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“Never get hard work confused with results.” – John Chambers, Cisco Chairman and CEO

Last night in New York City, the Cisco PR team won three of the most prestigious awards in the Public Relations industry at PRWeek’s PR Awards. We won the corporate branding campaign of the year, the In-House PR team of the year, and the overall PR campaign of the year (this is the overall winner of the other winning campaigns). Thank you PRWeek and all the judges for the recognition.

David McCulloch and I co-lead this great team and we couldn’t be more proud of this team recognition (and, we, of course, have to give much credit and guidance to our great boss, Karen Tillman, VP and Chief Communication Officer at Cisco – PRWeek PR Professional of the Year Honorable Mention). We also entered the corporate campaign of the year with our agency partners Text100 and Brunswick and, clearly, they get their due credit for helping us on our PR journey.

What is the definition of Public Relations? The Cisco PR team took a crack at defining PR and came up with this:

“Public Relations is knowing what to say; when to say it; how to say it; where to say it; whom to say it to, to promote and protect the client’s reputation.”

Continue reading “Cisco Brings Home 3 #PRWeekAwards, aka “The PR Oscars””



Authors

John Earnhardt

No Longer at Cisco

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Steven Blog 2The headline at Cisco Live London this year is undoubtedly the major advancement of Cisco Unified AccessTM. Thousands of attendees witnessed the introduction of new Unified Access products that simplify network design by converging wired and wireless networks. It’s been a long journey to London and here’s how we got there.

Continue reading “Cisco Unified Access Reaches a Major Milestone in London”



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Steven Song

Business Manager

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We had a great time last week at the Hotel Technology Next Generation’s (HTNG) North American Conference in Atlanta. Many of the industry’s top leaders were in attendance, and it was exciting to see wireless and mobility as a recurring theme throughout the show. There were various Wireless-focused presentations, including one from Wi-Fi Alliance focused on Miracast and Passpoint. Our team also noticed that personal area network (PAN) capabilities are becoming of more interest to hoteliers as guests need a way to connect their devices together to share content.

HTNG

Our very own Bob Friday, CTO, Wireless Networking Group, and John Bollen, MGM resorts VP of IT Strategy led the Wi-Fi conversations and delivered the conference’s keynote where they focused on key trends in the industry and our innovative  implementation at MGM.

Continue reading “HTNG Recap: Cisco Hospitality highlights industry leadership”



Authors

Antonio Dimilia

Industry Director - Hospitality and Travel

Business Transformation Team

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Yu_Yi
Cisco Senior Director of Corporate Affairs Yu Yi

It is well known fact that pediatric specialists are in high demand but short supply in the United States and around the world. Sixteen U.S. states have fewer than one pediatric subspecialist under age 65 per 100,000 residents, according to the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions.

As a result, many children and their families are forced to travel long distances to get adequate care. In some regions, patients may wait as long as three to six months for an appointment.

Today on the Huffington Post ImpactX, Cisco Senior Director of Cisco Corporate Affairs Yu Yi explains how this shortage of healthcare professionals can lead to significant complications in adulthood.

“The current system can also lead to inconsistent knowledge and information exchange between patients, primary care pediatricians, and pediatric specialists,” Yu Yi wrote. “Consequently, children with complex care requirements receive less effective care and experience poor outcomes.”

Please read Yu Yi’s full blog on the Huffington Post.



Authors

Alexis Raymond

Senior Manager

Chief Sustainability Office

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BirenProfilePicture-e1349971468612-300x369By Biren Mehta, Senior Marketing Manager, SP Marketing in Routing and Switching, Cisco

Today’s business is more distributed and mobile than ever.  Whether companies are building new data centers, redistributing existing servers, or outsourcing IT functions to public, private, and hybrid cloud delivery models, the network is at the center and a key control point for cost-effective cloud services delivery model.

Cloud computing is the most network-centric compute paradigm to date.  A successful cloud service offering will depend on a network foundation that’s elastic, agile, and compute workload optimized enabling organizations to transition IT assets to the cloud securely, and cost effectively. Continue reading “Maximizing Computing Economics with Cloud Intelligent Network”



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This blog was originally published on the Huffington Post on March 7, 2013.

Today, I would like to reflect on the progress women are making in the global economy by highlighting the work of one woman who has been a source of inspiration for many: Randa Ayoubi. Randa is a woman entrepreneur from Jordan who had a dream of enhancing the lives of children by raising educational standards through multimedia learning.

