Avatar

Last week, EVP and CFO Frank Calderoni appeared as a guest host on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” and as a guest on Bloomberg “Surveillance”.  During these appearances, Frank discussed Cisco’s most recent earnings, why a dividend is important, our M&A strategy, and many other exciting areas at Cisco.  Frank also weighed in with personal perspectives on the economic outlook and other top stories in the tech industry.

Frank did a great job representing Cisco!  Click the links below to check out excerpts from each interview:

CNBC “Squawk Box”:

Bloomberg “Surveillance”:



Authors

John Earnhardt

No Longer at Cisco

Avatar

We sat down with Victor Woo to see how the Internet of Everything is creating innovation in Canada.

Victor, when we first talked, you were just settling in your new role with the Internet of Everything. Since we last spoke, is there anything interesting that you have noted about IoE in Canada?

Absolutely.  One aspect is that Canada is well known for its natural resources with a high concentration of industries in the energy sector. In oil and gas, for example, there is constant requirement to improve performance of existing assets, reduce capital expenditure and operating costs, and increase efficiencies with a limited number of experienced personnel. The opportunity to attach and intelligently connect sensors, or converge multiple systems and equipment used in energy extraction or delivery would yield tremendous benefits. The result of collecting vast amounts of data and turning it into meaningful, real-time information through big data analytics that optimizes the business of oil extraction, production and transport on a continual basis would create huge efficiencies and, at the very least, be transformative.

FOCUS is highlighting people across Cisco and in different parts of the world that are focusing on IoE. How are you approaching the IoE opportunity in the Canada market versus other parts of the world? How is IoE in Canada unique?

Cisco has outlined a vision of being a catalyst for innovation in Canada. Our approach to IoE leadership in Canada is similarly aligned. We seek to help Canadian organizations understand the potential of IoE and to realize how it can be transformative for them in achieving much greater levels of productivity and innovation. Our Cisco objective is to be good for our customers and good for Canada, and as such our strategy focuses on how IoE might help solve some of our national challenges in productivity and innovation, and create new and exciting opportunities. We are looking to change the innovation trajectory of Canada by establishing research chairs and investing in Canadian university research centres to support the advancement IoT/IoE technologies. And, we are working to increase the Cisco Canadian engineering footprint for the development of IoE related products.  Ultimately, our IoE strategy aligns and contributes to Cisco’s vision for Canada: to create a more productive Canada that invests in research, development and job creation.

One of the items you discussed in your first blog post is the importance of innovation and productivity in Canada. As you noted, Canada is ranked 14th in productivity for the second year in a row by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). There is a natural tie between innovation and IoE. Can you share a more of your thoughts about Canada’s role in being an innovative country and how IoE can help?

The importance for Canada needing to improve innovation is crucial. Canada’s growth in labour productivity has been weak – less than 1% annually on average for more than 10 years. It’s among the lowest rates throughout OECD nations. And it’s putting this country at risk to maintain its current standard of living, which is directly linked to productivity and innovation. Canada’s low rate of investment in IT for business also means innovation is likewise weak – especially among small and mid-sized companies where ICT investment in general is extremely low. Innovation fuels improvements in labour productivity. It’s all tied together.

IoE presents an opportunity to perhaps address these things. If we choose to lead the way in IoE adoption, Canada can position itself for success in today’s global economy AND perhaps address many of our current challenges in low ICT investment, which as mentioned ties to innovation, productivity and ultimately raising Canada’s standard of living.

And there are significant profits to be had. For 2013, the Canadian IoE value at stake is estimated to be $57 billion. With approximately $30 billion of value currently realized in the market, there remains much more on the table. The time to move towards innovation and productivity is now.

Can you comment on Canada’s progress on IoE?

