Work happens at the desk. Focus, decisions, and follow-through live there every day; and much like the rest of the workplace, AI is making the desk more productive, safe, and connected.
At WebexOne, we announced new possibilities for customers through connected intelligence. Meeting-room devices transformed from an in-room conferencing tool to an AI-powered digital workforce. A superpower inside and outside of the virtual meeting. Think of devices like a versatile teammate, taking on incredibly helpful personas— a notetaker, a camera director, a workspace advisor— working with you and for you to get work done.
Let’s connect that idea to desk spaces. It’s a story we’ve been telling for some time: the Cisco Desk Phone 9800 series is so much more than a desk phone. Much like our conferencing devices act as a digital teammate in and out of a meeting, the phone is a workplace superpower inside and outside of a call:
- An anchor to the connected workplace
- An AI-powered audio advantage
- A one-touch shortcut to critical functions
- An intelligent, unified owner experience
Its many hats and use cases across industries are just two reasons why the 9800 series is our fastest-selling phone series of all time:
Your anchor to a connected workplace: delivering value inside and outside of calls
Today’s desk phones extend beyond calling; they’re the anchor to seamless workflows at the desk. When a desktop is anchored with a Cisco Desk Phone, it transforms. Seamlessly, workers can book a desktop, arrive, scan a QR code, and see the device instantly personalize with their contacts, call history, and preferences—any desk becomes their desk. A large, green ‘join’ button gives users a single, reliable step to join meetings, which matters when minutes and attention are scarce.
Extending phones beyond calling is a design decision: reduce cognitive load, improve space utilization, and deliver governable, scalable experiences across hybrid workplaces. When the desk becomes personal on arrival and simple by design, the next step is to make every interaction count. With powerful AI, the audio advantage on Cisco desk phones turns conversations into outcomes:
Your AI-powered audio advantage: Making every interaction count
Employee productivity thrives at the desk, with AI supercharging what is possible. I mentioned that our desk phone series wears many hats; with the support of AI, the desk phone can behave like a digital teammate, streamlining routine collaboration functions to keep the employee’s focus on the interaction, not mechanics.
In the Cisco Desk Phone 9800 Series, AI noise removal minimizes local noise to reduce distractions. Taking this a step further, AI audio enhancement on 9861 and 9871 removes noise on the far-end, adapting in real time to varied environments. Take a look:
But the 9800 Series’ powerful AI doesn’t stop there. In Webex Meetings, closed captions and translation make dialogue readable, searchable, and inclusive. The AI Assistant on 9861/9871 accelerates context with Catch Me Up and proposed action items. In‑call transcription and closed captions are coming soon, extending the same accessibility to voice calls.
The rationale? When conversations are clear and captured, handoffs across shifts and geographies improve, and the cost of misunderstandings drops.
Your one-touch shortcut to critical functions
Safety requirements are rising. Organizations are expected to maintain clear emergency action plans, and many states and countries now mandate them. The desk phone is often the most reachable device in the room, and when seconds count, it must also be the simplest and most consistent.
The action button was designed for that moment: programmable for workplace safety, paging, or workflow shortcuts; centrally managed by IT for consistency and compliance; and presented as clear, universal access to the right action in the instant it’s needed. This approach removes ambiguity under stress, standardizes the first minute of response, and lets IT update procedures without retraining every user. The result is shorter time to notify, fewer errors, and safety workflows that scale coherently across sites and shifts while supporting evolving regulatory expectations.
An intelligent, unified owner experience: software and hardware managed together
Delivering these user experiences at scale requires an equally intelligent and unified owner experience. This begins with protecting the investment. The 9800 Series is engineered to meet customers where they are, supporting both on-premises UCM and Webex Calling, as well as Broadworks and other third-party cloud calling platforms. Whether migrating in a day or over several years, the hardware remains a constant, governable asset, ensuring organizations can adopt cloud and AI at their own pace.
