Interoperability in 2021 will Drive Better Collaboration
In collaboration IT, interoperability usually happens when competitors work together.
The News: Today Microsoft and Cisco are announcing a partnership that enables Cisco’s Webex video devices to connect to the Microsoft Teams meeting services in multiple ways. First, Cisco Webex will introduce an interop solution that will be certified as a Microsoft Cloud Video Interop (CVI) offering to allow Cisco Webex Room devices and SIP video conferencing devices to join Microsoft Teams. The Cisco Webex Meetings integration makes it easy to add a link for your Webex meeting or Personal Room meeting to your message in your team channel in Microsoft Teams. With the Webex tab, you can schedule a Webex meeting and invite channel members so that it appears in their upcoming meetings lists and in their Microsoft Office 365 calendars. Microsoft interoperability integration: + Pexip for Microsoft Teams CVI - dial into your Microsoft Teams from standards-based video systems (SIP/H323 devices) 2. Interop with WebEx., Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Cisco Webex) to ensure your teams can have a consistent and easy-to-join workflow, regardless of the service they are joining.
When two competing systems work together, without regard to brand name, the end user’s outcome then becomes the same.
This is crucial for collaboration to enable, well, genuine collaboration.
Lack of interoperability in collaborative businesses creates communication silos, friction, and often leads to what we’ve termed shadow messaging.
Interoperability vs integration
Before we dive into who teamed up in 2019, it’s important to understand the difference between interoperability and integration.
Bobby Roberts summed this up nicely in his blog. Even though the article references the healthcare industry, his thoughts are still applicable to communication & collaboration:
“Interoperability isn’tintegration.”
From Microsoft embedding its own apps into its collaboration software to Slack purchasing other apps to embed into Slack, the news circulating around this topic has been increasing.
Below is a timeline highlighting the interoperability announcements from the back of 2018 through to the most recent announcements, proving that it has become an increasing trend.
Interoperability momentum:
Federation for Microsoft Teams, Slack and Webex
April 2020
Between the major team collaboration apps, it is estimated there are over 500 million users of Slack, Microsoft, and Cisco tools.
Within an organization, you rely on tools like Slack and Teams to chat together and collaborate in a productive manner.
And when your external business contacts use that same platform, you can utilize shared channels or guest access.
But what happens when you need to chat with people outsideyour organization that use a different team collaboration app?
That’s why we created universal channels to improve intercompany collaboration.
Universal channels allow you to stay in one messaging tool and chat with your external business contacts as if they were a colleague.
By enabling clients, freelancers, and suppliers to chat in universal channels, everyone can collaborate together, share files, reply to message threads, and edit messages—all from their tool of choice.
Universal channels are available to install for Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Webex.
Slack and Microsoft Teams calling
April 2020
You can now launch a Microsoft Teams call direct from your Slack workspace. So, there’s no more leaving one app to facilitate a call on another platform.
Users of Slack can join their colleagues or external contacts who use Teams with the click of the button.
To install, search “Microsoft Teams” in the Slack app directory.
You can find all six ways to connect Slack and Microsoft Teams in this post.
Cisco and Microsoft team up for video interoperability
November 2019
As Microsoft Ignite kicked off in Orlando, Cisco announced the news that they had teamed up with Microsoft to deliver “Frictionless Collaboration in Multivendor Environments.”
Cisco and Microsoft are working together on a new approach that enables a direct guest join capability from one another’s video conferencing device to their respective meeting service web app. The feature is expected to be rolled out early 2020.
This means users will be able to join a Microsoft Teams meeting from a Webex Room Device.
Users also get the ability to join a Cisco Webex Meeting from a Microsoft Teams Room.
On why this interoperability is important, Webex SVP/GM, Sri Srinivasan, said:
“We both have a large base of customers who use Cisco and Microsoft products. Customers will benefit from a reliable interop solution using their existing Cisco video conferencing devices to seamlessly join a Microsoft Teams meeting, or using Cisco Webex Meetings to join a Microsoft Teams Room. “
Highfive meeting connector
September 2019
Highfive vowed to break down the video collaboration interoperability blockade in September.
Citing the lack of universal dialing plan for video calls, Higfive has launched a meeting connector for any meeting.
“One room, one tap, one device”.
Cisco Webex Teams Interop
With the new Highfive meeting connector, you can join meetings hosted by providers like BlueJeans, Cisco Webex, or Zoom.
You can even sync with your Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar for seamless connections to your meeting.
Slack interoperability with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft OneDrive
April 2019
Slack introduced the ability for users to connect their Outlook calendar, send email to channels, preview entire PowerPoint and Word files, and start calls from Skype for Business – all within Slack.
In a move that recognizes that Microsoft Office 365 users are still opting for Slack over Microsoft Teams and that Slack users still require apps from the Office suite, Slack has pleased a lot of users by reducing app switching.
