Microsoft Teams And Cisco



See how you can use Cisco Webex Meetings within Microsoft Teams. Easily start or join your Webex Meetings directly from Microsoft Teams. See your full meeting list and schedule meetings on your. Though Cisco Webex also offers a free version, in comparison, Microsoft Teams offers far more generous features in the free version. Cisco Webex’s cheapest plan starts with $13.50 per user per month and calling service add-ons would be priced extra. When you must decide between Teams vs Webex with cost as a factor, Microsoft Teams wins hands. Microsoft Teams Microsoft partners with selected Session Border Controllers (SBC) vendors to certify that their SBCs work with Direct Routing. Microsoft works with each vendor to: Jointly work on the SIP interconnection protocols.

Bring rich messaging and collaboration into your files with Cisco Webex Teams. Message in Cisco Webex Teams group and 1:1 spaces directly from your Microsoft Word, Excel, or Powerpoint file. The Cisco Webex Teams add-in allows you to create a group space or join your existing spaces. The Webex Teams add-in also provides an easy way to link a relevant space to a document. To use Microsoft Teams on Cisco room kit like the SX10, follow these instructions: Dial the SIP address provided in the Join with a video conferencing device section of the Teams meeting Enter the VTC conference ID when prompted Join the Teams meeting.

If you’re in the situation where you’re using Microsoft Teams meetings at home but have Cisco video conferencing devices in the office, you’re probably looking for a way to make these work together.

In this post, we run through all your options for Microsoft Teams integration with Cisco video conferencing.

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Cisco Webex Meetings for Microsoft Teams

You can use the Cisco Webex Meetings app to schedule, start, or join a Cisco Webex meeting or Webex Personal Room right from within Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams And Cisco Webex

All you need to do is install the Cisco Webex Meetings app into Microsoft Teams. If you don’t have admin access, you’ll need to ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to add this for you.

Once you have the app, you will get a Webex tab in Microsoft Teams.

Once installed, you can view your upcoming meetings and join straight from the list.

You can also join meeting rooms or start a new meeting with a recent contact - all without leaving Teams.

When a meeting is about to start, you can even get a Webex notification in Teams.

This integration is great for getting the most of virtual meetings when you’re working away from the office.

How to join a Microsoft Teams meeting from a Cisco device

If you’re phasing out legacy Cisco equipment because you now use Teams, the process probably isn’t big bang.

If you’re migrating users and rooms from one platform to another, there will be an overlap period where both are in play.

At this point, it’s important to ensure your new Microsoft 365 software integrates with your existing Cisco equipment.

The below endpoints can't join Teams meetings without native cloud video interop to bridge the connection.

OneMeeting provides just that.

Once installed, here’s how you can join a Microsoft Teams meeting from Cisco devices:

Using the Cisco DX80 with Microsoft Teams

To use Microsoft Teams on Cisco room kit like the DX80, follow these instructions:

  1. Dial the SIP address provided in the Join with a video conferencing device section of the Teams meeting
  2. Enter the VTC conference ID when prompted
  3. Join the Teams meeting

Using the Cisco SX10 with Microsoft Teams

Teams

To use Microsoft Teams on Cisco room kit like the SX10, follow these instructions:

  1. Dial the SIP address provided in the Join with a video conferencing device section of the Teams meeting
  2. Enter the VTC conference ID when prompted
  3. Join the Teams meeting

Joining Microsoft Teams meetings from any Cisco device

In fact, for OneMeeting customers, joining a Teams meeting from any Cisco devices is as simple as the two examples above.

  1. Dial the SIP address provided in the Join with a video conferencing device section of the Teams meeting
  2. Enter the VTC conference ID when prompted
  3. Join the Teams meeting

Can Webex Teams communicate with Microsoft Teams?

The Webex portfolio used to be split to include Webex Teams and Webex Meetings. Cisco has now combined the two apps to make a single Webex app for both meetings and messaging.

Webex users who choose to stay in Webex for their messaging will likely be using Webex Teams instead of Webex Meetings.

If you’re a Teams user and you need to communicate with a colleague or external contact in Webex, you have a few options.

Microsoft Teams and Webex message interop

Microsoft Teams And Cisco Phone

If you have one department that uses Webex and another who uses Microsoft Teams, you can enable message interop between the two platforms.

This means you can send messages from Webex to Microsoft Teams.

All you need to do is install Mio in the background to get this set up.

For example, if your sales team uses Webex because they always used Webex Meetings in the past, they can now chat with your customer service team who use Microsoft Teams.

You can use message interop internally for both direct messaging and working in channels.

Microsoft Teams and Webex external federation

If you need to message from Microsoft Teams to an external contact - like a contractor or partner - you can do this by installing a universal channel.

You’ll need to be a Microsoft admin - or get your Microsoft admin to authorise the app - so you can install the universal channels app in the background.

Once installed, you create a new channel in Microsoft Teams and send a link to your external contact who uses Webex.

Once they join, you’ve created a channel across platform for you both to collaborate in.

Webex Calling in Microsoft Teams

Cisco Webex also provides a calling platform since its acquisition of BroadSoft in 2018.

While adding a calling platform to Cisco’s portfolio, it also means any BroadSoft customers who want to use Microsoft Teams must integrate the two.

If you want to use Webex Calling from Microsoft Teams, you need to download the Webex call app for Microsoft Teams.

