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As the year is drawing to a close, I like to reflect on the friendships and professional relationships I have built and nurtured over the year. There are many people and organizations that come to mind and it would be too long to list them all. Let’s just say, it’s been a wonderful year and I cherish all of these relationships. For my last blog post of the year, I want to spend a few minutes to introduce you all to a friend whom I met 2 years ago in a professional capacity, and our professional relationship has blossomed into a friendship over the course of this year. Natascha Thomson (@nathomson) is a fellow social media practitioner and a fellow yogini (an added benefit in my book :-)). How do I know Natascha? Well, we met on Twitter…

Natascha has started several social media groups in the Silicon Valley and you may have seen her passionately giving social media tips in this video collage. Just last month, she published her first book, 42 Rules for B2B Social Media Marketing, she co-authored with other social media practitioners. This book is a collection of hands-on social media marketing tips and real-life examples you can act upon right away.  I had a chance to (virtually) sit down with Natascha to learn more about this new book. Continue reading “Social Media Tips in Bite-Sized Packaging”



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When it comes to their IT infrastructures, academic institution IT teams have a lot in common with IT departments in the business world. Both need to offer their customers the flexibility to access applications and resources at anytime, anyplace, and on any device. They also need to provide these services with limited budgets and administrative resources while maximizing the efficiency of the data center.

Sheridan College, renowned for its leadership in the field of digital media studies, serves approximately 18,000 full-time students and 35,000 part-time students a year. Their IT department has up to 18,000 active network connections and each student may use various devices. They also have applications that serve the faculty and staff.  Key applications such as Oracle PeopleSoft and Oracle Database are running on Cisco UCS. During open enrollment there are as many as 5000 concurrent connections per second.

Migrating off its legacy SPARC architecture and consolidating its data center using Cisco UCS the Sheridan College IT organization was able to realize tremendous benefits:

  • Improved infrastructure virtualization from 40 to 85 percent.
  • Increased capacity while reducing the number of physical servers that it needs from 200 to 70.
  • Reduced power consumption by 78 percent.
  • Service levels improved and to nearly 100 percent uptime.
  • Highly efficient 100 to 1 server to administrator ratio. Continue reading “College Migrates from SPARC to Cisco UCS”


Authors

Tim Stack

Product Marketing Manager

Data Center and Virtualization

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No, the email newsletter is not dead. It’s very much alive and still one of the best ways to build trust, generate demand, and regularly stay relevant with your customers and prospects.

In other words, unless you’re blatantly violating anti-spam legislation, your email subscribers have elected—or raised their hand—to receive information from your company. This is not something to take lightly. This is something to take advantage of on a very regular basis.

However, there are things you might be doing to kill your results. So, consult this list of 5 newsletter “don’ts.” In fact, ignore them at your peril.

1.     Don’t start a newsletter unless you can commit.

Your customers and prospects need to know that you’re reliable. If your home page promotes a monthly newsletter, commit to sending it every month like clockwork—on the same day, at the same time—if possible. Oftentimes this is your subscriber’s first indication that your company delivers on its promises, and goes a long way to develop trust.

2.     Don’t ignore the Peoplemobility factor.

According to Forrester, more than a billion people will have smartphones by 2016. And, Worldata Research claims that 87% of C-Level executives check the majority of their email via mobile device. Clearly, if you haven’t designed your newsletter for easy readability on an iPhone, Android, etc., your regular monthly cadence won’t matter. Ensure that your design renders properly in major email clients.

3.     Don’t assume that blogs take the place of newsletters.  

Blogs are not permission-based. Email newsletters are. It’s far more impactful to send content to contacts who have asked for it vs. hoping the same people find your blog on your website. However, the best scenario is to cross-pollinate, or to use both vehicles to convey your message. Point to specific blogs in your newsletter, and refer to a story in your newsletter in your latest blog. These two tactics can work together for optimal results.

4.     Don’t bore your readers.

Your e-mail newsletter is not the place for a stiff, long-winded introduction accompanied by a “glamour shot.” Avoid the “scroll-fest” (causing your readers to page-down unnecessarily through a manifesto in search of valuable content). Today’s newsletter copy should consist of 2-3 teaser sentences, accompanied by a link to a very scannable article or blog, a video, your social media properties, or to a subtle promotional offer. Include a “colorful” mix of content, drawing from a variety of sources, taking multiple forms. Above all, ensure that your content is relatable, concise, and compelling. Avoid fluff at all costs.

5.     Don’t treat your newsletter like a sales tool.

As tempting as it is for Sales to hijack your newsletter at the end of the quarter in a mad dash to make their numbers, this is not the tool for that. Newsletters are best suited for relationship marketing and nurturing contacts (customers and prospects alike) as they travel along the sales cycle. Consider their journey. Put yourself in their shoes. This is the vehicle for reminding them that you exist, for providing value in terms of content that will make their job/lives easier, and for steadily building demand. This is hardly the forum for “the close.”

Maybe you’re completely new to email newsletters? Don’t be afraid to get started. A little bit of discipline goes a long way to establish and sustain customer intimacy. And, aside from the “don’ts” above, you should also consult the mConcierge Newsletter Tactical Marketing Guide. This 2-page “cheat sheet” gives you a basic overview, best practices, tips on measuring your newsletter’s success, as well as a sample timeline.

Again, the email newsletter is not dead. It’s just evolving like every other tactic in your marketing toolbox. In a world seemingly dominated by social media, there’s still nothing more powerful than a database of customers/prospects who have actively opted in to interact with you on a regular basis. Don’t disappoint them.



