Mercedes and Cisco have announced a collaboration at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) which will provide Mercedes-Benz cars with an ‘optimal mobile office experience’.
The new experience will be offered in the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Mercedes said that in era of ‘hybrid work’ the partnership will help people get work done safely, securely, and comfortably in their vehicles, ‘with the modern luxury and intuitive features that Mercedes-Benz and Webex customers are accustomed to’.
Mercedes-Benz said partnering with Cisco was a natural fit given the company’s leadership in secure, intuitive collaboration with Webex.
The partnership makes it possible for an architect in the parking lot of a job site to collaborate with their team back at the firm, for example, or take a meeting between visiting a client and picking up the kids from after school care.
“Hybrid work is centered on the work you do, not where you do it – whether it’s in the office, home, car, or anywhere in between,” said Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Security & Collaboration, Cisco. “The mobile office cannot progress without the reliable and secure collaboration technology that only Cisco can provide. This partnership with Mercedes-Benz, a leader in automotive luxury, marks a big step forward in delivering the flexibility that the hybrid workforce demands.”
Drivers will be able to conduct frictionless meetings and calls with Meetings and enterprise grade calling with Webex. These features are all part of the Webex Suite.
Webex’s proprietary audio intelligence technology offers ‘best-in-class noise cancelation, enhancing the experience for the driver and any passengers working in the vehicle’. It is claimed that Webex’s technology makes it easier to hear and be heard by singling out and boosting the clarity of an individual’s voice while eliminating distracting background noises, such as road noise and, at times, co-passengers talking, that come with the flexibility of conducting meetings and calls from the vehicle.
Safety
Core to this announcement is safety: when the vehicle is moving, meetings and calls will use audio-only. When parked, users can harness Webex’s full immersive collaboration experience in their E Class, including video meetings, automatic AI-powered transcription, content sharing, and reactions (such as a thumbs up or celebration emoji).
Availability
The 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class will be equipped with Wi-Fi and cellular data connection. Using either connection, drivers can download the Webex App from the Mercedes Benz Car App Store to appear directly on the touchscreen of the vehicle’s infotainment system, eliminating the dependency on phone. This offering will be available globally in the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class vehicles.