This unified approach comes to life in Control Hub, where calling and phones are managed from a single pane of glass. It provides holistic visibility across the device, service, and network path with integrations like ThousandEyes, allowing IT to move from reactive fixes to proactive governance. From zero-touch provisioning that simplifies deployment to granular analytics that identify trends, IT gains the tools to manage the entire lifecycle efficiently. This centralized control enables the seamless delivery of advanced Webex Calling features—like agent access to call queues and real-time transcription—directly to the device. For IT, this means delivering advanced experiences reliably, with the confidence to adopt future AI capabilities on a proven, manageable foundation.
Putting it all together: A BIG industry impact
Organizations often ask whether the desk phone is still relevant. The answer is a resounding yes- and the ‘why’ looks different for every industry. Needs converge around communication, but priorities diverge: some sectors lead with security and compliance, others with personalization and cost. It is rarely one size fits all: nearly three‑quarters of organizations employ frontline workers in some capacity, and most knowledge‑worker businesses also run branches, warehouses, customer service operations, and facilities. Likewise, frontline‑heavy sectors maintain headquarters and desk‑based teams. In that context, the desk phone provides a consistent, governable surface that connects knowledge and service workers under shared expectations for safety, accessibility, and productivity. Here’s how that shows up across industries:
- Healthcare: Dynamic teams, shift work, and regulated data flows require reliable, secure tools that work in both shared and personal spaces. Phones enable fast routing to nurse stations and critical alerts via the action button, while transcription and captions improve care coordination and accessibility for patients and staff. Unified management across mobile and desk environments supports compliance and reduces operational friction.
- Retail: Service depends on speed and accuracy across in‑store, curbside, and back‑of‑house operations, often with shared technology. Phones streamline sign‑in for shifts, provide paging and coordination, and standardize store protocols through a single action button. The result is faster response, fewer errors, and a consistent customer experience across locations.
- Education: Student safety and clear communication are top priorities under state and federal mandates. Phones are often the most reachable path to emergency workflows via the action button, and transcription and translation help staff support diverse communities in daily operations and critical moments. Centralized governance lets districts and campuses deploy, update, and audit safety and communication policies at scale.
- Technology, Financial Services, and Professional Services: Hybrid offices must balance dedicated and shared desks, motivate attendance, and protect time for focus while maintaining building safety. Desk phones anchor hot desking and desk reservation, deliver one‑touch join and AI transcription for friction‑free collaboration, and promote workplace safety through the action button. Centralized management gives IT a single way to govern policy, updates, and platform choice across sites.
- Government: Handling sensitive information demands strong data protection, while accessibility and multilingual support are essential to serve diverse communities. Phones provide hardened security, transcription and translation to make interactions inclusive, and an action button aligned to mandated safety procedures. A consistent device surface simplifies compliance, training, and operations across agencies and locations.
Introducing the Desk Phone 9811
Converting these industry needs into day‑to‑day operations requires devices tuned to the realities of each space; simple where it matters, consistent where it counts. The Cisco Desk Phone 9811 fits that brief. As the newest addition to the 9800 Series, it is an essential, entry‑level phone designed for everyday calling in branch offices, small and medium businesses, and lobby or reception areas. The 9811 focuses on reliability and clarity, pairing intuitive PhoneOS with a customizable action button so organizations can surface safety procedures, site protocols, or common workflows without adding complexity. It is also a sustainable choice, built with 77% recycled materials, aligning device strategy with environmental goals. The result is a practical, governable endpoint that makes mass deployment straightforward while giving teams a dependable way to connect—an anchor for the baseline moments that keep organizations moving.
Learn more about the Cisco 9800 Series Desk Phones:
- Celebrating 25 Years of Cisco IP Phones
- Putting workplace safety into action with Cisco phones: On-Demand Webinar
- New in Collaboration Devices: Introducing RoomOS 26
The post More Than a Phone: Meet the AI Teammate on Your Desk appeared first on Webex Blog.