Authors

Holly Gwizdz

PROJECT SPECIALIST.MARKETING

Global Partner Marketing

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Over the past weeks, Tom Nallen introduced the concept and benefits of the Cisco Validated Design , then Laszlo Bojtos,  illustrated this concept with the Cloud Service Assurance for Virtualized Multi-Services Data Center 2.2 Cisco Validated Design, with a specific emphasis on the integration with Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud . Finally John Kennedy shared with us the latest news on Flexpod.

jotungThis week , I met Johnny Tung, Systems Marketing Manager for Data Center Solutions, to talk about a very interesting announcement : The Virtualized Multiservice Data Center

” Johnny , can you tell us what Happened to Cisco’s Unified Data Center on Dec 3th?

Well…it just got more interesting! You may have heard of Virtualized Multiservice Data Center. Let me remind you. It is Cisco’s reference architecture for the Unified Data Center. The big news here is that we have just released the 3.0 design. We are introducing Cisco FabricPath into the Unified Data Center network in order to simplify and scale Cloud Ready Infrastructure designs for Private and Virtual Private Cloud deployments.

VMDC

FabricPath simplifies and expands existing data center network design by removing the complexities of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), and thus enabling more extensive, flexible, and scalable Layer 2 designs. This release marks the introduction of FabricPath-based designs into VMDC;  further FabricPath-related VMDC releases will follow as Cisco develops and evolves its FabricPath offerings.

 What does it mean for our customers ?

Continue reading “Cisco Validated Designs for Cloud -Part 4-Virtualized Multiservice Data Center 3.0”



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Blog Cred Diana HuangIt is with great pleasure that I introduce another key member of IBSG’s Manufacturing Practice, Diana Huang. As a key Industry Thought Leader, Diana has had a distinguished career at Cisco to date and is currently leading the Greater China team in helping Fortune 500 CEOs address their most strategic issues—from growth strategy, global expansion, operational efficiency, and leadership development, to innovation, technology in management, corporate culture, and employee training.

Huang is an active member of the Cisco Greater China leadership team, focusing on go-to-market strategies with transformational efforts, and is also executive sponsor of the Cisco Greater China Smart Grid Virtual Team. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Trustees for the International School of Beijing, where she co-chairs the resources committee.

Huang has 19 years of management consulting and industry experience in the United States and China. Prior to joining Cisco, she was a vice president and partner at A.T. Kearney. As a strategic adviser to senior leadership, Huang led teams that assisted both Chinese and multinational companies with strategic direction, organizational transformation, and operational efficiency improvements.

Prior to consulting, Huang was a research chemist. She has written a number of papers, including “Decoding the Cisco DNA,” “Eco-City: Will China Lead the World?”, and “China’s Response to Global Meltdown.”

Continue reading “Please Welcome Diana Huang to the Manufacturing Industry Blog”



Authors

Peter Granger

Senior Sales Transformation Manager

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A drop of water.

It’s not something we spend a lot of time thinking about.

A single drop by itself is not that significant. Yet, when combined with millions or even billions of other drops, it can change the face of our planet.

A drop of water is a great metaphor for the Internet of Everything. Like a single drop of water, a single person, bit of data, or thing connected with billions of other people, data, and things can also shape the face of our planet.

One tiny drop of water begins a chain reaction that causes a big result. Sensors talk to networks that talk to traffic grids that talk to energy systems – all working in concert to solve problems.

This is not limited to a drop of water: Continue reading “A Drop of Water Begins a Chain Reaction [Infographic] #TomorrowStartsHere”



Authors

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This is our second preview of what Cisco will be showcasing at the 102nd National Retail Federation Convention and Expo on January 14 and 15, 2013 in New York City.

At the Cisco booth, I will be hosting demonstrations of “Interior Inspirer” for inspirational living, a new interactive experience that guides shoppers in transforming the home furnishing shopping experience with the click of a tablet. Interior Inspirer creates in-store theatre and supports engaging customer experiences that entice your shoppers to buy now and buy more.

Please watch this video about the Interior Inspirer demonstration and then mark your calendar to join us at Cisco Booth #252 at NRF 2013. I look forward to seeing you there!



Authors

Hoa Tran

MARKETING SPECIALIST

Enterprise Segment Marketing - Retail Industry

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The release of Cisco’s Connected World Technology Report this week put on paper the findings that most of us experience in our daily lives. Our world is connected more than ever before, and technology is changing the way we live and interact. Here are just a few examples of things I’ve come across lately. Continue reading “Getting Your Mom’s iphone to do Your Homework and other Notes from a Connected World”



Authors

Kirsten Chiala

No Longer with Cisco

The Network

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jayant_changrani_zdpBy Jayant Changrani, Country Head and General Manager – India, NDS, now part of Cisco

As we near the end of the calendar year, the last part of which as a newly acquired Cisco company, we’ve reached yet another milestone in India. At the end of 2011, NDS celebrated that its solutions were enabling digital TV for over 20 million homes in India, and according to market statistics effectively 100 million viewers. Today, we are proud to announce that we are enabling digital TV for over 50% of all digital cable homes in the country.

Our work with small, medium and large operators to help transition their platforms to digital ahead of the government mandated analogue switch off (the first deadline for which just passed on 31st October), has meant that we’ve been able to support the transition and launch of digital TV services across the country.

As a company we are actively supporting the digitization process in India for Continue reading “Who enables over 50% of all digital cable homes in India to watch TV? We do.”



Authors

David Yates

as Director of Service Provider Video Marketing at Cisco

SP360