What's New in Webex for BroadWorks: Latest Features and Enhancements

October 2024

We will announce new features as they become available.

September 2024

Make call forwarding indicator more obvious—Windows and Mac

Previously, you may not have known that call forwarding was set, which could result in missed calls. With this update, a call forwarding banner is displayed across all tabs in the app, allowing you to quickly edit the forwarding destination or turn off call forwarding.

August 2024

Updated: Highlight to call from anywhere—Windows and Mac

We’ve added a new keyboard shortcut that you can use when you highlight a number and you can then make the call in Webex App. Customize the shortcut at Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts > Highlight to call. Choose the keys used for the shortcut or to use this shortcut when Webex is minimized or in the background, select Global.

Flexible External Caller ID Selection

Provides users the flexibility to choose from configured callers IDs when making outbound calls. Supported on Webex Desktop and mobile apps.

Enable Voicemail in MS Teams connector

This integration allows users to retrieve their voicemails directly through Microsoft Teams, enhancing the overall user experience. If not configured users will get an error message. For more information, see: Enabling Voicemail for Microsoft Teams Integration.

July 2024

Distinctive ringing & priority alert for call queues

Distinctive ringing sets different ring tones for various call queues. This can be particularly useful in differentiating between calls from other queues.

Priority alert allows users to set up a unique ringtone based on predefined criteria set. This is helpful when a user wants to be quickly notified that a specific phone number is calling them.

Support for LLDP with Emergency (E911) location tracking—Windows and Mac

When your organization uses enhanced location information for emergency calls, the app can access and send network information for accurate locations to the E911 provider.

This depends on LLDP support and is supported with Redsky, Intrado, or 9Line.

June 2024

APIs

Partner Admin APIs for managing MS Teams configuration settings for presence sync and Hide Webex App at the organization level. Details can be found on developer.webex.com

Email Customization for Activation Emails

Allows partners to include their own 'reply to' link in the activation emails. This is only applicable where the partner is using Webex Authentication.

May 2024

Rewrite your message using our AI-powered writing assistant—Windows and Mac

Enhance and improve your communication and collaboration with your team, with AI-powered message rewrites. AI Assistant analyses your message and provides options to adapt the style, tone, and content quality, to help you communicate more effectively.

Space and thread summaries—Windows and Mac

When you're busy, or you've been away from the office, catching up with all your spaces and threads can be challenging. AI Assistant generates space and thread summaries to help you quickly catch up on missed messages and conversations in a space. Stay informed on decisions, and key points, and get up to date with the discussion

Translate messages—Windows and Mac

Break down communication barriers and promote more effective conversation with message translation. Select your preferred language and choose to either live translate all messages in a space or translate an individual message .

April 2024

Pro Pack Available

Pro Pack will be included with the Standard or Premium Package for newly provisioned customers. For a pro pack to be applied to the organization, at least one user in an organization must be provisioned with at least one Standard or Premium Package.

Webex Suite Meetings Platform

Webex is enhancing the meeting platform to the Webex Suite meeting platform. This platform improves and simplifies hybrid work across the entire Webex Suite, and incorporates AI-based experiences, with common architecture, administration, and integrations. The new platform converges the meeting experience across Webex applications and devices and delivers continuous collaboration before, during, and after the meeting. To check if you are on this new platform and read about key changes, and new, and forthcoming features. For more information, see Webex Suite meeting platform.

Enhancements for multi-call window—Windows

We're renaming the multi-call window to Calling dock. The window can now be docked to the edge of your screen to temporarily hide the window. You’re still notified when you have incoming calls or other notifications. For more information, see Webex App | Manage all your phone calls in one place.

March 2024

Email Customization for Activation Emails

Allows partners to include their own Terms of Service and Privacy Statement links in the activation emails. Webex CI Authentication Only.

Custom Tags

Partner admins with >1000 customer organizations can leverage custom labels to easily identify and group customers of interest, subscription, or partner OSS/BSS native identifiers.

February 2024

Spam Call Indication in Call History

Visual indication in Webex App call history that the call was suspected SPAM.

Slido

Slido is now on by default for all customers (except in Canda & Japan due to data residency restrictions). Users can now login user their user credentials and use Slido as their polling and Q&A tool in meetings.

BroadWorks Password expiration notification at login

Improved user experience for customers who are using BroadWorks Authentication and have BroadWorks password expiration in place. Users will be notified on the login screen that their password will expire in 'x' number of days.

January 2024

Partner APIs for Customer Management (group contacts)

Allows partners to manage contacts in the Webex Cloud, which will help address the need to manage group contacts better.

December 2023

Automatic hold for transfer

This enhancement will place calls on hold as soon as a user initiates a transfer, preventing the caller from hearing background noise as the user is making the transfer.

Multi-line Hold Resume across users

Allows users who have shared line functionality to put a call on hold and have it resumed by another user on the same shared line.