Nearly 20 years ago, after her studies in computer science at Texas Tech, Randa returned to Jordan to work at a bank. However, Randa wanted a different path and aspired to be her own boss and contribute to society. She started a software business called Rubicon where she became one of Jordan’s pioneers in multimedia software for education at a time when rural poverty and the lack of teachers in villages was a big issue.

Continue reading “International Women’s Day: A Jordanian Entrepreneur’s Impact on Education, the Workforce, and Society”



Authors

Tae Yoo

No Longer with Cisco

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Cisco’s Financial Services Industry Marketing team is pleased to welcome a monthly contribution from industry professionals sharing their insights and observations on key trends in the Financial Services industry. The opinions expressed in these posts are those of our welcomed guests and may not reflect the opinions of Cisco.

Jerry Silva, Principal  at PG Silva Consulting, is a 25 year industry veteran in retail banking business and technology, and advises institutions on technology strategy as well as contributing thought leadership to a number of industry conferences and publications like the Financial Times, the Economist, and the Wall Street Journal.

Time for Banks to Join Us in Our Daily Lives

I’ve been in the market for a new pair of earbuds. Due to the big storm that hit Boston a few weeks ago, my earbuds were lost during the hectic scurry to fly home before the blizzard hit. Once I was safe at home, I visited a few “big box” retailer online sites to check out the latest technology. Using the stores’ customer review sections, I found a suitable pair that seemed to fit my needs, then I checked prices and searched for physical locations near me that had them in stock. My local store didn’t have them, but another location five miles away did have a few. After a quick sales chat with a store representative, I bought them through the web site, drove to the store, and picked them up at the customer service counter saving me the wait at the cashier.

Most of you will recognize this series of micro-experiences as a typical, and more importantly, single event in our e-commerce lives. The experience was seamless to me; A single journey – using transparent channels – to acquire a new set of earbuds. I was able to get the “Three C’s” I needed to complete the transaction; Credibility from other consumers on the quality and reliability of several models, Convenience of homework and shopping from anywhere (using my smartphone at one point), and Choice having the earbuds shipped to me if I wanted, or in my case, picked up at a physical location.

This post is about Banking, so you know where I’m headed with this… Continue reading “Viewpoints: Industry Experts Share Their Perspectives on the Financial Services Industry”



Authors

Al Slamecka

Global Financial Services BDM

Cisco Industry Solutions Group

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Government services and convenience are rarely seen within the same sentence; more often than not, the thought of making the trip down to city hall is a sure-fire way to increase one’s blood pressure. Cisco’s efforts around Smart+Connected Communities have continuously focused on identifying these types of pain points – advocating the need to design cities with technology at the core to improve delivery of new citizen services.

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Citizen services in France

This month, efforts around the world in France, Spain, Germany, Canada and the United States have showcased the pivotal role of technology in the development of modern-day cities. More and more, the network has become an essential part of a city infrastructure – much like gas and water. When we’re able to implement a scalable intelligent network to create tangible service-delivery points for citizens, what we essentially create is an entirely new business model that promotes a shift in how public services are delivered.

The initiatives detailed throughout this post are not only exciting as an indicator of global acceptance from large communities around the world, but they also serve as a key initial step towards what we can provide with a full suite of transformational services. Through utilizing key technologies that bring access closer to the community, Cisco and its partners are transforming the means in which cities deliver government services.

Nice, France

Spot Mairie in Nice
Spot Mairie in Nice

Cisco is working together with the city and the Nice Côte d’Azur Metropolitan Area to deploy the world’s first fully operational Cisco Remote Expert for Government Services (REGS) solution. Installed at the Nice Étoile shopping mall, a cabin has been fully equipped with a Cisco TelePresence system and collaboration tools to bring government services closer to communities.

Named the ‘Spot Mairie’, this deployment provides real-time access to key services such as certification requests, voter registration, requests for public services and a host of other offerings during regular business hours. Once inside the cabin, citizens interact face-to-face with a remote agent over video and are sent necessary forms remotely via a printer. A mailbox and document scanner is also provided for easy access. Spot Mairie aims to change how citizens perceive the delivery of public services and falls right in line with an agreement signed between the Nice Metropolitan Area and Cisco France for digital development efforts within the area.