Once installed, when your users start an external call from Microsoft Teams, it will use the Webex calling platform.

To start this process:

Microsoft Teams And Cisco Integration

  • Check all users who need this integration are verified in the Webex Control Hub
  • Make sure they are registered to Cisco Webex Calling or in your Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM)
  • Install the Webex app for each user you need to use Webex Calling
  • Update phone numbers for users in the Azure Active Directory (AD)
  • If you don’t already, change your permission policies to allow third-party apps
  • Then, in the Microsoft Teams Admin Center, click Teams Apps then Manage Apps
  • Search for Webex Call and change to Allow

Next time your users log in, they will be using the Webex Calling platform even when they start an external call from Microsoft Teams.

While this sounds great on the surface, it does open up a new window when you dial.

Microsoft Teams And Cisco Call Manager

If you’ve moved to Microsoft Teams to have all your communications in one place, this is a little beside the point.

Meetings between Webex and Microsoft Teams

To facilitate meetings between Webex users and Microsoft Teams users, OneMeeting provides a one-touch join experience regardless of the platform you’re using.

When you configure OneMeeting in the background, meeting participants on either Webex or Microsoft Teams can join the same meeting using a unique URL.

When you click the meeting URL, you can join from whichever meeting app you prefer - Webex or Microsoft Teams.

Joining Webex meetings from Microsoft Teams in the office

OneMeeting works for both remote meetings and in-person meetings. You don’t even have to change video devices. OneMeeting allows you to join any meeting from any device.

Picture the scene:

  • You’ve rolled out virtual meeting rooms to your users so they could all work from home during the pandemic.
  • You already had video conferencing equipment installed in your meeting rooms and boardrooms.
  • Because you needed the quickest solution to work from home, your virtual meeting rooms and existing video conferencing system in your office aren’t the same.
  • People are starting to use the office again but your video platforms don’t work with each other.

If your scenario is something like this, you’re not alone.

Sandwiched between the millions of Microsoft Teams users are millions of users with other video conferencing services.

In your company, this could be hundreds or thousands. Even if it’s a handful, it’s an issue you shouldn’t have to deal with.

And with OneMeeting, you don’t need to.

Video interoperability

OneMeeting uses Pexip’s video interoperability service to connect your legacy kit in the office with Microsoft Teams at home.

By connecting your video platforms together, you create one-click join experience for your meeting participants.

Pexip apps and APIs creates a bridge between any SIP or H323 video conferencing system and the Microsoft cloud.

Taking Pexip apps one step further, OneMeeting is unique in that it takes the Microsoft Teams Cloud Video Interop (CVI) and makes your experience Microsoft Teams first.

In addition, you benefit from OneMeeting providing:

  1. A vendor-agnostic approach
  2. Full customisation of the native Microsoft Teams meeting invitation
  3. Full customisation and branding of the OneMeeting service from your video conferencing rooms
  4. Reporting via PowerBI

This means your users get a consistent experience regardless of the meeting room they join from. Less switching between meeting apps means happier users, less administration, and a slicker experience.

OneMeeting enables users to share and collaborate from any in-room video conferencing system, as well as from their desktop or smartphone.

Once installed, you remove the scheduling conflicts, awkward user experiences, and integration issues.

You can view the OneMeeting technical documentation here.

Use your Cisco Webex Rooms or other SIP devices to join CVI-enabled Microsoft Teams (typically your own company’s meetings). Table 1 outlines the features and benefits of the Webex Video Integration for Microsoft Teams within an organization.

Many modern workplaces today have a mix of different vendors across their collaboration and extended productivity portfolios, making interoperability and integrations crucial to enable and retain work productivity. Cisco Webex® Video Integration for Microsoft Teams is designed for customers that standardized on Cisco® Webex Rooms and other Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) standard video devices and use Microsoft Teams for a meeting solution. It enables customers to connect these devices to Microsoft Teams without having to deploy a third-party interoperability solution.

Cisco Webex Video Integration for Microsoft Teams is a Microsoft Certified third-party solution based on Cloud Video Interop (CVI) for Microsoft Teams.

Table 1.Features and benefits

Feature

Benefit

One-Button-To-Push (OBTP) join experience with Webex Calendar Service

The optimal user experience is provided with OBTP provided by Cisco Webex Hybrid Calendar Service. Easily and quickly join meetings by pressing a join button when it’s time to attend the meeting.

Direct dial or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) when OBTP is not available

If a device has not been OBTP-enabled, users can still join from their SIP device of choice via direct dial-in or IVR.

Webex supported layouts

Users enjoy an optimized user experience, with the ability to focus on what’s important to them by taking full advantage of multi-screen systems and flexible layout options.

Bi-directional content sharing (via physical connection or wireless for on-premises device(s)

Users can connect their laptop to a Webex Room device in order to share content during their meeting. With flexible screen layouts, users can decide on the best user experience to view someone else’s sharing.

Full roster list

Attendees gain full visibility into who joined the meeting, including any other Cisco Webex Rooms as well as Microsoft Teams devices.

Lobby management

Cisco Webex Video Integration for Microsoft Teams follows the Microsoft Teams lobby policy, simplifying management and increasing meeting security.

Webex Control Hub-based configuration

Streamline the admin experience via a centralized configuration.

To view buying options and to speak with a Cisco sales representative, visit: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/buy.html.