I think we’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible for Canada. As you might expect, adoption of IoE is limited, but there’s strong belief and support for the concept. A recent Cisco Consulting Services survey of more than 7,500 businesses and IT decision makers from around the world shows that 80% of Canadian respondents surveyed say they’ve already seen the value and significance of IoE.  In healthcare, we see efforts to bring telemedicine into remote parts of Canada. An inspirational example is how patient care is being improved in Takla Landing by extending frequency of healthcare delivery to this remote community by using video connections to physicians located in urban locations. In the transportation industry, Cisco technology is connecting sensors and controllers, processes and personnel. For example, Bombardier, a global transportation industry leader is embedding IP technology to help its customers enhance rail operations and provide superior customer experience. In energy, BC Hydro is implementing a bold smart-grid initiative. More than 1.9 million smart meters have been deployed, all connected through an intelligent infrastructure to efficiently manage and monitor utilization while providing information to customers and helping them to better manage consumption. On the research front, Cisco Canada has partnered with the University of Waterloo in the area for the advancement of smart-grid research. These are just some of the examples of how the Internet of Everything is changing Canadian lives for the better. And it’s only the beginning.

Are there another opportunities that you would like to see Canada take a leadership role with the Internet of Everything.

Well, Canada is well known for its love of ice hockey. I have no doubt that we’ll see sensors on pucks and players in the near future. I’m excited to see how we work to transform the fan experience through the potential of the Internet of Everything!

 



Authors

Victor Woo

General Manager

Industry Transformation, Cisco Canada

Avatar

IoTWF for blog smallIn partnership with our industry steering committee members and sponsors, Cisco will host the Internet of Things World Forum, to be held October 29–31 in Barcelona, Spain. This exclusive event will bring together business and global thought leaders from across industries, technologies, and geographies who are passionate about igniting innovation and accelerating the advancement of the Internet of Things for their organizations.

Not surprisingly, there are several exciting sessions of interest to those of us involved in Communication and Collaboration technologies. If you need help maneuvering through the conference’s collaboration landscape, here are a few recommendations: Continue reading “Collaboration is Hot: What IT Professionals Can Learn at the Internet of Things World Forum”



Avatar

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Trey Leyton, VP & CTO for VCE, to discuss VCE’s momentum and how they use Cisco technologies to deliver a truly converged infrastructure and an incredible customer experience.

http://youtu.be/mfb4j74QaWI

Last year, VCE achieved a $1 billion per year run rate with the VblockTM Systems portfolio. Customers have returned to purchase additional systems. Seventy percent of Vblock customers buy a 2nd and 3rd Vblock system. Why? VCE delivers a great customer experience. Vblock is a truly converged infrastructure, it is pre-integrated, factory built and tested, delivered as a single product with one phone number to call for support. A converged infrastructure such as Vblock requires a holistic management solution. Cisco UCS Director enables the automation and orchestration of converged infrastructures from a single-view portal improving IT efficiency.  These efficiency gains allow IT to spend much less time managing infrastructure.

Ninety nine percent of the time a Vblock system is operational within 48 hours of being delivered. A solution that is usable this quickly meets the requirements of both technical and business IT teams. The factory-integration and validation accelerates deployment, enabling IT technical staff to focus on driving innovation rather than installing infrastructure.  IT executives like that the infrastructure is operational faster to help drive the business forward.

Vblock Systems eliminate many of the challenges that consume today’s data center resources including planning, setting up and deploying infrastructure, and keeping infrastructure up to date. Basically, Vblock Systems can simplify every aspect of IT operations while boosting productivity and lowering costs.

Infrastructure will always matter if your goal is to deliver an elastic, automated cloud computing environment. The success and momentum of VCE with the Vblock Systems portfolio is proof that a truly converged infrastructure using  best-in-class technologies from Cisco (Cisco UCS, Cisco Nexus Switches) and  EMC (EMC VNXe, VNX and Symmetrix VMAX) can help customers can get projects done faster, with better performance, higher availability and low total cost of ownership.



