Want to connect Zoom and Cisco Webex users in your team?
Cisco provides future-proof technology built by a company with a heritage in communication.
Zoom makes video more accessible, whether you’re connecting with employees or contractors.
No wonder it’s hard to choose between the two.
The good news? You don’t have to.
This post details all the ways you can connect Zoom and Cisco Webex.
Does Zoom work with Cisco?
Different parts of Zoom and Cisco Webex can work together.
To combine the tools you can:
- Use API connectors
- Sync your messages and chat using message interoperability
- Launch Cisco meetings from Zoom Rooms
- Set triggers in third-party tools like Zapier
Let’s walk through your options below.
Connect Zoom and Cisco Webex with API connectors
You can launch Zoom meetings from Cisco Webex using pre-built API connectors.
Teams with an existing Cisco conferencing room can integrate calendaring with Zoom using the one-tap connector.
To do this, you’ll need:
- A Zoom account with a connector license.
- A Windows PC, server, or virtual machine.
- Cisco hardware like a desk phone or conference phone.
- Network access to the Cloud Room Connector.
- A calendar set up with Google, Exchange, or Microsoft 365.
In your browser, sign in to your Zoom account and click on the Cisco/Polycom rooms section. If you don’t have the right license, you’ll have to buy one.
- Click the API connectors tab
- Tap Add API Connector
- Enter the network information
- Click Save
After adding the Zoom API Connector, you’ll need to install it on a computer/server, To do this, click the install button to download the ZoomAPIConnector.msi
Note: these have to be on the network you entered in the network information.
Installing Zoom API connector software
To create a connection between Zoom and Cisco Webex Teams, you’ll need to connect your Zoom API tech. You can do this through a Windows Server , Virtual Machine, or on a local computer.
- Go to the Cisco/Polycom rooms section of your Room Management section on Zoom.
- Click API Connectors and Install the connector.
- Double click on the ZoomAPIConnecter.msi file, to open the wizard.
For this process to work, you need to keep your Zoom API tech running at all times. You can do this on a Windows Server or virtual machine.
After installation, you can use the Room Connector API. This allows you to add provisioning settings for your Cisco room system. Start by signing into Zoom. Then click on Room Management > Cisco/Polycom rooms, and click on Add Room.
Here, you’ll need to fill out about your connection. Make sure you have the name of the room, type of room, serial number, and your device username and password. You might need the IP address, registration password, and which calendars you’re using.
You can also identify which Cisco room you’re using with a Meeting ID. Admins can enable Join Meeting options, and access things like SIP call control and H.323 gatekeeper too.
Sync Zoom Team Chat and Webex Teams using message interoperability
API connectors help you launch meetings in Webex or Zoom from alternative hardware systems, but they don’t cover messaging or chats between the two platforms.
Message interoperability connects the messages you send in Webex Teams to Zoom Team Chat.
This means that when you message someone from Webex Teams, and they use Zoom, they still see that message.
The same is true vice versa. You can send messages from Zoom Team Chat to Webex Teams.
And it’s not just messages. Message interoperability includes all parts of the messaging experience — like threads, edits, files, GIFs, and reactions.
By installing Mio in the background, you can ensure you don’t need to switch between Webex and Zoom based on what each member of your business uses.
Employees can use the tools that they like most, without compromise.
Sign up for Zoom Team Chat interop here
Using Cisco Webex Meetings with Zoom Rooms
You can join Cisco Webex Meetings through Zoom Rooms hardware too.
When you choose this approach, you connect with the Zoom Room audio input. Here, you can see the Webex Meeting output on your Zoom Room display screen.
All you need is a web conferencing meeting tool (Cisco Webex Meetings) with dial-in features to get started.
To use Cisco Webex Meetings with Zoom Rooms:
- Start your web conferencing meeting but don’t dial into the audio bridge on your computer.
- Share your laptop screen to the Zoom Rooms display. The display will project shared content from your computer to the screen.
- Dial into the audio bridge of Webex Meetings using the dial-out feature for Zoom Rooms.
You can also call H.323 or SIP devices from a Zoom Room.
Going even further, check out this example from Brian Haley, Collaboration Engineer at No Saturn.
“I’ve set up a “Join Zoom” activity button on all of our Cisco video systems that will prompt for the Zoom Meeting number and passcode. It then dials right into [meeting].[passcode]@zomcrc.com
Zapier integration for Zoom and Cisco Webex Teams
There are a handful of Zapier integrations that you can access to make connections between Cisco Webex and Zoom too.
For instance, with Zapier you can:
- Trigger new meetings in Zoom through Webex Teams.
- Trigger new recordings in Zoom through Webex, and vice-versa.
- Create Zoom videos when you click on the video option in Cisco Webex.
This option is great for conducting basic operations like the examples above.
If there’s a method you use to connect Zoom and Cisco Webex, and you think we should add it, reach out to us on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Don’t forget to sign up for Zoom Team Chat interop here