October 2023

MNO: Attended Transfer Support

Ability to complete the attended transfer using a native dialer.

September 2023

Transfer calls to an active call—Windows and Mac

When you’re juggling lots of calls, you’ll have an option to transfer a call to somebody you’ve put on hold.

Meetings associated with a space - Windows, Mac, Linux, VDI, iPhone, iPad, and Android

Meetings associated with a space have been improved! We’ve enriched your meetings experience in a space. Now, when you join or schedule a meeting in a space, you have access to all the features you’ve come to enjoy in Webex Meetings. You can leverage this new experience in every meeting you schedule or join from here on in. To schedule or start a meeting in a space, you must have a Webex Meetings license and be in the same organization as the person who created the space. Without a license, you only have the capability to join meetings.

For more information, see Webex App | Improved meetings associated with a space.

August 2023

Automated Cisco to BYOPSTN migration

Provides the ability to move existing customer orgs from Cisco PSTN to BYOPSTN and keep all other existing meeting site configurations.

Directory Search Service Support for MPP

Enables searching Webex contacts on MPP devices .

July 2023

Partner APIs for Customer Management

Allows partners to manage contacts in the Webex Cloud, will help address the need to better manage organizational contacts.

June 2023

Show active calls as an option to transfer (Mobile, Desktop)

When transferring a call you will now have the option to transfer to another active call that is on hold.

May 2023

Country Specific call-in number for Webex Meetings

The provisioning API will automatically set a default Dial In a number which matches the country defined in the API payload.

April 2023

Monitor Busy Lamp Field (BLF) list with Call Pickup Support

Intended for power users that need to see the Busy Lamp Field list open at all times and use one-click operations like call user or pick up a call from this list. Will display both Webex and calling only users and their hook status.

Directory Search Service Support for RoomOS

Enables searching Webex contacts on RoomOS devices.

Unified Call History on RoomOS

RoomOS device call history displays call made from the user's Webex Devices and Webex App.

March 2023

Mobile Calling Widgets for Mobile Network Operator (MNO) Deployments

The new mobile calling widgets provide iOS and Android users with quick access to key calling features: Do Not Disturb, Call Forwarding, Call History, and Call Queue settings for agents. Available on iOS and Android.

February 2023

Group Level Contacts

Increase group level contact limits from 1,500 to 30,000.

Partner SSO Enhancement Options

Add support for oAuth/OpenID Connect IDP to the Partner SSO options. This is in addition to the currently supported SAML IDP.

Billing support for BYoPSTN

Provides enhancement to BroadWorks CDRs that includes information that will allow partners to bill customers for usage of the “call back” feature in meetings.

Move Call to Meetings for Mobile Network Operator (MNO) Deployments

This feature adds the ability for users to easily move an active 1 on 1 call on a mobile network to a meeting. Once moved to a meeting, add video, sharing, participants, and utilize full meetings functionality.

Support Cisco MPP 8875 on Webex for Broadworks

The new MPP 8875 video phone has these features:

• Rich Webex Calling feature support.

• Onboarding to Webex Cloud for serviceability features such as Reboot and remote PRT.

• Initial Webex Meetings integration with One button to join and view the participant list.

For more information, see Cisco Video Phone 8875.

Webex Unified Call History for Webex Aware MPP Devices

MPP device call history displays calls made from the user's Webex Devices and Webex App.

January 2023

None

December 2022

Contacts

Increase enterprise contact limits from 500 to 30,000.

Shared Line Appearance

Users can make and receive calls and use most mid-call features on any line they are configured to use.

Call Queue Login/Logout Native on Webex Mobile Apps

Agents can quickly set the status and join queues available to them.

November 2022

Disable Callback for Existing Organizations

This feature gives Service Providers that deploy the Bring Your Own PSTN solution the option to request disabling the Meeting Callback option for existing meeting organizations. Organizations that deploy this option will retain the Meeting Call-in option as well as VoIP (computer audio).

Noise Removal for PSTN Calls

This feature lets Webex callers cancel any noise coming from external callers with the click of an icon in the calling window enhancing the call experience and allowing for clear communications.

Provision and Display both the Primary phone number and extension for a user

Enhance the provisioning methods to support both primary and extension numbers for a Subscriber. Webex App displays both the Phone number and extension in the user profile, contact cards, and calling actions.

October 2022

Call Queue Outbound CLID (Desktop)

This feature allows call center agents to select their Caller ID to be one of the call queues they are a part of for making follow-up calls.

August 2022

Support Language Locales

During provisioning, the language that was assigned in BroadWorks to the first provisioned administration user gets assigned automatically as the default locale for that customer organization. This setting determines the default language used for activation emails, meetings, and meeting invites under that customer organization.