Cisco Webex with Office 365
March 2019
During Enterprise Connect, Amy Chang led a Cisco keynote where she introduced interoperability between Cisco and Microsoft.
“We’re part of an ecosystem. Of course, our partners are using other software. We need to work with that software.”
Cisco demonstrated new capabilities where users of Webex can share, tweak, and review Microsoft documents via Office 365 interoperability within the Webex app.
Furthermore, Cisco showed users joining a Webex Meeting direct from a Microsoft Teams client.
Webex Meetings and Google Cloud
During the same keynote, Cisco also revealed scheduling and joining Webex Meetings is now possible via Google Calendar.
Pexip and Video merge
January 2019
Both companies are innovators in enterprise collaboration with specialist knowledge of cloud video conferencing and messaging.
Pexip partnered with Google Cloud this year to deliver interoperability to Hangouts Meet. Following the merger with Videxio, they plan to continue into the world of collaboration apps.
According to CEO of Pexip, Odd Sverre Ostile, the alliance between Pexip and Videxio will open the door to a new product portfolio for the joint company.
The Videxio brand has been dropped but both companies live on as Pexip.
Interoperability between Cisco Jabber and Webex
May 2018
Back in August 2017, Cisco announced Spark and Jabber interoperability.
With the introduction of Webex Calling, following the acquisition of BroadSoft, Jabber users feared they would be left without a method of messaging their Webex colleague.
As outlined in a May product update, with the Cisco Webex / Jabber Interop setting enabled, you can send or receive messages between Webex and Jabber apps.
Jabber users can also see the presence of Cisco Webex users.
Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business become interoperable
April 2018
As we eagerly followed the Teams roadmap, Microsoft announced these two clients can co-exist for a given user.
“TeamsInteropPolicy” will be retired soon, and its functionality is being consolidated into “TeamsUpgradePolicy”.
Interoperability will be managed using “coexistence mode.” Selection of the user’s mode will govern routing of incoming calls and chats.
Interoperability is crucial for collaboration
Without interoperability in collaboration, businesses won’t be able to fully leverage all the great communication platforms that exist today.
Their features and functionality will simply remain in silos or exist in a binary “select only one” environment.
The likelihood that businesses go back to pick just one communication and collaboration platform seems unlikely at this point.
The industry, and customers alike, has come around to the notion that one-size-does-not-fit-all.
Katherine Finnell pointed this out in 2017:
“A lack of interoperability among multiple team chat applications on smartphones and desktops can vex end users”.
At the time of writing, it was plainly obvious that collaboration platforms were locked down and designed to keep you in one place.
Fast forward to today.
Now, interoperability is beginning to happen within collaboration.
In a recent blog, Jonathan Rosenberg, the former VP and CTO of collaboration at Cisco, mentioned that Cisco simply couldn’t live without Microsoft.
Imagine a world where Cisco and Microsoft could play together.
Interoperability across the board
All the big players are beginning to realize the need for interoperability, at some level.
Stating that most, if not all, customers that Cisco sells to have Microsoft products.
Rosenberg believes the real question people should be asking is around “can this work together in my system?” ie – interoperability.
Slack is pushing its own integration agenda with its ever-growing app directory.
There are over 1350 apps in the Slack app store today.
This is more than any of the major messaging players, which is a big draw for enterprises.
There are apps like the Cisco Webex Bot for Slack that takes steps for interoperability, but the focus is clearly on besting app integration.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is taking a more passive approach, letting everybody interoperate with them.
For example, opening up APIs to let Cisco CUCM work with Skype for Business.
Recognition for interoperability is clear, however, in Microsoft’s interoperability statement:
“Interoperability allows disparate information systems from multiple vendors to readily work together and exchange data”.
“Google is continuing to improve its collaboration products, but it still needs to integrate them with Gmail better,” said Irwin Lazar, an analyst at Nemertes Research, “for example, users should be able to launch a chat from a Gmail thread.”
Interoperability conclusions
There is simply no point in purchasing new IT if you are still stuck in one silo.
In the messaging world, you don’t want your users to change platforms every time they need to chat with a colleague that prefers a different platform.
Mio’s chat platform interoperability literally solves this problem.
Mio is simple to set up:
- Sync all the chat apps your teams use by creating your Mio Hub
- Team members in your Mio Hub can immediately chat in DMs or groups with members on other platforms
- File sharing, threaded messages, reactions and the ability to edit and delete messages are all supported
- New channels or spaces an employee is invited to will be synced in the primary chat platform they prefer to use.
To find out more about Mio’s chat platform interoperability, check out this demo video of cross-platform messaging.
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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.
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?
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.
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?
Microsoft Teams Interop
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.
Microsoft Office Interop 2013 Download
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.