Cisco to acquire Voicea for AI voice transcription in Webex
Through its planned acquisition of Voicea, Cisco will add an AI voice transcription engine to the Webex cloud while also undercutting competing for video conferencing providers that support integrations with the startup. The deal, announced Tuesday, is expected to close by the end of October.
Cisco will use Voicea's platform to provide real-time transcription throughout the Webex suite -- first in Webex Meetings and later in Webex Calling and Webex Contact Center. The startup's AI assistant, known as EVA, also generates meeting summaries and highlights items that require follow-up.
Cisco has sought to make "cognitive collaboration" -- a term for AI features ranging from facial recognition to computer-generated profiles of meeting attendees -- the main selling point of its collaboration products. But the vendor still relies on third parties for voice transcription, a gap the Voicea acquisition will fill.
Cisco plans to offer voice transcription and other basic services at no additional charge to Webex subscribers, but customers will need to pay a premium to access some of Voicea's more advanced features. That's as much detail as the company is prepared to share at this point, Sri Srinivasan, the general manager of Webex, said.
Voicea, formerly known as Voicera, currently runs on the infrastructure of one of the leading public cloud providers. Cisco will move the startup's technology to the Webex cloud, a global network of more than two dozen data centers that Srinivasan said would be able to better secure the meeting records generated by Voicea.
Cisco expects to use its existing AI capabilities to improve Voicea. For example, Webex added facial recognition earlier this year; that feature could be paired with Voicea to help identify who is speaking in meeting transcripts.
Voicea also integrates with roughly 20 task management and collaboration products, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Confluence, Zendesk, Trello and Zapier. Users can command EVA to create tasks, set reminders and share links into those third-party apps.
"It's reasonable to think that other applications integrated into Cisco, whether they be a workflow or office suites, will also be able to benefit with the Voicea features … turning the acquisition into a significant differentiator for Cisco's user base," said Wayne Kurtzman, an analyst at IDC.
Voicea to sever ties with other video apps
Srinivasan confirmed that Cisco plans to eventually end Voicea's support for competing online meetings apps. "We will be happy to shrink-wrap a free license to those customers to Webex," he said.
Voicea is available to users of all major video conferencing apps as an optional add-on. Many of those vendors, including Microsoft and Zoom, provide their own transcription services. But others, such as BlueJeans and Lifesize, rely exclusively on partnerships with third parties, including Voicea, Fireflies.ai and Reason8.
Voicea is the only transcription service available to BlueJeans customers. The company is in the early stages of testing Google and other third-party services, a company spokesperson said.
The ability to derive insights from meetings using AI will become a significant differentiator in the collaboration market over the next few years, said Adam Preset, analyst at Gartner.
"Webex customers won't have to scramble around looking to add extra AI tools to win in the struggle with meetings," Preset said. "The help will be baked into the platform they'll already be using."
Founded in 2016, Voicea has received more than $20 million in startup funding, led by the venture capital firm e.ventures, according to Crunchbase. The investment arms of Cisco, Microsoft and Salesforce were all early financial backers of the company, incorporated as Rizio Inc.
Voicea's CEO and co-founder, Omar Tawakol, previously founded the marketing data platform BlueKai, which was acquired by Oracle in 2014. The company declined an interview request, referring questions to Cisco.
source searchunifiedcommunications
Industry: Unified Communications & Artificial Intelligence
Latest Jobs
-
- IAM Consultant- OKTA
- Germany
- upto €90,000 plus benefits
-
I am looking for an experienced IAM process Manager to help drive forward a series of IAM implementation for a global Manufacturing business, Ideally you will be skilled with Okta and have knowledge of PAM Solutions, You will be responsible for: Driving the design and continuous improvement of complex IAM solutions in close collaboration with business partners Consult on the optimisation of IAM processes and design proper IT-based solutions to meet availability and quality targets Define technical specifications for SW-development (standards, design patterns, test cases, scenarios) and manage the life cycle of designed solutions Actively scan for relevant innovations and new technologies to identify further potential for improving IAM solutions and processes using OKTA Analyse new features of the regular Okta releases We are looking for someone with strong IAM experience as an Architect, Analyst, Technical Engineer, or similar role in the Identity and Security domain Experience with relevant certifications in development/administration, design and configuration of the Okta IAM platforms Familiar with LCM - joiners, movers, leavers, application federation - SAML, OIDC, SCIM and many other IAM terms Good mix of competences in IAM business process and project management concepts and tools e.g., ServiceNow, Jira, PRINCE2, SCRUM (agile)
-
- SAP Security Consultant
- France
- upto €70,000 plus benefits
-
I am looking for an experienced SAP Security Consultant. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of SAP security concepts and be able to apply them to real-world scenarios. ideally you will also have experience with Securitybridge or Onapsis, or a similar SAP security tool. Your responsibilities will include: Reviewing and auditing SAP security settings and controls Identifying and remediating security vulnerabilities Implementing security best practices Educating users on SAP security Experience experience in SAP security Experience with Securitybridge or Onapsis, or a similar SAP security tool would be very advantageous Strong understanding of SAP security concepts Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills Excellent communication and presentation skills Fluent in French & English
-
- Post Grad MSc Cyber security - Junior Cyber Risk Analyst wanted. UK
- United Kingdom
- Entry role
-
The perfect start to your new Cyber Security Career. Post Graduate Cyber Risk Analyst Wanted. Are you are fresh from earning your Cyber Security MSc and eager to start your career in Cyber Security? We are looking for a recent post graduate to join a forward thinking Cyber Security Consultancy for the ideal entry role into Cyber Security. Whilst employed industry experience is not expected, as full training and support will be provided, a history of recent education in Cyber Security / Cyber Risk is essential. We are looking for someone with an inquisitive mind, who is confident to ask the right questions and who isn't afraid to challenge the status quo. Superb communication skills are a must (in person, written and verbal) This is a UK based role that is remote first with monthly travel (1-2 a month) to meet with the team and in time to meet clients. If you aren’t available to travel this isn’t the opportunity. We are unable to provide VISA sponsorship as there will be a requirement to achieve Security clearance If you're adaptable, open to fresh perspectives, and excited to be part of a forward-thinking team and looking for an opportunity to help make a difference in a Cyber consulting role, this opportunity is for you. For more information apply here……
-
- Microsoft Exchange Contractor | London | OUTSIDE IR35 | SC Cleared
- London
- OUTSIDE IR35
-
Microsoft Exchange Contractor | London | OUTSIDE IR35 | SC Cleared • We require someone that has experience of migration exchange from windows server 2012 to 2019. • In depth understand of On-Prem exchange server management and deployment. • Experience migrating On-Prem exchange servers from 2012 upwards. • Secure Email Gateway experience essential Due to the nature of the requirement the individual must be commutable to London 2-3 days a week.