But he stressed this is more than just another addition to an already glutted video conferencing market. He ticked off barriers to existing video conferencing, including hard-to-use software, lack of integration with the telephone, high price, and management hurdles, touting CallManager 4.0 and VT Advantage as best of breed in all those areas.
"Video conferencing now becomes just another phone call," he said. "There's no new interface to learn, since the solution uses the phone's interface, which everyone knows."
Calls made through Cisco's IP phones will automatically detect if the party on the other end is video enabled, and then make that option available.
But while one analyst lauded Cisco's move, he didn't paint a rosy picture of businesses jumping on video.
"It's clear that Cisco is trying to increase value to its IP phones by adding video, and to its credit this is the first time we've seen this kind of integration," said Chris Kozup, program manager with the META Group.
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