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With all of the focus on Software Defined Networking, open networking, API’s, you name it, I do often wonder how, with all of this ‘openness’, does an Enterprise keep their network secure? After years of security teams working  tirelessly to protect their business critical infrastructure does this paradigm shift where anyone can write an application to control, get the intelligence from, and manipulate the network become the reason for many a sleepless night for security experts around the world? And on the other hand, can this new way to manage the network help in threat detection and prevention?

If you, like me, are wondering the same thing, I invite you to register here for the 5th session of the Cisco Open Network Environment Webcast Series titled “Securing the Open Network Environment” broadcasting on July 30th at 9 a.m. PST.

Jon Oltsik, ESG, Security, Mike Nielsen, Bret Hartman, ONE, SDN

Join Mike Nielsen and Bret Hartman from Cisco as well as Jon Oltsik from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) for a great discussion featuring live Q&A throughout the session.

If you have missed any of our previous sessions featuring introductions to OpenFlow, OpenStack, Cisco’s onePK, and Using Open Source in Networked Environments, please visit www.cisco.com/go/onewebcasts.



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The IT (Information Technology) and the OT (Operational Technology) “worlds” are requiring convergence to meet the growing complexity of a more informed customer driven market. Not only in the technical sense, but also organizationally. 

I don’t know about you, but trying to keep up with the alphabet soup of acronymous in one world is difficult enough, but when we attempt to combine both “worlds” it can be  nauseating to say the least, and produce a terrible “soup” of acronyms   I mean both organizations speak different languages, right?  OEE, EOL, CNC, MTTR, EtherNet/IP, etc.. for OT, and  SNAP, OSPF,  EOF, NAT, IP etc.. for IT. The IT world is more formal too, right?  For example, IT SIP’s and OT umm ……..CIP’s.

Can you imagine the language and cultural challenges of both worlds trying to understand each others language let alone work jointly to execute programs and projects that drive business value for their company’s and markets?  I’ve heard in some organizations that proposition often times causes a bigger confrontation than the epic Ali vs. Frazier “Thrilla in Manila” battle, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  In fact, the Industrial IP Advantage website is an educational community of both IT and OT professionals. A IT and OT broker if you will.  You will find that the two worlds are not so different.IIPA Logo

Paul Brooks, Rockwell Automation; Dan McGrath, Panduit and Kevin Davenport of Cisco discuss how OT and IT professionals can leverage the Industrial IP Advantage community to accelerate the adoption of IP technology to converge both “worlds” and extract tangible value from the IoE opportunity.

Left to right: Philippe Beaulieu, Dan, Peter Brookes, Kevin Davenport
Left to right: Philippe Beaulieu (Librestream), Dan McGrath (Panduit), Paul Brooks (Rockwell Automation), Kevin Davenport (Cisco)

The IT and OT worlds have more commonality than differences.  In fact, one of the common areas of focus for both worlds revolve around “standardization.”  Historically, OT technology projects and deployments have leveraged modified Ethernet implementations to connect machines, sensors and the like on plant floors.  This approached has produced many different flavors of industrial modified ethernet protocols, such as, ProfiNet, EtherCAT, Powerlink, etc.. Although these ethernet implementations allowed manufacturers to move further away from costly, difficult to maintain, and hard to scale proprietary technology the industry recognizes that a more universal standard technology approach is required to take advantage of the Internet of Everything (IoE) revolution and the 3.88 trillion dollar of manufacturing value associated with the IoE opportunity.  That standard technology foundation is Internet Protocol (IP).

By using the power of standard, unmodified Internet Protocol (IP) manufacturers finally have a universal technology platform that improves connectivity between people, partners and processes, devices, departments and systems in industrial applications, and opens up new opportunities for productivity, efficiency and flexibility. Industrial IP Advantage is an idea and resource to bridge the language and cultures barriers of IT and OT together and  drive the business and technical values required to meet the demands of the new consumer.

Please register for the community and join a growing community of your IT and OT peers who are innovating, learning and accelerating the adoption of IP to shorten their design cycles, drive supply chain agility, connect in more meaningful ways with customers and drive increased profit for their company.  In addition, you’ll have fun learning a new language.

