually)
Cisco Webex
When compared side-by-side to Microsoft Teams, Cisco’s pricing set-up is a bit easier to break down.
The Starter is the baseline plan for smaller teams and individual users, offering up to nine host licenses and1 GB of file sharing storage for $13.50 per host per month.
Next is the Plus Plan, which is ideal for mid-sized teams, providing up to 50 host licenses, 5 GB of file sharing storage, and unlimited integrations all for $17.95 per host per month.
For optimal storage and premium support for larger teams, you can’t go wrong with the Business Plan. One hundred host licenses, 10 GB of file sharing storage, and interactive whiteboarding are just a few features that come with this option, costing you $26.95 per host per month.
Finally, Enterprise offers flexible subscription plans best for larger meetings, events, training, and support. Users can enjoy unlimited messaging and file sharing, end-to-end encryption, and administrative controls like single sign-on and organization analytics.
Pricing Plans:
- Starter Plan: $13.50 per host/month (annually)
- Plus: $17.95 per host/month (annually)
- Business: $26.95 per host/month (annually)
- Enterprise: Requires Quote
Compare Features, Security, and Pricing for Teams vs. Cisco Webex
Microsoft Teams vs. Cisco Webex: What does the Future Hold?
As we’ve demonstrated, both tools have a lot to offer and remain at the forefront of innovating and improving the current state of remote work. In the months and years to come, Cisco and Microsoft will stay head-to-head in the race for the most popular collaboration platform.
Join Webex From Microsoft Teams
There’s no doubt that each tool offers excellent team collaboration applications that can be an asset to any business, regardless of size or industry. Both are built and maintained by world-leading developers and provide an intense levelof reliability, security, and features.
But in the battle of Microsoft Teams vs. Cisco Webex, who will emerge victoriously? When it comes time to choose, your decision ultimately boils down to which factor(s) matter(s) most to your team. Going with Microsoft Teams is a no-brainer for organizations that are already utilizing Office365 and its related software. If your company places a strong emphasis on meetings, conferences, and visual collaboration, your workforce might prefer Cisco Webex.
With NextPlane, You can Connect. Any Team. Any Platform
Our recent survey shows 79% of companies are operating in a mixed collaboration environment, which can include legacy UC platforms such as Microsoft Skype for Business and Cisco Jabber.
NextPlane enables mixedcollaboration environments to deliver the same seamless functionality as email; users can send messages, share presence status, participate in channels, or share files, without leaving their preferred clients.
By using NextPlane, companies with mixed environments, such as IBM, Merck, Nokia, and others, have reduced their total cost of ownership and administrative burden by 50%.
This video shows users on Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex Teams communicating while the two platforms can share the same domain.
The remote working trend is shifting companies’ digital work hub from email to team collaboration applications. Increasingly employees rely on them as their primary means of engaging with their co-workers to manage tasks and workflows.
Team collaboration is rapidly extending beyond enterprise boundaries as companies look to embrace team apps to improve engagement with partners, suppliers, and customers.
In April 2020, Cisco announced a new Call App for Microsoft Teams. The app launches call through the Cisco voice and video services, even when you click-to-call in Microsoft Teams. As a result, users can join a Microsoft Teams meeting from a Cisco Webex Room Device and join a Cisco Webex Meeting from a Microsoft Teams Room.
Ecs input devices driver download. Below is a list of frequently asked questions about Cisco Webex Meetings within Microsoft Teams.
Q: How can I use the Cisco Webex Meetings for a Team Meeting?
You can hold meetings with your team on Microsoft Teams with Cisco Webex Meetings after you or a member of your team has installed the Webex bot on your Microsoft Team. For a team meeting, only one member of the team needs to install the app. To install the Cisco Webex app, go to Teams on your Microsoft Teams then click on Manage Teams. Search for Cisco Webex Meetings App in the app store and then install it.
However, before you can set up Microsoft Teams for Cisco Webex Meetings, your Cisco Webex site administrator must first configure Cisco Webex either from the Control Hub or site administration as the case may be. As an administrator, you must link the users matching the Webex account with that of their Office 365 account. Similarly, the Microsoft Office 365 administrator must accept or decline permission to add the Cisco Webex Meeting.
Q: What are the permissions needed to use Cisco Webex Meetings in Microsoft Teams?
To have a seamless integration of Cisco Webex Meetings into Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office 365 will require you to accept or decline some of the following permissions from Cisco Webex :
- Read user calendar
- Read and write calendar in all mailboxes
- Maintain access to data you have given it access to
- Read all groups
- Read all users’ full profiles
- Read contacts in all mailboxes
- Read directory data
Q: How can I join the Cisco Webex Meetings from Microsoft Teams?
You can join a Cisco Webex Meetings from the Command Box in the Webex Tab and accepting the join prompt sent via message extension.
To join a Cisco Webex Meetings through Webex Tab, simply click on the Upcoming Meetings and join the scheduled meeting. You can also use both the meeting number from the email invitation sent to you or Personal room ID from the Personal Room URL to join a meeting.
On the Command Box located at the top of Microsoft Teams, enter @Cisco Webex Meeting and then enter the meeting number and then select join.
Q: What is the maximum number of participants that Cisco Webex Meetings in Microsoft Teams can hold?
Difference Between Ms Teams And Webex Teams
Microsoft Teams can currently accommodate 250 participants in a meeting. However, it plans to expand the maximum number of attendees to 1000, while Webex already has a ceiling of 1000 attendees.
Q: How do I schedule Cisco Webex Meetings in Microsoft Teams?
You can schedule a meeting directly from your Microsoft Teams workspace with Webex Tab. You can also schedule a meeting on a channel or a private chat with Webex Tab.
