Originally a concept that was conceived by David Tucker, and Richard Platt on a napkin in 1993, the first IP PBX in the world changed the IP network platform. Soon, convergence emerged as a crucial trend, as connecting people through real-time voice became essential for many businesses. As convergence became more popular, companies like Cisco responded accordingly, integrating voicemail, call centre solutions, IM, conferencing, video, and more into a singular platform for enterprise communication.
One of the key elements of Cisco’s success has been the use of a teeming system of collaboration solutions and developers. Rich APIs for call management, automation, interoperability, and compliance mean in-house developers and ISVs can mainline business intelligence straight to the communications infrastructure, connecting the IoT, processes, systems, and people.
Building New Innovations with Cisco
During its most recent attempt to bring the business world into its network, Cisco Spark has taken the IP collaboration stack out of the server and into the cloud, bringing together consistent chat, WebEx video conferencing, screen sharing, HD video and voice, and a range of unique hardware endpoints into a unique user experience. Cisco Spark’s end-to-end encryption solution blurs the lines between WAN and LAN with UC infrastructure interoperability, adaptive bandwidth usage, and reliability-at-scale solutions.
Perhaps two of the most innovative solutions for developers and end-users have been the launch of the Cisco Spark video SDK, and the Cisco Spark Board room-conferencing system. Bringing in fantastic reviews in the world of business equipment, Cisco’s Spark Board has changed the environment for many enterprises, as a hugely capable solution for UC.
Cisco Spark Board and Cisco Spark Video SDK
Using the Cisco Spark Board, customers can connect to the Spark cloud effortless by simply plugging into their network. They then have access to the complete enterprise conference room, with stunning touchscreen collaboration and video conferencing that connects seamlessly to both PC and mobile devices.
Additionally, the Cisco Spark Video SDK complements the Cisco Spark ability to offer omnipresent video collaboration, giving developers more power to embed their Spark collaboration needs into existing applications. The Spark SDK currently supports Swift/Ios browser apps through WebRTC and JavaScript, but Android will follow soon. The system offers self-contained widgets and frameworks that let coders transform mobile apps and web pages into high-performance, secure tools for collaboration.
When you combine Cisco’s existing messaging APIs to Spark to these new solutions, business IM can begin to encounter all the possibilities of chatbots that can be linked to automation and IT systems, delivering a fully pervasive cloud collaboration solution for any agile enterprise.
Moving to Collaboration Singularity
In a world that’s increasingly focused on bringing all of its solutions for unified communications into the same space, Cisco’s latest developments, including the acquisition of the MindMeld AI company, shows its devotion to collaboration singularity. Although there are few details on what the future might look like for Cisco, the term “cognitive collaboration” has been mentioned. It’s thrilling to think about convergence, integration, and networks will continue to transform communications in businesses all over again.
