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Cisco announced the addition of business-quality videoconferencing capabilities to its Cisco MeetingPlace rich-media conferencing solution.

The new CiscoMeetingPlace 5.3, a core component of the Cisco Internet Protocol (IP) Communications system, now integrates voice, video and Web conferencing to make remote meetings as natural and effective as face-to-face meetings. The solution integrates with Cisco IPVC videoconferencing and Cisco CallManager-based video telephony for a complete rich-media communications solution that provides simplified meeting set-up and attendance along with advanced voice, video and Web conferencing capabilities and control.

"We have been using Cisco MeetingPlace 5.3 on a trial basis for a few months and are pleased with how well it integrates voice, video and Web conferencing," said, Clint Wadsworth, ESnet collaboration specialist. "It's important that our users be able to set up, attend and manage meetings quickly and easily. Since ESnet users are widely dispersed and rarely able to meet face-to-face, providing a single solution that includes video as well as voice and Web conferencing can help them to establish closer working relationships and collaborate more effectively in addressing some of the world's most challenging scientific problems."

"Organizations are increasingly turning to videoconferencing to communicate more effectively and to improve productivity," said Andrew W. Davis, managing partner of Wainhouse Research. "Cisco MeetingPlace 5.3 ties together Cisco's video telephony, videoconferencing and voice and web conferencing offerings to provide a compelling solution that makes rich-media conferencing part of everyday business communications."