 

 



Authors

Kevin Davenport

Cisco’s Global Solutions Manager

Industrial Intelligence

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Guest post: Dan Munro
Freelance writer & Forbes contributor

Festivals come in all shapes and sizes. Some are cultural, some are religious and yes, some are entirely technical. At their core, however, they all share at least one trait in common. They are each – in their own way – a gathering of a faithful flock.

When you host a technical conference for 25 consecutive years two things happen. It becomes a major production around logistics and attendance will swell. That’s clearly the case for Cisco’s annual conference called simply Cisco Live! Continue reading “The Running of the Bulls – Cisco Style”



Authors

Marc Musgrove

Former Director, Internet of Things and Digital Industries PR

No Longer with Cisco

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In our last blog on “Advanced Flow Control” we used the metaphor of a three-dimensional collection of intersecting highways of many different kinds with a wide array of vehicles carrying various types of passengers to represent the Internet of Everything­ (IoE).  The IoE concept has come a long way since it was first coined by the Auto-ID Center. Today the concept has broadened into a catch all for current and future network-connected endpoints, from smart meters to vending machines, security cameras, all forms of transportation, and consumer electronics ─ not to mention PCs, tablets, and smartphones. People with electronic tags will one day be connected to the IoE to monitor their health. Many dogs and cats already have chips for location tracking. The opportunity for new services will be unlimited and customers will expect instant access to networking resources to launch, alter, or eliminate those services.

Instant Resources for a Spontaneous World Continue reading “The Programmable Network: Elastic Services”



Authors

Sanjeev Mervana

Vice President of Product Management

Emerging Technologies & Incubation

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As connections on the Internet of Everything (IoE) continue to grow, we’ve asked our employees to tell us how and what they’re connecting.

Cisco Fellow Flavio Bonomi describes how one team is helping to bring a collection of smart, connected vehicles online. What does that mean for us? Vehicles that can provide dynamic collision-avoidance systems, better fuel efficiency, and help decrease pollution and gridlock. And that’s just for starters. Here’s the entire story: Continue reading “Smart, Connected Vehicles Courtesy of the #IoE”



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Gita Sharma

Social Media Marketing Manager

Global Social Media Marketing

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IT UP Banner

Are you an ambitious tech-savvy college student looking for an internship or full time career? Do you want to work for a company that has been ranked as one of the happiest places for young professionals? Then, Cisco IT is the place for you!

The Cisco IT University Program recruits college students from all over the world into Cisco IT for internship and full time opportunities. With a myriad of employers for college students to choose from, Cisco IT identified the need to innovate and explore new ways to become the employer of choice for the best and brightest of the millennial generation. This generation is leading the social media explosion today and is always connected. According to the Society of New Communications Research, 93% of people active online fully expect companies to be present in social media spaces and be willing to have a conversation with them. Therefore, the IT University Program decided to adapt to the communication preferences of this generation and enter the world of social media with full force delivering the Cisco IT experience right to their smart phones.

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What does the millennial generation seek in a potential employer?

  • The ability to work on innovative projects that make an impact
  • A start up environment that is fast paced, fun and exciting
  • The opportunity to change the world

This is exactly what Cisco IT has to offer! However, college students today maintain the outdated brand perception of Cisco being the godfather of routing and switching. They are oblivious to the cutting-edge initiatives going on within Cisco IT that are changing the way we work, live, play and learn more than ever before. The natural expertise of millennials must be leveraged for Cisco IT’s game changing initiatives such as the Internet of Everything, BYOD, user experience, collaboration and mobility.

FOR BLOGD

So, what does the IT University Program want to accomplish through the use of social media?

  • Create increased brand awareness among college students of the endless opportunities available in Cisco IT
  • Generate online buzz and excitement by showcasing the fun company culture

How does the IT University Program’s social media strategy meet and exceed these goals?

