Virtual Reality: Coming Soon to a Cubicle Near You? | Cisco Systems

Cisco invites customers to experiment with Cisco Spark in VR

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

SAN JOSE, Sept. 18, 2017 –Cisco thinks it is only a matter of time before virtual reality makes a major impact on all sorts of industries—in fact, we think it is coming soon to a conference room or cubicle near you. So we are exploring the technology with our customers.

As of today, Cisco Spark™ customers can download the experimental Cisco Spark in VR app from the Oculus Rift store here. As long as they have the Cisco Spark in VR app, Oculus Rift with Touch controllers, and a Rift-compatible computer, they can meet, discuss, and interact in a virtual, three-dimensional environment. More importantly, Cisco Spark in VR bridges the gap between the virtual and the physical space by natively integrating with the Cisco Spark platform and endpoints. Users can view shared files and even whiteboard with someone outside of VR in real-time.

We want to work with customers to explore enterprise VR use cases. Learn more about the experiment atwww.ciscospark.com/VR.    

This experiment is significant since Cisco’s influence in the office is unparalleled: more than 200,000 customers worldwide—including more than 95 percent of the Fortune 500—use Cisco’s collaboration products and services to connect teams.

“This is a first, conceptual step towards a future where augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality will be integrated into the office and work,” said Jens Meggers, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Cisco’s Cloud Collaboration Technology Group (CCTG). “Adding virtual reality to the work environment will not only open a huge untapped opportunity for VR, it will help teams work together and companies bring ideas to life faster.”

Customers Interested in VR
We have been working with a small group of VR-interested customers for some time now; one such customer is Technicolor.

“Developing increasingly high-performance internet-based platforms from which rich media and entertainment experiences can be delivered is not only critical to meeting current consumer expectations, but to driving demand for emerging network-based immersive media – such as virtual, augmented and mixed reality,” says Marcie Jastrow, Senior Vice President of Immersive Media for Technicolor, and Head of the Technicolor Experience Center. “Technicolor’s work with Cisco on this front is going to play an important role in defining how content creators and distributors bring new and exciting ways for audiences to interact with these next generation experiences.”

Cisco Spark Makes it Possible
Cisco Spark provides everything teams need for meetings, messages and calls. Backed by Cisco security and reliability, the Cisco Spark platform is API-based, making it simple to integrate with VR.

Cisco will be a featured participant in the Oculus Connect panel discussion on VR use in business next month in San Jose.

Learn more about Cisco Spark in VR on Live@Cisco on Tuesday, Sept 19th at 10:30 am PT. 

Additional Resources

Blog by Jens Meggers

Video of Cisco Spark in VR

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