For its telepresence systems, Cisco now has 300 business customers, with six deploying 50 units and a "handful" with more than 100 units. A telepresence system from Cisco with three high-resolution displays and a full room-size environment can cost more than $200,000.

Warrior said she has used a telepresence system inside a special clinic at Cisco offices in San Jose, Calif., to talk to a doctor live. She said she was heading off on a business trip and only had time to visit the clinic, where her vital signs were taken by a nurse and transmitted to the doctor in a remote location. "I had a cold and wanted to make sure it wasn't something worse," she said.

The doctor told her that her problem wasn't serious and she could travel. "If I had had to drive to the doctor for that, I wouldn't have done so," she said.

The experience of the telepresence with the doctor was more valuable than a simple phone call, she said. "There's a lot of nonverbal communication. When we sit across a room, even in a meeting, video can help see if people are rolling their eyes or reading a mobile device. Some research says that the majority of communication is actually nonverbal. Nothing replaces consulting face-to-face, but videoconferencing augments.

While some companies worry about interoperability of videoconferencing products and systems, Cisco sees an opportunity to improve interoperability with new technology, she said. Cisco will be working with service providers to provide videoconferencing services to help reduce problems with interoperability.