According to Ypulse, 62% of Millennials use Facebook and 22% use Twitter to keep up with a brand or company they like. Based on this research, the IT University Program built a robust online presence using their existing Facebook page with Twitter as a secondary communication platform. When the social media strategy was kicked off, the Cisco IT University Program Facebook page had only 200 likes with a sense of hesitance and uncertainty around the possibility of its success. Within a few short months, the Facebook page has over 1000 likes and the IT University Program has created an incredible amount of excitement internally and externally. The IT University Program’s online audience includes the company’s CIO, IT Executives, Managers, New Graduates and Interns, and even the parents of New Graduates and Interns.

Information distributed through the IT University Program’s social media channels is catered towards each one of these audiences. The IT University Program has engaged its audience and met its intended goals in the following ways:

Overall, implementing an extensive social media strategy to reach the millennial generation has been a big win for the IT University Program. Not only did it create buzz and excitement around Cisco IT externally but also earned the support and encouragement of executives within the organization. This is how the IT University Program is striving towards Cisco’s vision of becoming the #1 IT Company by innovating and finding new ways to recruit top talent into Cisco IT.

 



Authors

Sara Sheikh

IT Analyst

IT University Program Team

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Retailing has always been a tough business.  But, the move to online shopping, the challenging economy and changes in shopper’s behavior has placed even more pressure on traditional retail margins.  Retailers are constantly looking for ways to get more people in to their store and to spend more.  Traditional retailers have long envied the massive amounts of valuable data that online retailers have available to help them better understand customer behavior and implement winning marketing tactics.  Online retailers know such valuable information as: how frequently customers return, how long they spend on the site, what they looked at but didn’t buy and where they went before and after coming to the site.  With this information, online retailers are able to rapidly adjust prices, promote certain items, and re-configure the layout of the site in almost real-time in order to increase the probability and value of a sale.  None of these data and insights has been available to bricks-and-mortar retailers – until now.  The increasing availability of Wi-Fi in retail locations is changing all of that.

Shopping malls and retailers are increasingly offering Wi-Fi to their customers as a service to connect their mobile devices to the Internet.  Hidden in this Continue reading “Wi-Fi Value-Added Services Improve the Retail Bottom-line”



Authors

Stuart Taylor

Director

Service Provider Transformation Group

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From wallets and hats to stadiums and ambulances, the Internet of EveryCisco_HPTO_Instagram_V2[3]thing is connecting the unconnected. What would you like to like to see connected next?

Cisco is hosting a Tweet Chat designed to answer that very question. Join our conversation by submitting what you would like to see connect next – is it a fish tank? How about your coffee pot? Your pants? The Royal baby? The conversation is hosted live on Wired.com until 7pm PST tonight. Post your best ideas on WIRED or Twitter with @Cisco and #IoE in your post. Whiz kids from Cisco will be on hand, ready to brainstorm with you about how your toaster can talk to the Internet.

Ready to submit your ideas? Join me on WIRED.com now!



Authors

Erica Schroeder

Director of Marketing, Emerging Technologies

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Are you familiar with the bank of yesterday? One where trying to meet with an expert can translate into being required to travel across town or deal with lengthy wait times and lines? Where it can take days and even weeks to receive and sign documents to close a mortgage or open a new account? And yet many other aspects of your life can be addressed from the privacy and security of your home, at a time that is convenient to you.

I suspect many have encountered these or similar frustrations while attempting to gain valuable advice and support from a financial expert at a bank. However, these are becoming issues of the past thanks to the emergence of the omnichannel banking model.

The bank of now is here. Customers may make their own choice of when, where, and how they want financial service interaction. The omnichannel model orients the bank to focus on the customer, independent of product or geography, enabling customers to connect with the right expert at the right time at their preferred channel. One key to executing this strategy is recognition that a bank has to go beyond yesterday’s multi-channel integration by leveraging technology to virtually connect customers with the people who are best suited to address their needs. To get started down the omnichannel path, Continue reading “Connecting Experts to Customers with Omnichannel Delivery”



Authors

Mike LeWinter

Managing Architect

Financial Services, Americas Business Transformation