Native Call Queue Login

This feature lets users access their call queues with fewer clicks. Users can join or unjoin call queues and change their queue status right from the footer of the Webex App. Support is for Windows and Mac.

Pre-provisioning System Check

Run this API before provisioning to ensure that provisioning succeeds with no issues. The API checks the customer setup and highlights potential issues such as domain issues and email issues, before you provision customers and subscribers.

July 2022

Unified Presence for Room OS

This feature adds the following benefits:

• Webex for BroadWorks users who enable the RoomOS integration can see the presence status of people in RoomOS

• Users can see their own presence as well. This presence view is consistent across the Webex App and other Cisco Webex devices and phones.

• The Room OS device is included in Do Not Disturb Sync. DND updates sync between the RoomOS device, the Webex App and the BroadWorks backend.

Remote Control by External Application

Extend calling capabilities for third-party applications.

If you're deploying Contact Center, Receptionist thin client, or a third-party app that doesn't have calling, users can use the Webex App to add calling capability. Users can place calls, answer calls, and put calls on hold using the third-party application, all while the Webex App runs in the background. For this feature to work, the Webex App must be the primary calling device. Support is for Windows and Mac.

To use this feature, you must set the %ENABLE_REMOTE_CONTROL_EVENTS_WXT% tag to true (the default value is false). For details, see the Webex for Cisco BroadWorks Configuration Guide.

Partner Read-only Administrator

This new role provides users in a partner organization with read-only access to Partner Hub settings, and to Control Hub settings for customer organizations that the partner manages. However, the administrator does not have edit access to either portal. This role helps in situations where a user may need basic access for tasks such as viewing analytics or upsell opportunities, but their position does not require them to manage settings. For more information, see the following article: https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/2y8qmt/Partner-Administrator-Roles-for-Webex-for-BroadWorks-and-Wholesale-RTM

June 2022

Multi Call Window

The new Multi Call Window shows all calls in the Webex App from a single window. This feature helps users who handle several calls at the same time or who use the Executive-Assistant service and can monitor an assistant’s or executive’s calls. The feature provides a summarized view of all their calls from a single window. This feature is supported as of Release 42.6 of the Webex App. See Webex App | Manage all your phone calls in one place for an article that users can follow to configure the feature on the Webex App.

May 2022

Device Integration for Room OS and MPP Devices

Webex for Cisco BroadWorks introduces device integration with Room OS and MPP devices:

• Room OS—This solution lets Room OS Webex Devices (shared and personal) register with both Webex and BroadWorks using a single activation code that you provision on BroadWorks. The solution combines optimized meeting experiences along with SIP calling. Device support includes the current Room OS portfolio (Room and Room Kit series, Desk series, and Board series).

• MPP—This solution lets Webex-capable MPP devices connect with the Webex cloud and access Webex services. The solution provides a consistent and intuitive user experience across the Webex App and MPP Phones for Webex for Cisco BroadWorks users. Support is for Cisco 88xx series phones.

In addition to onboarding, the enhanced serviceability feature lets administrators service Room OS and MPP devices from Control Hub directly. Administrators can open a device view that includes device status information along with options to reboot the device remotely or send a problem report for troubleshooting.

As part of this new integration, we are introducing the Device Integration Guide for Webex for Cisco BroadWorks. This guide contains procedures that describe how to onboard and service Room OS and MPP devices for Webex for Cisco BroadWorks.

Disable Screen Sharing in Webex App

Partner administrators can now disable screen sharing within calls that use the Webex App. Webex App users will not be able to share their screen, or receive a screen share from other users. You can disable screen sharing by setting the %ENABLE_SCREEN_SHARE_WXT% configuration tag to false (the default setting is true). For more information, see the Webex for Cisco BroadWorks Configuration Guide.

Remove Participant from Conference

This feature lets a Webex App user who starts an ad hoc conference remove any participant from the conference. The Webex App user can view the participant list, select any user, and then remove that user from the conference. See Webex App | Remove someone from a conference call for a procedure that users can follow.

April 2022

Partner-Level Release Management

Partners can use Release Management to control the Webex App release frequency for desktop. The release frequency options are:

• Automatic—Follows Cisco release schedule

• Latest (Every Month)—Deferral of up to four weeks

• Slow (Every Quarter)—Deferral of up to 12 weeks

Partner administrators have a number of options:

• Partners can apply a schedule to all of their customer organizations.

• Partners can allow customer organizations to override the partner-level setting.

• With custom schedules, administrators can allow individual users to follow the Cisco latest schedule.

For details, see Release Management Customizations.

Do Not Disturb (DND) Sync

DND Sync aligns Webex DND functionality with telephony DND from BroadWorks. Whether you set DND from the Webex App or from a desk phone, the DND status syncs to the other platform. DND Sync ensures that DND functionality remains consistent across all devices and platforms.