 

Barcelona, Spain

Casa Del Mig, Barcelona
Casa Del Mig, Barcelona

Traveling a little farther south, Barcelona City Hall and Cisco recently announced Spain’s first remote expert for government services deployment. As we’ve seen with Nice, Cisco TelePresence technology and collaboration tools have been installed in a booth at the Casa del Mig area of the city, providing citizens with remote access to a variety of government services (customized for that specific region).

This pilot program is a first for Spain and furthers Cisco’s collaboration agreement with the Barcelona City Hall to transform Barcelona into a global reference model for urban innovation.

Addressing the ‘blank spots’ in Germany

At the February meeting of the largest association of German telecommunications operators (BREKO), the Cisco Industry Solutions Group presented a live demo of the remote expert for government services solution to an audience of city and regional carriers – as well as municipal utilities. For a bit of background, the 140 members of BREKO help provide high quality optical fiber access to urban, as well as rural areas – covering the “blank spots.” As a result of the demonstration, we are working now to include the feedback from the association with ideas for improvement and more use cases. At the same time, a collaboration was announced between Cisco and ODR Technologie Services GmBH to help bring this solution to market; making them the first partner in Germany to do so. ODR TSG is developing an initial pilot in the county of Aalen. Stay tuned for more updates on how the solution could be rolled out in the German market.

Municipalities in Ontario, Canada

In Canada, the City of Stratford has been making major strides towards becoming a leader in digital media and infrastructure and was short-listed as one of the top intelligent cities by the ICF. Partnering with Cisco to help deliver the proper networking infrastructure, Stratford is focused on driving investment and innovation to transform the city’s future. Cisco has begun working with several progressive municipalities in Ontario to deploy REGS solution pilots. Forward-thinking municipalities – including Stratford – will trial remote expert for government services kiosks to deliver access to municipal government services/information and help further drive Smart+Connected Communities initiatives in the area. By utilizing technology to improve citizen services and provide greater ease of access, these pilots are another glimpse into what the future holds for a Smart+Connected Canada.

Remote Expert 1.8 Introduced

Building on the momentum we’ve seen globally with Cisco’s overall remote expert solutions across several vertical industries, we’re also excited to announce a solution update with Remote Expert 1.8. New capabilities continue our efforts around enabling partners to better connect customers with subject matter experts via immersive, virtual environments. These new features include scalable support, video in queue functionality for TelePresence and the integration of Cisco MediaSense to deliver audio recording, in addition to others. Furthermore, a newly enhanced Remote Expert Services Portfolio includes planning, building and management services to support a secure solution that effectively integrates with customers’ existing process and infrastructures – and to deliver the highest quality experience.

Connected Justice in Texas

Kiosk Touch Pad
Interactive Touch Pad. Photo: BILLY CALZADA, San Antonio Express-News

In other areas around the world, we’ve also seen how other Cisco technologies have been used to address the pressing challenge of delivering new citizen services. We turn now to the great state of Texas, where the Cisco Connected Justice solution is transforming the administration of routine court tasks and allowing city officials to improve court processes.

San Antonio Connected Justice Kiosk
Connected Justice Kiosk. Photo: BILLY CALZADA, San Antonio Express-News

Last year, the city of San Antonio, Texas announced the deployment of interactive video kiosks for citizens to resolve Municipal Court offenses from right in their own neighborhood. Devised by Municipal Court Presiding Judge John Bull, court manager Jason Tabor and Cisco, these remote expert kiosks enable a live, interactive video feed where residents can speak with Judge Alfredo Tavera about their cases and the options available to them. The service allows up to 20 people to be linked via Cisco TelePresence to the court at one time and a touch screen with interactive pad is provided for ease of use.

This month, residents in San Antonio will find an up-and-running kiosk right in their own neighborhood grocery store. Resolving a traffic ticket won’t ever be pleasant, but at least it’ll be more convenient now. Additional kiosks are already available within a local community center outside of downtown. Collin County, TX has also explored the use of kiosks in their court system and is in the midst of deployment. All in all, these services are helping transform the means in which we deal with every day circumstances like traffic violations.