Authors

Jim McHugh

Vice President, Product and Solutions Marketing

Unified Computing Systems

Avatar

As Cisco UCS enters a new phase of growth with Cisco’s entry into the top 5-server vendors list, let’s step back and take a look at how we manage infrastructure in the world of Unified Computing. UCS Management is a key ingredient of Cisco’s Unified Data Center, which unifies physical and virtual infrastructures across data centers. The architecture delivers IT services through a holistic fabric-based approach, and has proven to lower the cost of computing and enable real IT innovation.    Customers are reporting an 84% reduction in provisioning times and 61% reduction of ongoing administrative/management costs.  In this post we’ll examine some of the drivers for that.  More recently, UCS Director has bolstered the portfolio and provided significant capabilities to reduce data center operational expenses.  Since there are many questions about how the portfolio products complement each other, I hope to clarify it.

UCSM_portfolio

The UCS management portfolio includes:

  • UCS Manager for individual UCS domains


Avatar

If you have an iPhone or you are due for a mobile phone refresh, you would have tuned into Apple’s announcement on the new iPhones as well as the new OS, iOS7.  I’ve had my iPhone4 for more than 3 years now so it definitely is decision time.

While we, as the phones’ users, are contemplating a new phone or upgraded OS, what does our other persona, the manager, director, or CIO in charge of our companies’ IT and network, need to consider?  Will this impact me? Especially with BYOD policies can we bring both our iPhone and iPad – new or just upgraded – and connect them to the company wireless network?   The answer is a resounding YES.

Continue reading “Is Your WAN Ready For iOS7? 2 Steps You Should Take To Identify and Tame Applications”



Authors

Allison Park

Product Marketing Manager

Enterprise Networks

Avatar

This blog was originally posted on the Huffington Post

The Techonomy Detroit conference on Sept. 17 brings together leaders across the country to focus on the transformative role of technology in boosting industries and advancing our economy. Can technology make a difference in the lives and well-being of our neighbors? Can the rapid advancements of social tools allow for a richer collaboration to solve some of our most challenging social issues? Every day I witness innovative technologies being used to not only address social challenges but to build stronger communities — here in the U.S. and across the globe.

But technology alone is not the key.

When people in public and private sectors come together in collaborative partnerships with a common future vision, and combine this vision with innovative technologies, we see the resulting impacts multiply.

Preparing Today for Tomorrow’s Challenges

For a competitive and sustainable economy, the U.S. must have a skilled and well-trained workforce that can meet the evolving needs of industry, such as in education and health care. According to the International Telecommunications Union, 90 percent of all jobs by 2015 will require technical skills. Across industries, we see the growth of global intelligent networks creating a greater need for trained professionals to keep these networks running and secure. So our current shortage in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) trained workers is a real risk to our country’s economic recovery and long-term growth. However, a workforce well-schooled in information and communications technology (ICT) and engineering could spur innovation while fueling productivity and economic growth. Investments in ICT will play a major role in generating stable, high-paying jobs and boosting the nation’s gross domestic product. Continue reading “Multiplying The Impact Of Partnerships”



Authors

Tae Yoo

No Longer with Cisco

Avatar

A common cornerstone of both the Internet of Things and Internet of Everything concepts is the idea of a future with billions, if not trillions, of connections to the Internet. As the Internet of Everything connects objects, data, people and processes, the future of connected things will not be traditional computers or smartphones. Rather, it may be your refrigerator, or a traffic light, or even a litter box. Basically, anything that can have a status change that will interest someone has the potential to be connected to the Internet in order to alert you to that change.

The idea of being alerted to important information automatically is appealing. After all, if your refrigerator is having a cooling issue and it can send you a text alert, you can save money by taking corrective action before your milk and other products go bad. However, not all of the data generated by the Internet of Everything will be of high value. In fact, most of it will be of little value at all.

Continue reading “When Sensors Act Like Teenagers”



Authors

Bill Franks

Chief Analytics Officer for Teradata,