Item: Webex App
Rating: 5
Author: Daniel Dammerman

Overall Satisfaction with Webex App

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We still use Webex primarily for customer conferences. Typical uses include screen share, chat during meetings. We also use audio and camera. We use the platform both for domestic and global. We bounce the "beach ball" from host to host. etc. To get tactical, we use it for discovery calls, vendor meets pricing/proposal reviews, and customer facing presentations. we also use it internally for all-hands and informal meetings.

Pros and Cons

Pros

video quality is high
voice quality is generally high
in app chat functionality allows broadcast or private messages -- very useful

Cons

seems like I hit "dead ports" a lot of the time when I initially connect
ability to silence participants cna be difficult to find "on the fly"
not sure if integration with apps like Gong is available? The ability to record should be built-in

Return on Investment

it shortens revenue cycles by facilitating meetings quickly
If facilitates all hands meetings to quickly disseminate strategy
it reduces the need for assistants and reduces manual setup time for meetings by automating meeting logistics, so there is productivity gain there

Adoption

We use the WebEx App as a spot solution, which means we turn to WebEx only when a customer specifically demand this platform, or when Zoom or Teams is unavailable or fails. This is the story universally/globally as far as our company goes. I do not believe there are any plans to change at this stage.

Cisco Products Used for Hybrid Work

Webex App

Organizational Challenges Faced

the problem was scale. how to quickly get everyone offboarded to remote work simultaneously. Webex was used from time to time during this transition, but as previously described, is behind Teams and Zoom in our conference-software roster.

Impact on Organizational Challenges

i am sure that there are routers / switches at our campus, probably coupled with Meraki and APs. From my experience, I only use Webex as a spot solution behind other software programs. It (webex) performed admirably when needed.

Hybrid Work Experience

We have our remote / hybrid model working very smoothly at this time. Onboarding is quick, both efficient and effective. SSO enables smooth access to various software programs needed to do our job. Access is high and typically feels flawless.

Alternatives Considered

Zoom and Microsoft Teams

Webex was the incumbent and I had no influence. Webex is enterprise - caliber and in many ways indistinguishable from the others, though it does seem to be slightly less reliable, as previously mentioned I find myself hitting "dead ports". MS Teams offers some very interesting integrations, and Zoom has become the tool du jour due to it's Covid surge.

Key Insights

Do you think Webex App delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Webex App's feature set?

Yes

Did Webex App live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Webex App go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Webex App again?

Yes

Other Software Used

ZoomInfo Sales, Outreach, Showpad eOS®, Clari, Looker, Slack, Xactly Incent®, Navisite Productivity and Collaboration (Microsoft Office 365 and MDM), Google Calendar, Google Drive, Greenhouse, Navan, Expensify

Likelihood to Recommend

This product is suitable for geographically dispersed teams or multi-company conferences. This is well suited for job interviews. This is particularly well suited for presentations as the screen share function comes in very handy. It seems less appropriate as a pure voice play .. coordinating the call is much more time-consuming than just calling someone's cell phone. The ability to integrate and embed links with email programs is very much appreciated. I personally feel that this tool ranks below MS Teams and Zoom, but it still enterprise caliber.

Webex App Feature Ratings

Cisco Hybrid Work

Hybrid Work Model

Working from anywhere (e.g., coffee shop, airport)
Working from an office or other company space
Working from home

Hybrid Work Implementation Progress

Fully accomplished. A large percentage of our workforce works primarily remote. Many flex between campus and other offsite locations.

Other Products Considered

Honestly, Webex is quite similar to Teams and Zoom ... I feel that after using them all, I am unaware of any differentiators.

Other Collaboration Services Used

Microsoft Teams
Zoom
Google Meet

Cisco Webex Experience

All-in-one Platform

none that i am aware of

Security

collaboration is well done, security seems spot-on. participant management and host settings are intuitive and easy to setup.

Ease-of-Use

I have noticed that the noise suppression is impressive. I work from home with young children frequently in the house, and the background noise on my end can be a challenge. I have often wondered how exactly the software reduces the background noise.

Using Webex App

Users and Roles

300 - Sales

Support Headcount Required

1 - general IT support ... since we use primarily the "over the top app" the support is minimal

Business Processes Supported

conference calls
remote team collaboration
geographic dispersed teas coming together cost-effectively

Innovative Uses

as a backup if other services are unavailable

Future Planned Uses

could use collaboration
could grow, expand, become de facto conference tool

Likelihood to Renew

it ain't broken. ;) comes in handy for limited use case. no replacement in mind at this time

Evaluating Webex App and Competitors

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

Ease of Use

used primarily for sales calls. since we are bringing disparate groups together and they may be using Zoom, or Teams, or who knows what, we want a light app that is quick and easy

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I think we are pretty well set with our process and decision. I doubt I would change a thing this next time around.

Webex App Implementation

Implementation Rating

turnkey ... no problems at all

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Don't know

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal - Most folks had been exposed to the app previously, and the usability is very similar to that in Teams or Zoom. Minimal change management was required.

Implementation Issues

communication with user community

Webex App Training

Training Types Used

No Training

In-Person Training

Online Training

Ease of Webex App Training

very intuitive, easy to just pick up and use. no training needed for basic features

Configuring Webex App

Product Configurability

We have not had to explore any configurability ... impossible for me to chime in on this topic. I have not heard anything from other users regarding configurability

Configuration Lessons

Afraid not. we did not have to do anything custom. OOB is just fine for our use cases

UI Customization

No - we have not done any customization to the interface

Extensibility and Customization

No - we have not done any custom code

Additional Customization Considerations

there was nothing custom with our instance

Webex App Support

Support Rating

I have had to manually get connected to meetings once or twice in the past and it seems like the agent was able to quickly plug me in when I was having difficulty. This is the only time I can recall using support, so I do not have much else to share on the topic

Webex App Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

I do not think so

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of Webex App Support

I have had connectivity issues to important calls before. I dialed for support and was pleasantly surprised to have my issue resolved very swiftly and effectively. The operator was able to connect me to my conference and I missed very little. No explanation was offered as to what the problem on the front-end was, but in the end, the support was exceptional.

Using Webex App

Usability

lots of the time it was click and go. didn't have to think or configure, just show up at the appointed time and ensure your camera and microphone were on (or off!) share screen button, mute button, etc. are all featured prominently and easy to find.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	Inconsistent

Easy Tasks

connecting
chat
video
collaboration
assigning call leader/organizer status

Difficult Tasks

none

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

Yes - The mobile has worked well on my iphone.

Webex App Reliability

Scalability

I have no visiblity to this side of the app

Reliability and Availability

I still rate Webex lower than Teams and Zoom. I have not documented or counted the data, but anecdotally, I am certain that I hit more "dead-ports" and connection issues when using Webex.

Performance

Software loads and runs well. I like the ability to run the full app version, or, just run through a browser using a lightweight webex experience. In a pinch, this ability has saved my bacon when I had to connect in an emergency on a borrowed phone or computer.

Integrating Webex App

Ease of Integration

integration is a snap

Future Integration Plans

salesforce
outreach
clari

Types of Integration

File import/export

Systems Integrated With

Outlook

Calendars are integrated for scheduling ... I have no line of sight as to how difficult the integration was, but given Outlooks robust capabilities and ubiquitous nature in Enterprise, I have to believe it was close to turnkey.