To schedule a meeting in a channel, select Webex Tab from the channel and choose the schedule. Choose the meeting type which is between Cisco Webex Meetings and Webex personal Room meeting. A channel meeting is open to everyone in the channel.
For a private meeting, select the Webex Tab in a private chat with the Cisco Webex Meetings bot. Private meetings are only for invited individuals and not all the team members.
For both private and channel meetings, you can select the frequency of your meeting when scheduling. You can choose whether you want a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual meeting.
You can also use a command @Cisco Webex Meetings on the Cisco Webex meeting App to share a meeting link from your Personal Room with your participants or the join button if you do not have a Personal Room. Use the help command on your app if you are not sure of the appropriate command.
Q: How do I add participants to a meeting?
You can add attendees as you schedule your meeting by adding the email address of the participants. Simply select “invite all channel members” in the Attendees box if you want to invite everyone in your Team. To invite only some participants, enter the email address of the people you want to invite.
To make it easy to add participants’ email addresses, the ‘look ahead’ feature of Cisco Webex lets you add attendees by typing the first three letters of their email addresses and the rest will auto-fill. If more than one person’s email address starts with the same first three letters, you will find the suggestion of all the participants.
Q: Will I know if a scheduled meeting has started?
Yes. You will get notified five minutes before your scheduled meeting will start from your Cisco Webex app. You can also check the ‘Upcoming Meetings’ list to know if a scheduled meeting has started, how long it has been going on, and the number of participants who have joined.
Q: What do I do if I am not ready to join a meeting?
When notified of a meeting from your Cisco Webex device, you can hit snooze or join the meeting immediately. If you are not ready to join a meeting, you can simply continue to snooze it until you are ready.
Q: How do I record a meeting?
You can record your meeting to listen to it later in case you miss any part of the meeting. As a participant in an ongoing video meeting, you can record a meeting by tapping the ellipses (…) menu on the screen.
Q: Will others know if I record a meeting?
The meeting participants will be notified of the recording when the meeting ends with the topic of the meeting, date, time, duration, and a play button. At the end of the meeting, you can play and share your recordings with other participants in the channel or private chat. You can go back and listen to the recordings from the last ten days on the Webex sites on the right side of the Webex Tab as saved on the cloud.
Q: Can I share content from Microsoft Teams with Cisco Webex Meetings participants?
Both the Cisco Webex Meeting and Microsoft Teams support content sharing in a meeting. As an active speaker in a meeting, you can share your screen and use digital whiteboarding to buttress your point in a meeting. Using a dual-screen solution, you can see the active speaker on one side and the shared content on the other. You can share content bi-directionally from Microsoft Teams to Webex Meeting during a meeting.
However, you cannot chat or share direct messages from the native app. Fractal audio usb devices driver.
Q: Can I use Microsoft Team’s feature in Cisco Webex Meetings?
You can also use some of the Microsoft Teams features in Cisco Webex Meetings, like screen sharing, digital whiteboard, and virtual background during video conferences. However, the Cisco Webex Meetings app for Microsoft Teams does not support hybrid Microsoft Exchange mailboxes.
The interoperability between the Cisco Webex Meeting and Microsoft Teams allows users to join Cisco Webex Meetings from Microsoft Teams if invited. Cisco Webex users can also join Microsoft Teams room’s meeting through their Cisco Webex devices.
Q: Can I use my mobile device for Cisco – Microsoft meetings?
Yes, you can use any mobile device that supports the Webex Meeting app to start, schedule, and join Microsoft Teams meetings. Cisco Webex Meetings supports mobile devices such as Touch 10, iPads, iPhones, Huawei, Xiaomi, and the new Samsung series. You can download and install the Cisco Webex Meetings app, accept the permission, and join a scheduled meeting chat with a Microsoft Team user. Your mobile device must be at least 3G compatible to support Webex -Teams meetings.
Q: How secure is the Cisco Webex Meetings within Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams has end-to-end encryption. Cisco Webex Meetings in Microsoft Teams can take advantage of the Azure AD integration in Microsoft Teams.
Q: Which is better, Cisco Webex Meetings or Microsoft Teams?
The choice between Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex Meetings is a difficult one. Although the two collaboration platforms have similar features, they also have distinct differences. It depends on the need of your organization.
The app integrations built into the Microsoft Teams makes it the best choice for collaboration. But Cisco Webex Meetings offers better conferencing solutions if your company uses Cisco voice and video devices & services. Microsoft Teams has more extensive features in its free plan than Cisco Webex Meetings. Microsoft Teams and Cisco Webex Meetings have different levels of security but Webex provides better end-users control when it comes to management than Microsoft Teams.
You need to consider what your company prioritizes. You can compare the cost, security, and telephony extensions as well as the main features of both platforms to determine your choice.
Q: Can Microsoft Teams replace Cisco Webex Meetings?
Choosing Microsoft Teams or Cisco Webex depends on your enterprise needs. Both Microsoft and Cisco are focused on bringing enterprise solutions. However, while Cisco Cisco Webex Meetings can take advantage of Cisco’s hardware solution to deliver superior video conferencing experience to its users, Microsoft can build on its Office 365 with Teams to ensure users have seamless communication and collaboration.
Q: What is the difference between Cisco Webex Meetings and Cisco Webex Teams?
Cisco Webex Meetings is a cloud-based solution for online video-conferencing and meeting while Cisco Webex Teams is a cloud-based collaboration app for teamwork. Features like meetings, group messaging, file sharing, and screen sharing are inclusive in Cisco Webex Teams.
Q: How can I use Microsoft Teams to call into a Cisco Webex Meeting?
The integration of Microsoft Teams within the Cisco Webex Meeting does not allow Microsoft Teams users to call directly into a Cisco Webex Meetings session unless invited to join the meeting.