Cisco launches SA PoP for Webex Calling and Contact Centre
This launch follows a series of strategic acquisitions by Cisco, including UK-based IMImobile and Slovakia-based Slido, aimed at strengthening its customer experience and collaboration portfolio.
With IMImobile’s omnichannel capabilities and AI-powered automation, Cisco has expanded its Customer Experience as a Service (CXaaS) offering, enabling businesses to deliver seamless customer interactions.
Meanwhile, Slido’s integration into Webex has enhanced virtual meetings with interactive features such as live polling and Q&A sessions.
“Over the past decade, we’ve evolved our cloud strategy to meet the changing demands of our customers,” Shane Heraty, MD of Cisco Africa told Bizcommunity in a conversation after the event press briefing.
“Our relationship with AWS has been instrumental in this journey, allowing us to scale our solutions efficiently.”
The launch of this PoP is a direct response to the growing demand for high-quality, secure cloud calling and contact centre solutions in South Africa.
Enhancing SA’s BPO industry
The local PoP will particularly benefit the local BPO industry, which the Ramaphosa-led government has prioritised as a key sector for economic growth.
By keeping voice and video traffic within the country, Cisco’s Webex solutions will provide businesses with improved call quality, reduced latency, and greater data security.
“With Webex Calling and Webex Contact Centre, we are providing South African businesses with the tools to streamline their infrastructure and costs while delivering superior customer and employee experiences,” said Ahmad Zureiki, director of collaboration solutions at Cisco MEA.
“This investment also allows us to better serve multinational customers operating across Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Cisco’s collaboration with AWS extends beyond infrastructure.
Customers can access a range of Cisco solutions, including Duo MFA and Umbrella DNS security services, directly from the AWS Marketplace, making it easier for businesses to integrate security and networking solutions into their cloud environments.
The AI elephant
As AI continues to reshape the technology landscape, Cisco is doubling down on AI-driven innovation.
Heraty noted the company’s commitment to AI recruitment and development, in response to Bizcommunity questions about how he is structuring teams.
“We are actively expanding our AI talent pool and integrating AI capabilities across our portfolio,” he explained.
“The speed at which AI is advancing is unprecedented, and we are ensuring our solutions are at the forefront of this transformation.”
In all my time in Cisco, this is the most excited I’ve been about our end-to-end portfolio capability. The velocity of support our customers need is unheralded with the event of AI and we really do believe we’re very well positioned to deliver to that.
Integrating into the smart office
In a technical demo, Cisco showed how the company’s latest hardware is geared towards not only extending advanced contact centre capabilities but also improving office connectivity.
The company has layered AI over its IoT network to bring platform agnostic enhancements to meeting spaces through its room sensing cameras and microphones that will translate to Zoom, Microsoft Teams and its own Webex.
As hybrid work and digital transformation accelerate, Cisco’s investment in local infrastructure ensures businesses have access to world-class, secure, and scalable communication solutions.
