Cisco with BabbleLabs will focus on Webex against Zoom, Teams and Google Meet
Thanks to the acquisition of BabbleLabs, a company that operates in the field of artificial intelligence applied to communications, Cisco will be able to update Webex, its video conferencing platform
Cisco is increasingly aiming to compete with Zoom & co by improving the audio quality of its Webex video conferencing platform.
The Californian company leader in the production of technologies for the tlc sector has announced its intention to acquire the American BabbleLabs. The latter operates in the field of artificial intelligence applied to communications and videoconferencing applications.
With BabbleLabs, Cisco aims for 100% noise removal at the source where it occurs.
Videoconferencing services are growing with the increasing adoption of remote work. The impact of the global Covid-19 crisis has led to a rapidly growing video communications services market.
All the details.
CISCO WILL BUY BABBLELABS
The acquisition of BabbleLabs is part of a strategy that involves integrating technologies and talent to continue integrating intelligence into Cisco's Collaboration platform, the company explained.
A quality remote meeting cannot be separated from quality audio, says Jeetu Patel, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco Security and Applications Business Unit.
THE DETAILS OF THE OPERATION
The acquisition of Cisco is expected to be completed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, subject to customary closing conditions and obtaining regulatory approvals.
Upon completion, the BabbleLabs team will join the Cisco Collaboration Group, which is part of the Cisco Security and Applications Business Unit, and is led by Javed Khan, senior VP and GM.
WHAT BABBLELABS DOES
Founded in late 2017, BabbleLabs uses advanced artificial intelligence techniques to distinguish human language from unwanted noise, improving the quality of communications and conferencing applications.
The startup says its offerings go beyond existing noise-canceling technology solutions. It also removes background noise in real time and enhances the voice to elevate communication, regardless of language.
BabbleLabs is “delighted to join Cisco and the company's Collaboration Group,” said Chris Rowen, CEO and co-founder of BabbleLabs. “We share the same passion for voice quality as a key element for remote collaboration and communication,” he added.
THE WEBEX PLATFORM
Webex is the cloud-based collaboration platform that enables users to host online meetings with HD video, audio, and screen sharing, acquired by Cisco in 2007 for $ 3.2 billion.
According to Business Insider , Webex has seen a sevenfold increase in adoption since the start of the pandemic and reached peaks of 324 million users in March and 500 million meeting attendees in April.
IMPROVE SOUND … AND PRIVACY
Through BabbleLabs solutions, the Webex platform will improve speaking voice by filtering out unwanted background noises that can arise during a virtual meeting.
As Techcrunch points out , "Interestingly, Cisco also sees this as a kind of privacy game by removing the background conversation."
ZOOM RIVAL, MICROSOFT TEAMS & CO
According to media reports , Cisco's Webex platform is competing for market dominance with its 324 million registered users in March 2020 with Zoom. Zoom's daily active users increased to over 200 million in March, up 21% since the end of 2019. However, the platform has been facing security and privacy concerns in recent times. Without forgetting Microsoft Teams, the platform of the Redmond giant, which has 44 million users.
But also Google sprinta: the Meet video conferencing service, reached three million users a day in April.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cisco-con-babblelabs-puntera-su-webex-contro-zoom-teams-e-google-meet/ on Thu, 27 Aug 2020 05:50:48 +0000.