For details, see Do Not Disturb (DND) Sync in the Webex for Cisco BroadWorks Solution Guide.

March 2022

Directory Sync API Improvements

API improvements give partner administrators more flexibility in managing Directory Sync and in triggering on-demand syncs. Following are the updates:

• Administrators can now run an API sync simultaneous to a scheduled sync from the same BroadWorks. This update means that an administrator can trigger an on-demand sync via the API knowing that it won't conflict with a scheduled sync. However, note that you still cannot run more than one scheduled sync or more than one API sync from the same BroadWorks at the same time.

• Directory sync now includes a public API that lets you sync individual directory entries for non-Webex subscribers.

• Mobile phone numbers are now included in the sync.

Mobile Number Sync

This feature update adds the syncing of mobile numbers from BroadWorks to Webex. Once synced, the mobile number is available in the user contact profile or via contact search in the Webex App. Support includes both Webex-enabled users and calling-only BroadWorks users. Mobile numbers are synced in the following scenarios:

• Flowthrough Provisioning

• Self-Activation

• API Provisioning

• Directory Sync

Midcall Features for Mobile Network Operator (MNO) Deployments

This feature adds the following midcall features for Mobile Network Operator (MNO) deployments:

• Hold/Resume

• Blind Transfer

The following config tags support this feature. For information on these tags, see Webex for Cisco BroadWorks Configuration Guide.

• %ENABLE_XSI_CALL_CONTROL_WXT%

• %XSI_CALL_CONTROL_DEPLOYMENT_TYPE_WXT%

• %DEPLOYMENT_DEVICE_TYPE_1_WXT%, %DEPLOYMENT_DEVICE_TYPE_2_WXT%, %DEPLOYMENT_DEVICE_TYPE_3_WXT%

• %ENABLE_XSI_HOLD_CALLS_WXT%

Update Location Controls for RedSky E911 Integration

A new configuration tag, %EMERGENCY_REDSKY_USER_LOCATION_PROMPTING_WXT%, lets administrators configure how often users get prompted to update their location information. By default, users will be prompted to enter their location information only when logging in at an unknown location. However, you can configure the tag such that users get prompted to update their location for every network change at an unknown location. For details on the RedSky integration, see E911 Emergency Calling with RedSky.

Control Hub Partner Analytics

Control Hub improvements make it easy for partner administrators to view and update package information on behalf of their users. This feature provides the ability for partners to get an aggregated view across all customers and includes the following details:

• Total users by package (Softphone, Basic, Standard, Premium)

• User by package trend (Daily/Weekly/Monthly)

• Customers with # of packages assigned

For full details on how to use Partner Analytics, see the Webex article Analytics for Webex for Wholesale and Webex for Broadworks packages in Partner Hub.

Busy Lamp Field (BLF) / Call Pickup Notification

This feature leverages the Busy Lamp Field (BLF) and Directed Call Pickup features. Users in a group (for example, members of a sales team) can monitor the BLF call status of other group members and answer each other's calls. Group members receive an audio and visual indicator on the Webex App of ringing calls for other group members. In addition, they can use the Directed Call Pickup feature to answer the calls of other group members.

This feature is especially useful in situations where the group members are working remotely, or in different locations, and can't hear each other's phones ringing.

The following configuration tags are required to use this feature:

• <busy-lamp-field enabled="%ENABLE_BUSY_LAMP_FIELD_WXT%">

• <display-caller enabled="%ENABLE_BLF_DISPLAY_CALLER_WXT%"/>

For more details on this feature, see BLF / Call Pickup Notification in the Webex for Cisco BroadWorks Solution Guide.

February 2022

Package Improvements for Standard Users

The Standard Package has been updated as follows for both new and existing users:

• Meeting capacity is now 100 participants per meeting (for either Webex Meetings or PMR meetings)

• Local recording is now supported for Standard users

Dark Mode Available with Advanced Branding

Advanced Branding options are expanded to include new Dark Mode customizations, which are added to the existing Light Mode customizations. Administrators can now enable users with the ability to deploy the Webex App in either Dark Mode or Light Mode and can assign logos and color schemes that are specific to the mode. The Webex App displays the appropriate color scheme and logo that is assigned to the mode that the user sets. For details, see Configure Advanced Branding Customizations.

January 2022

Restricted by Partner Mode Updates

This feature is updated with additional restrictions. In addition to the pre-existing restrictions, this feature now prevents customer administrators from editing the following Control Hub settings:

• Organization Settings > Domains—Settings are read-only.

• Organization Settings > Email—The Suppress Admin Invite Emails and Email Locale settings are read-only.

• Under SERVICES the Connected UC and Migrations options are hidden.

• Calling > Location > PSTN Connection—The Local Gateway and Cisco PSTN options are hidden.

For more detail on Restricted by Partner Mode, see the Webex for BroadWorks Solution Guide.