Page 38 - SAMENA Trends - February-March 2021

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Cisco Webex Innovation Breaks Through
Language Barriers with Real-Time Translation

for More Inclusive Meeting Experiences

Eliminating language barriers is a key step to enabling a truly geography. Enabling global Real-Time Translations is another step
global, hybrid workforce. To help, Cisco announced the availability toward powering an Inclusive Future, and an important component
(in preview beginning this month) of its real-time translation of driving better communication and collaboration across teams."
feature while also dramatically expanding the language library said Jeetu Patel, SVP and GM Security and Applications, Cisco.
from 10+ to more than 100 languages, ranging from Armenian “AI technologies play an integral role in delivering the seamless
to Zulu. As part of the all new Webex, organizations can provide collaboration, smart hybrid work and intelligent customer
employees with inclusive and seamless collaboration experiences, experiences that Cisco is known to deliver.” Webex has a rich history
which is essential to supporting the needs of a workforce that is of helping employees innovate and remain productive wherever
more globally dispersed than ever before. Users can create their they are. Since the pandemic, Webex has not only continued to
own personalized Webex meeting experience by quickly and help businesses thrive, it has also been an integral platform for
easily self-selecting the language of their choice from the most governments to continue to lead remotely, doctors to meet with
commonly used languages, such as Arabic, Dutch, French, German, patients safely, and educators to teach students at a distance. It’s
Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish, as well as clear that the future of work will involve a combination of remote
more localized languages such as Danish, Hindi, Malay, Turkish and on-site interactions, known as hybrid-work. Cisco has a
and Vietnamese. The personalized language experience provides clear vision of how technology can help customers realize that
a path through one of the major hurdles in global business – the future today and create a more inclusive world for all, by enabling
language barrier. Now users can engage more fully in meetings, a Webex experience that is 10x better than in-person while at
translating from English to 100+ other languages, enabling teams the same time making in-person interactions 10x better as well.
to communicate more effectively with each other, and opening
new opportunities for businesses to build a more inclusive, global
workforce. For businesses, there’s a talent and cost benefit. The
feature enables businesses to focus on finding the best talent
regardless of wherever they call home or their native language.
And a recent report from Metrigy on intelligent virtual assistants
found that nearly 24% of participants have meetings that include
non-English native speakers and of these, more than half have
been using third-party services to translate meetings into other
languages (incurring an average cost of $172 per meeting).
Integrating intelligent virtual meeting assistants with language
translation capabilities significantly reduces or even eliminates
this cost entirely. "The inclusive features of Webex help create a
level playing field for users regardless of factors like language or

Cisco Launches Digitization Program in Japan to Support Inclusive
Pandemic Recovery

Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, and Cisco, a worldwide stimulate Japan’s economic growth, enhance the quality of life,
leader in technology, announced a collaboration framework and create a society where everyone can fully reap the benefits of
through Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) Program digital transformation. “I would like to express my sincere respect
to drive mass-scale digitization across Japan in support of its for Cisco's program to support digitalization around the world. In
Society 5.0 vision and towards an inclusive recovery from the Japan, Cisco has been promoting a number of projects to support
global COVID-19 pandemic. The program in Japan was unveiled digitalization in areas such as IT talent development, network
at virtual event attended by Guy Diedrich, Vice President and security, industry, government, education, and healthcare. This
Global Innovation Officer at Cisco, and Ichiro Nakagawa, Vice direction is exactly what we are aiming for," said Minister Hirai. “As
President and Head of Japan at Cisco, Wayoh Suzuki, Chairman, business leaders it is our responsibility to play a role in stepping
Cisco Japan, with remarks via video from Takuya Hirai, Japan’s up to the challenges of inequity, and to create new pathways to
Minister of State for Digital Transformation, the Minister of State economic prosperity, spark new ideas and ignite innovation. We
for the Social Security and Tax Number System and Minister in are delighted to be collaborating with the Government of Japan
charge of Information Technology Policy. The CDA program is to help bring to life key initiatives that will help build an inclusive
strategically aligned with the Japanese Government’s digital future for all, and further propel Japan into the digital age,”
agenda and its vision with Society 5.0 vision, which aims to said Guy Diedrich. In collaboration with industry, academia and

38 FEB-MAR 2021