Cisco Unveils New App for Easier, Safer Remote Collaboration

It’s one of the most fundamental challenges facing IT teams right now: Providing a secure and efficient way for users to collaborate with each other, even as those same users become more mobile and less tied to one specific type of workstation.

At the Collaboration Summit 2014, Cisco announced a new business application which would better equip IT and users to handle those challenges and make cloud-based social collaboration that much easier. The app is called Project Squared and it’s been hailed as Cisco’s answer to the day-to-day problems users encounter while trying to juggle working on the go with staying in the loop at work. The app gives users chat, audio, video, multi-party meeting and content sharing capabilities.

Project Squared has its foundations in the Cisco Collaboration Cloud, which is a new, next-generation platform aligned with Cisco’s Intercloud strategy.

Smoother, secure collaboration

So what exactly can your team expect to get out of Project Squared? Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the benefits:             

  • Workers have shown they want to use the same devices at work as they do at home. So Project Squared can be accessed on a number of them, such as iPhones, iPads, Android-powered devices, and Mac desktops. The browser version of Project Squared is compatible with Chrome and Firefox, and there’s no VPN or plug-in needed to use it.  
  • A new solution not only should play nicely with the tools your company is already using and having success with, but ideally it should make them even more effective. With that idea in mind, Project Squared easily integrates and enhances user experiences with Active Directory, WebEx, Box, etc.
  • Most importantly, it’s secure. Your IT team can require employees use their corporate single sign on credentials and passwords to access Project Squared. That way you can rest easier knowing your company’s data is secure.

Cisco has no plans for Project Squared to be static, hence why it’s called “project.” The goal is for it to constantly evolve and grow based on what users have to say. The app comes equipped with a feedback mechanism so users can easily share their feedback with Cisco, putting users at the helm of where Project Squared heads next.  

That wasn’t the only announcement regarding Project Squared. It was also unveiled that Cisco would begin partnering with Box to take collaborating on content within Project Squared to an even higher level. Project Squared will utilize Box View and Box Content APIs to bring content directly from a user’s Box folder to a Project Squared room. And it can do that without the need for downloading.  

Currently Project Squared can be downloaded for free at http://projectsquared.com. To find out what other IT solutions are coming down the pike next from Cisco or our other industry-leading partners, reach out to your Arraya Account Executive today.

Arraya Insights