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Last week I was in London for the Gartner Data Center Conference.  As always there was a wide range of interesting topics being discussed, all very useful.  Working in Cisco Data Center Services, I am interested in many data center topics, however this year I was interested to hear perspectives on SDN, how the market is evolving, and how the attendees – including many senior IT practitioners – are considering SDN adoption.

London's Big Ben at Night
London’s Big Ben at Night

From a Cisco perspective, we were showcasing the recently launched Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), which generated a lot of interest.  There is growing awareness among our customers that ACI could do for networks and applications what the Cisco UCS has done for the server market (with UCS server profiles in the latter proving a good analogy to help customers understand the potential of ACI).

So what were some of my key takeaways from the SDN discussion I heard here?  And what were the questions that in my view are still not being discussed sufficiently across the industry?

Continue reading “SDN Reflections on the London Gartner Data Center Conference – Part 1”



Authors

Stephen Speirs

SP Product Management

Cisco Customer Experience (CX)

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“Today, Cisco joins the world in mourning the passing of Nelson Mandela. Mr. Mandela was a courageous leader who had the vision and strength of character to help create a brighter future for all citizens of the country he loved so much. In doing so he inspired the world. I, and all of my colleagues at Cisco, send our deepest sympathies to Mr. Mandela’s family and to the people of South Africa.”

– John Chambers



Authors

John Earnhardt

No Longer at Cisco

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When a person is considered tech-savvy and “always-connected” in their day-to-day life, these expectations don’t change when they stay in a hotel. In fact, this new “connected hotel guest” actually expects the same mobile experience at hotels that they receive at home or work.  Hoteliers across the world are constantly trying to find ways to meet the increasing needs of the mobile-connected guest. Previously, hotel Wi-Fi was used primarily for guests and staff connectivity, but now, it’s becoming much more than that because of these guests’ needs. Continue reading “The Internet of Everything’s Impact on Hospitality”



Authors

Antonio Dimilia

Industry Director - Hospitality and Travel

Business Transformation Team

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Next Thursday you don’t want to miss a live technical webcast with Q&A on the hot topic of Wi-Fi location-based services. Join Techwise tech legend Jimmy Ray Purser and technical marketing engineer lead Darryl Sladden for a deep technical discussion covering the ins and outs of Cisco’s Mobility Services Engine – the intelligence engine in the Cisco Wi-Fi network that enables Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences functionality.

You’ll get a full, hands-on view of four pieces of the solution and see how it all ties into your Wi-Fi network:

  • Location detection – how Cisco’s Wi-Fi infrastructure detects mobile devices and calculates their location
  • Analytics – how the MSE aggregates and reports Wi-Fi location data and trends to administrators and operations leads so that they can better understand guest behavior
  • APIs – how Cisco’s Mobility Services APIs provide application developers rich, contextual information they can use to create a variety of internally and externally-facing apps
  • Maps – a use case of how Cisco uses it’s own Wi-Fi location-based services inside the organization to increase efficiency and employees get to where they need to go

This is an in-depth session you won’t want to miss. Register now and mark your calendars for December 12!



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On a typical day, we leave a vast trail of data in our wake. Our browsing histories, online preferences, shopping habits, work decisions, social interactions—all are rendered in binary code, prompting a complex interaction of requests, responses, affirmations, and denials.

And that’s just from our laptops and smartphones.

What about when the Internet of Everything — with its explosion in connectivity from 10 billion “things” today to 50 billion in 2020 — truly shifts into overdrive? At that point, our clothing, our houses, our cars, our lawns, and our refrigerators may be generating ever-larger torrents of data — all about us.

This upsurge in personal Big Data has big implications. Indeed, each person’s emerging digital persona will go a long way toward defining their place in the world.  Furthermore, all of that data already has great intrinsic value to Internet giants, retailers, financial services companies, and many others. If we manage it right — in what I see as a burgeoning Marketplace of Me — some of that value may come right back to us.

