On day two of WebexOne 2025 in San Diego, the expo floor was humming with the usual cocktail of excitement, branded lanyards, and the faint whiff of over-brewed coffee. Among the noise, I sat down with Amit Barave, Vice President of Product Management, Webex by Cisco, to explore a deceptively simple question: is all this AI actually making work better for people, or is it just another layer of technical wizardry?
The Business Challenges Behind the Tech
Beneath the polished keynotes and slick demos lies a set of business headaches that won’t shift with another shiny feature:
- IT teams drowning in complexity.
- Employees missing key details in meetings.
- Leaders struggling to connect people, processes, and technology into something resembling productivity.
This is where Cisco wants to change the script. Their banner slogan this year, “Connected Intelligence,” isn’t just marketing poetry—it’s an attempt to describe a workplace where people, AI, and devices genuinely operate as teammates.
“Connected Intelligence isn’t about replacing people but amplifying them. Imagine tens, even hundreds, of AI agents working in the background, invisible but essential,” – Amit Barave, VP of Product Management, Webex by Cisco.
AI Canvas, AI Assistant, and the Everyday ‘I Wish I Had…’ Moments
Barave points to three big levers powering the Webex Suite this year:
- AI Assistant & AI Canvas – Designed not just for convenience but for IT sanity. “We’re extending the ability to troubleshoot and manage across domains, not just Webex. That means fewer blind spots for IT and smoother experiences for users,” he told me.
- AI Tasks, Scheduler & Workflow Automation – Less about gimmicks, more about those “I wish I had…” moments—like real-time note-taking, or polling colleagues mid-meeting without breaking the flow.
- Security woven into everything – A classic Cisco hallmark. As Barave put it, “The future isn’t just about faster AI—it’s about safer AI.”
A Human-Centric AI Vision
The human angle matters. Whether it’s brainstorming sessions captured automatically by a notetaker agent, or workflows simplified by automation, the goal isn’t to swamp employees with more tools—it’s to free them from digital drudgery.
“The big takeaway from even the keynote was this: Webex Suite is getting ready for the next evolution of the workforce, where people and AI agents work together,” – Amit Barave.
“Connected Intelligence,” Barave explains, isn’t about showy demos. It’s about solving business pain points quietly but effectively.
Why It Matters for Enterprise Leaders
For enterprise leaders watching closely, the message is clear: the AI race isn’t about who has the flashiest assistant. It’s about who can genuinely solve business pain points while making humans and AI better partners.
Cisco is betting that Webex can be that bridge.
