In the past couple of months you have surely heard of Webex, the suite of Cisco dedicated to the world of teleconferencing. It is the tool that schools are using to give lessons, it is the favorite tool of companies all over the world for internal communication, it is the reference platform for webinars and online events.
I know, all these things seem to collide with each other. In short, how can a software that is used by teachers to explain history, mathematics and Italian also be useful for events open to a wider audience?
Simple: Webex, as I mentioned at the beginning, is a suite. This means that it provides several tools gathered under a single hat but designed to meet absolutely different needs. In particular, there are 4 tools that Cisco makes available: Meetings, Events, Training e Teams.
Let's try to understand what they do, what points they have in common and what differentiates them.
Cisco Webex Meetings: What It Is and How It Works
Meetings is the platform dedicated to video calls, is meant to work both via browser and via dedicated software and yes, it also has a free application, available on both Android and iOS.
Using it is really very simple. First of all you need an organizer, that is, a single user who decides to subscribe to Webex Meetings thus creating his or her private room. This does not mean that you will have to invest money right away. It is actually possible to opt for the free version which already offers you several cool features, including:
- the ability to host up to 100 participants per meeting;
- no duration limit;
- support for incoming calls for audio (which means that someone can connect by phone if they do not have a PC or connection);
- the possibility of share desktop, specific applications, any file and the whiteboard;
- the integrated chat.
You also don't have to go crazy to figure out how to make the system work. Once your account is created, Webex will generate a personal meeting room which anyone can access using the appropriate link. Your guests will not need any account and can decide whether to download the lightweight client or use the browser to connect. Once chosen, just enter the name, select microphone and webcam and that's it.
Finally, you don't have to worry about security. First of all why meeting rooms support the TLS 1.2 standard to ensure privacy and secondly, because you can lock your meeting room to avoid unpleasant intrusions while you are using it.
Why should i upgrade to the paid version?
If Webex Meetings already offers all of this, why should i evaluate one of the 3 paid plans, ie Starter at € 12,85, Plus at € 17,30 and Business at € 25,65?
Of course it depends on the use you intend to make of it but be aware that the paid variants offer many other services, from cloud space (up to 10 GB) meeting recordings passing through the transcriptions of the recordings, the user management, the customizable URL or the ability to authorize others to schedule meetings on behalf of the organization. In short, if you have to manage small teams or even large companies, you will undoubtedly see the advantages of paid plans.
If you want to understand what each variant offers, I recommend you visit this page that allows you to understand at a glance which plan can really do for you.
Cisco Webex Events: cosa cambia?
Despite the aesthetic similarity, Webex Events was born with a very different intent: host large events. We are no longer facing an informal meeting but an event that foresees a subdivision into Panelist and Attendee, that is, speakers and participants.
Here the threshold of people rises to 3000 but many features remain unchanged. It's possible:
- share the desktop and specific applications;
- pass control to other speakers;
- connect via telephone;
- use chat.
However, there are important differences. First of all, only the panelists appear on the video, but be aware that the organizer can change the role of the participants at any time. It will also be possible to have a portion of the window dedicated to Q&A (Questions & Answers, i.e. Questions and Answers), with assignment of individual questions to the various speakers, and activate the use of immediate feedback, so you can understand in real time if the audience is interested or not.
Then there are more advanced functions related to subscriber management, event reminders, post-event survey and even an e-commerce function for payment via PayPal.
In short, Events is perfect for corporate conventions, university lectures or online events that involve a large influx of people who, mainly, will behave as spectators.
Cisco Webex Training: The perfect tool for distance learning
Training, as the name suggests, it is born for the formation. The basic features are the same as for Meetings and Events which means sharing the screen, files and multimedia contents, in addition to the inevitable text chat.
Then there are perfect tools for training:
- the board Polls to interact with your virtual classroom;
- he tab Q & A to collect questions and assign them to a specific speaker;
- the blackboard, useful if you need, for example, to explain mathematical formulas;
- le annotations on screen sharing, with which you can indicate a precise point on the display;
- the recording of the lesson, to be sent if necessary to those absent or to be sent to those present for a review.
If you decide to schedule your training session you also have the option of already add materials and tests to submit to your students.
The management of people is inevitable. You can change attendees, promote them to speakers, and allow the use of the webcam to see the people you are interacting with.
Webex Training is therefore the main tool for distance learning, complete with every necessary tool and designed to guarantee stability and safety.
Teams, collaboration first of all
Webex Teams it is a very different software from the previous ones. In fact, we are not talking about a program dedicated to video and audio conferencing, but to a tool that allows you to communicate with colleagues verbatim, at any time of the day and asynchronously.
Teams is therefore a tool for collaboration. A place to exchange views without the burden of video calling and with the ability to create Team and Spaces different. What changes? A team can be, for example, a department of your company or a class. A Space, on the other hand, is more specific and thematic.
Let's take the simplest example, the school one. Let's assume you have the 5B Class Team. The 5B, however, follows the lessons of mathematics, history, Italian, English and so on. You could have a Space for each subject and maybe add one that you can call Interval and that the kids can use to communicate with each other in an informal way.
In a company, on the other hand, we can take a specific department, such as Marketing. A Team that can however rely on different Spaces that can be associated with specific sub-departments or single projects.
Of course, all Spaces offer the same tools: the aforementioned chat - group or single -, the tool for ccapture of the screen, the attachments and even emoji e gif to communicate in a more effective and human way.
You can also use Teams for schedule a meeting on Meetings. In fact, the two tools are perfectly integrated with each other so as to facilitate communication with colleagues.
The world of Webex
By now you will have understood: the world of Cisco Webex is quite varied but not complex at all. Once you have framed the individual instruments, finding the one that best suits you will be quite simple. You simply need to understand what you need, what your purpose is, and how many people you need to interact with. The rest will pretty much come by itself.
Do you want to communicate with a small team? Meetings and Teams might be for you.
Are you thinking of organizing a corporate mega-conference? Then Events can help you.
Do you have a class to check? Surely it can take advantage of Training.
If you want to learn more about the universe created by Cisco, we suggest you follow the online lessons found on the official Webex site.
Finally, we remind you that for any doubts, questions and concerns you can contact us on our Facebook group.
