Well, I did not see this coming, but it makes sense for all parties, and most importantly, customers. Cisco will become a partner in the Certified for Microsoft Teams program for the first time.
For those who don’t know, before being deep in the Microsoft UC world, I worked for a Cisco partner, one of the originals to launch Call Manager. I cut my VoIP teeth on Cisco before doing more and more Exchange UM and OCS and then moved over to the Microsoft UC side.
In the first half of 2023, Cisco and Microsoft will soon offer the ability to run Microsoft Teams Rooms natively on Cisco Rooms, Certified for Microsoft Teams. For these devices, Customers will have the option to make Microsoft Teams Rooms the default experience. Much like other device vendors in the Teams Ecosystem have the option of running in Zoom mode or Teams mode. This is not just an improved join experience.
In Teams mode, it will be full Microsoft Teams Rooms running on Android. The Rooms will also have an improved Cisco Webex join experience, running a Webex client for a Webex meeting join, rather than just the current Direct Guest Join. After the Webex meeting, the Room will return to the standard Microsoft Teams Rooms experience. Cisco has no Windows-based devices, so all devices will be Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android.
All certified devices will be manageable in the Teams Admin Center and the new Teams Rooms Pro Management Portal, as well as through the Cisco Control Hub device management.
Which Cisco Devices will be Certified for Microsoft Teams?
Cisco will initially certify 6 meeting devices and 3 peripherals, with apparently more to come.
Personal devices:
- Cisco Desk Camera 4K – is an intelligent desktop USB webcam and will be available by the end of October.
- Cisco Headset 320 wired and Cisco Headset 720 wireless – will be available early next year
Room/Shared space
- Cisco Board Pro 55-inch and 75-inch, Teams Board
- Cisco Room Bar, small to medium room 2-5 people
- Cisco Room Kit Pro, separate codec, for larger and more complex room setups
- Cisco Desk Pro as a Teams Display
- Cisco Room Navigator wall panel as a Teams Panel, Wall Mount and Table Stand options
Will there be a charge/license to run Cisco devices in Microsoft Teams Mode?
No, there will not be an additional charge to run Cisco devices in “Teams mode”. This question comes up a lot as there is a charge to switch Cisco IP phones to standard SIP firmware which is required to run those phones signed into Microsoft Teams SIP Gateway.
Will Cisco IP Phones be certified for Microsoft Teams?
There are a lot of Cisco Phones out there, and lots of customers that would like to use their existing investment of Cisco IP phones with Microsoft Teams. In theory, those phones run android and could run the Teams Phone software, but there is no news or comment on this, and I don’t see it coming soon.
Also, you can run select Cisco Phones with Microsoft Teams today via Microsoft Teams SIP Gateway.
Got a question or thoughts? Let me know.
Reference:
Cisco landing page for Teams Devices: https://www.webex.com/solutions/microsoft-teams-rooms-cisco-devices.html
Cisco press release: New partnership brings Microsoft Teams to Cisco meeting room devices
Cisco blog: Hybrid work, elevated. Cisco and Microsoft partner to bring customers more choice
Microsoft press release: New partnership brings Microsoft Teams to Cisco meeting room devices
