Tracing the Roots: A Journey Through the History of Webex

Webex, a brand of Cisco Systems, is a web-based platform that provides video conferencing, online meetings, and webinars. The history of Webex is a story of how technology has transformed the way we work and communicate.

The first version of Webex was launched in 1996 as a tool for online meetings and webinars. It was initially a subscription-based service that allowed users to host and attend meetings online. The platform was initially used primarily by businesses for internal meetings and collaboration, but it quickly gained popularity among other industries as well.

Over the next decade, Webex continued to evolve and expand its capabilities. In 2003, Webex introduced its video conferencing feature, allowing users to not only hear but also see each other during meetings. This was a significant advancement in the way remote teams could collaborate and communicate.

In 2007, Cisco Systems acquired Webex, making it a part of Cisco's collaboration portfolio. This acquisition helped to further accelerate the development of Webex, as Cisco's resources and expertise were brought to bear on the platform.

In the years that followed, Webex continued to innovate, introducing new features and capabilities such as screen sharing, recording, and integration with other Cisco products. The platform also expanded to support mobile devices, allowing users to attend and host meetings from anywhere.

Today, Webex is a fully-featured web-based platform for online meetings, webinars, and video conferencing. It is widely used by businesses, government agencies, and other organizations around the world. With its robust feature set, ease of use, and reliability, Webex has become an essential tool for remote teams to stay connected and productive.

As the world continues to adapt to remote work, the importance of web-based collaboration tools like Webex is only going to increase. The history of Webex is a testament to the power of technology to transform the way we work and communicate.

Webex history timeline

November 1996: Webex Communications, Inc. is founded by Subrah Iyar and Min Zhu in Santa Clara, California.

1997: Webex releases its first product, Webex Meeting Center, a web conferencing and collaboration tool.

2000: Webex goes public on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

2007: Webex is acquired by Cisco Systems for $3.2 billion.

2010: Cisco launches Cisco Webex Meetings, a new version of the Webex Meeting Center with improved video and audio capabilities.

2013: Cisco launches Cisco Webex Meetings for Mobile, allowing users to join and host web conferences from their smartphones and tablets.

2015: Cisco introduces Cisco Webex Meeting Services, a new platform for enterprise-level web conferencing and collaboration.

2016: Cisco launches Cisco Webex Meetings for Apple Watch, allowing users to join and host web conferences from their smartwatches.

2018: Cisco launches Cisco Webex Meetings Suite, a new bundle of web conferencing and collaboration tools.

2018: Cisco introduces Cisco Webex Teams, a reband of Cisco Spark, to combine all your collaboration features into one app.

2018: Mio enables message interoperability between Webex, Microsoft Teams, and Slack.

2019: Cisco announces the integration of Webex with other Cisco collaboration tools like Jabber.

2020: Cisco drops “Teams” from its product name and is now just “Webex”.

2020: Cisco announces that Webex now has over 500 million registered users.

2021: Cisco announces that Webex now has over 1 billion registered users.

2022: Cisco launches Cisco Webex Meetings with AI, a new version of Webex Meetings that uses artificial intelligence to improve the meeting experience.

2022: Webex becomes interoperable with Zoom Team Chat, enabling cross-platform messages.

January 2023: Cisco announced that Webex now has over 1.5 billion registered users, and new features such as Webex Personal Room and Webex Assistant.

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