Continue reading “Your Data, Yourself — in the Marketplace of Me”



Authors

Joseph M. Bradley

Global Vice President

Digital & IoT Advanced Services

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December is here and that means that Santa Claus is putting the final touches on his list and checking it twice. For the seventh year, Cisco is teaming up with hospitals across the Americas to provide children who are hospitalized during the holidays the opportunity to show Santa what good little boys and girls they’ve been (and let him know what tops their wish list). From Canada, down to the United States and Latin America, Santa will virtually visit hospitals from his post at the North Pole, making cyber-stops by way of the magic of the latest mobile and collaboration technologies.

Santa Visits Hospitalized Children (photo courtesy of American Family Children's Hospital)
Santa Visits Hospitalized Children (photo courtesy of American Family Children’s Hospital)

Approximately 50 hospitals throughout the Americas, with the help of Cisco and our partners, will bring a live feed of the North Pole to their patients – using either an iPad, or a video monitor and web-enabled camera. Santa will visit with children in the hospital’s playroom, and for those who don’t feel well enough to leave their room, a mobile cart or iPad enabled with Cisco Jabber® software will help Santa travel for a bedside visit.

Much like children who are able to sit on Santa’s lap, patients will have the opportunity to pass along their wishes this holiday season in plenty of time for St. Nick to make his list and check it twice.

Cisco is proud to be able to touch the lives of these children with the hope and happiness of a personalized visit with Santa using Cisco technologies. View the full list of hospitals that are participating in the 2013 Cisco Santa Connection Program. 



Authors

Mike Haymaker

Healthcare Industry Marketing

No Longer with Cisco

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“The House of Representatives today took measured and reasonable steps against the misuse of the legal system by patent assertion entities, by passing legislation to dry up the financial incentives that allow patent assertion entities to thrive.

As a company that has a portfolio of over 10,000 US patents by dint of our strong culture of innovation, we care about a patent system that rewards true innovation — and we oppose misuse of that system by those who use the costs and uncertainty of litigation to extract unearned gains or to assert patents that should never have been issued.

At a time when most issues in front of Congress are frozen in gridlock, this bill passed with a strong bipartisan majority, 325-90.  Members clearly recognize that patent trolls are a drag on our economy and on innovation.

The fight now moves to the Senate, where I am hopeful that a similar bipartisan majority will take action against this growing problem.

On behalf of Cisco, I’d like to thank Chairman Bob Goodlatte for his leadership on this issue, as well as Representatives Zoe Lofgren, George Holding, Anna Eshoo, and so many others for their support.  The fight is not yet over, but today was a major step in the right direction.”



Authors

Mark Chandler

Retired | Executive Vice President

Chief Legal and Compliance Officer

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I imagine, like most professionals, your day is filled with solving challenging demands. Whether it’s increasing efficiency in your line of business or developing new ways to reach customers and increase sales, transformation is happening. And you are driving it.Today’s leaders are leveraging mobility to move their business forward and improve their organizations; from providing users adaptive, personalized experiences to introducing new operating models and gaining additional business intelligence. Having the right information from the right people will ensure you’re not left behind.

Research from Richard Franzi in a Critical Mass for Business article supports the importance of top executives learning from other executives to help resolve issues. Learning from those who are moving in the same direction can help drive better results, especially in today’s competitive environment.

With this approach in mind, the latest edition of Mobilize offers peer-to-peer insights from C-level executives that are not only managing pain-points, but overcoming them with strategic innovative decisions.

Continue reading “Gathering Frontline Insights on Mobility Innovation”



Authors

Inbar Lasser-Raab

No Longer with Cisco

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Do you have a need for automated provisioning of your data center? Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) might just provide that solution.

DCNM is designed to help you efficiently implement, visualize, and manage the Cisco Unified Fabric. The need today in the datacenter is for a comprehensive management platform that delivers visibility as well as control of all elements within the Unified Fabric which in turn significantly simplifies troubleshooting, maintenance and provisioning of the entire fabric in a fast and efficient way.Watch the video below to find out more.

https://youtu.be/u8poAXE9J4c

Continue reading “Automated Fabric Provisioning Using Cisco Prime DCNM”