Cisco has launched Webex for Defense, a collaboration platform specifically made for the US Department of Defense (DoD).
Webex for Defense has received provisional authorisation from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to operate at DoD Impact Level 5 (IL5), which means it is authorised to work with the DoD’s national security systems, higher sensitivity CUI, and mission-critical information across all workloads.
It is an all-in-one collaboration tool connected to the DoD Information Network via DISA-managed Cloud Access Points and delivered out of Cisco-hosted, DoD IL5-certified data centres.
The new tool integrates with Cisco’s full Webex portfolio of devices, allowing users to connect securely from phone, desktop, or video.
“A full set of admin and end-user controls enables seamless, secure collaboration with internal and external users as well as DoD partners, and ensures that sensitive data never leaks and information is kept private,” said Javed Khan, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Collaboration.
Khan added that it’s easy for administrators and organisers to apply agency-specific policies to meetings as necessary, through features like meeting context and classification indicators. Webex for Defense is also built upon the Cisco Unified Communications Manager and its feature set, including local survivability.
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He also claimed that thanks to Cisco’s “mature development methodology and transparent privacy posture” Webex’s security advantage “goes above and beyond the specification of DoD IL5”.
Last month, Cisco unveiled an all-new suite of services for its Webex platform with features it hoped would serve as the foundation for “inclusive” hybrid work environments. The new suite of services included an end-to-end platform, analytics tools to track audience engagement, speech optimisation, machine learning software for video quality, data-loss prevention, and collaborative hardware.
CEO Chuck Robbins said that the company’s collaboration business is “incredibly essential to our customers”. He revealed that the company has added 800 new features and devices since September and said the platform would power the future of hybrid work.