Delivering citizen services remotely in Barcelona
Delivering citizen services remotely in Barcelona

The Bigger Picture

The developments in these global regions provide a crucial step in the broader effort to transform cities around the world. Having the ability to access government services from somewhere as casual and accessible as a shopping mall is an important indicator of what’s possible. In Cisco’s Smart+Connected Communities vision, the Internet can be the key platform in city planning and development efforts. As we see it, the Internet of Everything has a pivotal role in powering an amazing future – one in which the intelligent connection of people, process, data and things on the network will transform our cities and the way in which we conduct our day-to-day lives.



Authors

Marc Musgrove

Former Director, Internet of Things and Digital Industries PR

No Longer with Cisco

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As our friends and colleagues in the United States participate in Telework Week, you may like to know that us Aussies also held our own Telework Week in November 2012 based on the success of US Telework Week.

Australian Telework Week successfully put the idea of working from anywhere uppermost in the minds of employees, who are increasingly looking to use their mobile devices in more aspects of their lives, and employers who are looking to increase productivity and cut costs.

The media is full of reports of how Australians are voting with their feet and demanding more mobile device friendly services; whether that is banking and finance, shopping, news and media, books, music, games, social media or simply booking a flight, restaurant or tickets to the movies.

It is the same for small, medium and larger businesses, government agencies and organisations who are learning about the benefits of employing and deploying a mobile workforce, such as cost savings, increased productivity, lower environmental impact, higher employee engagement and retention, continuity of operations and improved staff well being.

A report released by global consulting firm Deloitte Access Economics during Telework Week said that telework ‘would be the biggest structural change to the labour market this decade.’  That means telework will play a significant role in disrupting traditional employment models now and for the next 7 years and beyond.

As technologies continue to evolve and access to fast broadband speeds increases, the barriers to ‘working your way‘ are coming down rapidly.

But the biggest hurdle to the widespread adoption of teleworking is the resistance from managers who are challenged by the concept of not having staff sitting outside the office door.  Despite the evidence that presenteeism is not a guarantee of productivity, there is some comfort for managers in knowing that they are better able to manage their staff if they are within earshot.

While business leaders may buy into the telework revolution and workers themselves are on board – it is the group in the middle who are most likely to resist a move toward an anywhere workforce, partly because training for managers revolves around traditional models that have not caught up with the disruption that the global shift toward a digital economy has caused.

My solution to shift resistance to telework is to let Dracula run the blood bank and adopt a Telework First policy where all new hire workers are offered telework, where their job permits it.

The cliché about putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank is often used negatively to suggest that he would drink it dry and there would be no blood supplies available for crucial life-saving purposes.

However, Dracula is, after all, an economic rationalist who will act in his best long-term interests.  Being immortal, short termism is not on his radar!

A rationalist Dracula would recognize that it is in his long term interests to not only run the blood bank in a sustainable way, but to find ways to increase the productivity of the blood bank and boost the supply of blood available for both his needs and that of the wider community. In that way, Dracula benefits from access to a regular supply and the community benefits from a more efficiently and effectively run blood service.

Similarly, by adopting a Telework First policy – and allowing as many employees as possible to telework – some managers might say workers would be tempted to slack off at home or the local café, golf course or beach and productivity would drop.

But it is more likely that employees would highly value the additional flexibility that teleworking brings to their lives as well as the improved wellbeing they experience from teleworking and their productivity would improve.

Cisco’s employee retention rate among teleworkers is higher than those working in traditional, office based roles. In addition, a Melbourne University Research paper says that teleworkers report increased well-being and productivity, because teleworking helps them take more control over their working and non-working life.

Telework is a good thing for managers in the long run as they get more productivity from their staff, improved well-being, employee retention and cost savings.

The US government’s Telework Enhancement Act 2010 promotes a Telework First policy – and the world is taking notice!

The Australian government announced during Australian Telework Week that 12% of its workforce would telework regularly by 2020, a pledge made the Prime Minister, the Hon Julia Gillard, who launched Australian Telework Week.

While not quite letting Dracula run the blood bank, it is a step in the right direction and the Australian community has embraced it.

Managing change in organisations can be difficult, particularly when existing management methods are entrenched and new ways of work challenge the status quo.  But there is a peaceful revolution taking place in the community with the ubiquitous adoption of mobile devices and they are infiltrating into the workplace, with or without the knowledge of IT Departments.

As Australian National Telework Week demonstrated, employers are increasingly realizing the value of having a mobile workforce.



Authors

Tim Fawcett

General Manager, Government Affairs & Policy

Cisco Australia and New Zealand