With a rise in WiFi and mobility and a shift in workspaces, video chat and web-conferencing is an imperative part of the enterprise’s future.  An addition to Logitech’s array of products, the Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam, is among the first communications tool to fuse a full HD webcam with high-quality and omni-directional full-duplex speakerphone. It’s optimized for Microsoft Lync and Skype, but it works pretty much with any UC and video platforms.

The camera features a motorized pan feature, tilt and zoom, and has a control pad and remote control.  The latter two can answer calls, end calls, adjust the volume and mute the microphone. The camera can support 1080p, 30fps video and a speakerphone booster, eliminating the hassle of having to gather around a computer to be seen and understood during UC calls.

This will enable small groups to efficiently collaborate in conference rooms, closed offices or shared work spaces.

“The power of unified communications is driving collaboration across multiple locations and multiple devices, giving people the flexibility to work together wherever they are, said Giovanni Mezgec, general manager for Lync at Microsoft Corp. ―The Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam expands the Logitech Introduces New Product Category for Unified Communications benefits of UC in the enterprise by providing a simple-to-install, high-quality solution for small-group meetings.

“We have a number of remote workers who value face-to-face time with their colleagues in the office, but we haven’t had an appropriate tool for small-group video meetings,‖ said Jim Hayes, IT operations manager for 24HourFlex, an employee benefits solutions provider in Aurora, Colo. ―We’ve been testing pre-production units of the Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam for more than a month and it’s proved to be an ideal solution for this bottleneck. We can now quickly and easily add audio and video
conferencing to any room with an affordable device that doesn’t compromise on call quality.”

The camera will be retailed by May 2012 for $249.99. You can check them out at stores that specialize in business-to-business market. 

Products to meet the growing demand in social enterprise

Cisco is making significant moves in the web conferencing scene as well. It recently unveiled Telepresence TX9000, a three-screen room system that can seat up to six people. It supports 1080p HD video with advanced sharing collaboration and content sharing capabilities. It’s also interoperable with other collaboration tools on Cisco’s portfolio and is integrated into Cisco’s WebEx conferencing solutions.

Recognizing the omnipresence of mobile, Cisco is also bringing its Jabber chat tool to the iPad. It’s already available on the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Mac OS X, Cisco Cius tablet and Windows PC.

Also with the help of Cisco, Sprint launched its new Complete Collaboration unified communication platform delivered over an all-IP network. It marks Sprint’s first cloud-based service to come this year. It is a fully managed unified communications solution with enhanced mobile integration and collaboration tools which the company boasts to be the “most comprehensive” UC system for mid-sized and large businesses today.