Cisco and Zoom are tackling a familiar enterprise problem. Large companies rarely use one meeting platform. They often support several tools across rooms built over many years.
That creates support pressure for IT teams. It also limits access to newer AI meeting features. Different hardware, software, and management tools often create uneven user experiences.
At InfoComm 2026, Cisco announced Cisco Devices for Zoom Rooms. The offer brings a native Zoom Rooms experience to Cisco hardware. It includes the Zoom home screen, Zoom Rooms workflow, and Zoom Rooms licensing.
The move targets organisations that standardised on Zoom. Yet they still want Cisco’s room devices. Supported hardware includes products from Desk Pro G2 to Room Kit EQ.
However, the launch also signals a wider market shift. Meeting room hardware now looks more like core infrastructure. The meeting platform becomes only one layer above it.
Cisco has not stepped away from Webex. The company says Webex Suite reaches 650 million monthly meeting participants. It also handles 8 billion calls. Webex Calling reached 18 million users in October 2025.
Even so, Cisco sees room hardware as a separate contest. Frost & Sullivan ranks Cisco as the conference room device market leader. That strength comes from device quality, portfolio depth, and enterprise network presence.
The earlier Zoom for Cisco Rooms launch started this direction. It replaced older SIP-based interoperability with a native Zoom Meetings experience. SIP worked for basic joining. Yet it offered fewer features and weaker management.
Cisco Devices for Zoom Rooms goes further. Zoom becomes the main room experience. Cisco provides the hardware foundation, camera intelligence, network diagnostics, and workspace analytics.
Jeff Smith, Head of Product, Workplace at Zoom, said demand shaped the release:
“What we saw was a lot of customer demand for a solution where we could have a full Zoom Meetings experience on Cisco devices. They wanted us to take the next step and really deliver that full Zoom Rooms experience on the highest quality hardware that we could provide.”
Cisco also brings Agentic Director to the setup. This camera system uses edge AI to frame participants more naturally. The company also adds ThousandEyes diagnostics and Workspace Advisor tools.
Espen Løberg, VP and GM for Collaboration Devices at Cisco, highlighted the broader workplace angle:
“It also goes beyond what they can do now in their meeting rooms. It’s about what they can now do across their workplace, the other outcomes they can unlock with Cisco devices, built on top of the Cisco network, the Cisco Assurance capabilities, Cisco Spaces, Cisco Cloud Control. We bring all of that now to workplaces that are using the Zoom platform.”
Still, the solution does not erase every challenge. IT teams will still manage Cisco and Zoom administration separately. Cisco’s tools add visibility, but they do not replace Zoom’s admin platform.
The AI story also remains layered. Cisco features travel with the hardware. Zoom AI Companion and related tools stay within the Zoom platform. Deeper coordination may come later.
Løberg pointed to that future direction:
“From my perspective, it’s really about moving outside of the meeting room and orchestrating this agentic workplace experience, with the meeting experience as the baseline. I’m also excited about extending the capabilities of interoperability across different platforms.”
The wider industry is moving similarly. Microsoft is expanding its device ecosystem for Teams Rooms. Vendors like Q-SYS and Biamp now support that direction.
For enterprises, the message is clear. Room hardware choices are becoming long-term infrastructure decisions. Platforms like Zoom, Webex, Teams, and Google Meet must run across that foundation. Cisco’s public beta starts this month, with general availability planned for September 2026.
