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With networks getting faster and the whole world going mobile, the number of connections is growing at an unprecedented rate. By next year, the amount of mobile-connected devices will exceed the number of people on the planet, and by 2020, will reach 50 billion. And those devices are getting smarter all the time.

While there is no doubt that mobility, cloud and big data are each enabling business transformation, imagine what they could do collectively. That’s the power of convergence, and it’s revolutionizing the IT and business landscape.

This convergence brings together applications, systems and processes to help meet current needs while preparing for future innovation. It’s at the heart of the Internet of Everything (IoE) in connecting people, process, data and things in new and innovative ways. And mobility is a driving force fuelling this evolving landscape, breaking down barriers and enabling the birth of entirely new kinds of business and economic models.

Mobility: A Cornerstone in the Converging IT LandscapeFuture of Mobility_v1-2

Mobile devices are already a pervasive part of our lives. As mobility continues to evolve, these devices will be primarily how a network connects to the user, helping shape and customize the end-user experience to deliver more personalized services and real-time engagement.

Imagine you are an online shopper who doesn’t want to wait overnight for your shipment. You want your product now. From your mobile device, you will not only be able to price-match with other retailers and see if the product is available in a store near you (a current capability), but also connect with real-time data in the cloud over an agile network to see if there are checkout lines in the store, reserve a parking spot, and tell the customer service rep you are on your way.

Gartner predicts that, through this year, mobile apps will drive “the next evolution in user experience” by “leverage[ing] intent, inferred from emotion and actions, to motivate changes in end-user behavior.” This is already happening through smart devices and wearables, for example, as people (myself included) use health and fitness apps to help make better, healthier choices.

Continue reading “The Converging IT Landscape”



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If cities would set aside dedicated lanes on highways or exclusively autonomous sectors in cities, autonomous vehicles could probably become reality as early as 2015 to 2019 on dedicated highway lanes and 2020-2024 in dedicated city sectors. Mixing with and managing the human errors of drivers in conventional vehicles will move the time horizon for fully autonomous vehicles out to 2018 to 2022 on mixed highway lanes and post 2025 in mixed urban driving sectors.

Today, technology is assisting drivers in preventing crashes (e.g., line keeping assist) and is allowing drivers to delegate driving to the “autopilot” under certain circumstances (e.g., adaptive cruise control). It is available in many premium models and also becoming an option in other vehicle categories for all who are willing to pay a premium for a safer ride. Cruise, a startup just announced plans to launch a $10,000 autonomous aftermarket kit for newer Audi cars early 2015. While the call is still out whether upgrading conventional vehicles to become autonomous is a viable strategy, it is a good example for how quickly the technology is evolving.

Technology companies and automakers have fully autonomous vehicles that have driven hundreds of thousands of miles on our roads to date. The time when we can buy and ride in a fully autonomous vehicle will not only depend on the autonomous vehicle technology the industry is maturing at rapid pace, but even more on the driving space we allow such vehicles to drive in.  The options are best described in a four quadrant grid: One axis differentiates highway and city driving, the other axis distinguishes exclusive or non-exclusive driving space, meaning whether autonomous vehicles operate on dedicated lanes or city sectors or have to mix and cope with the mistakes of conventional drivers.

An investment in driverless vehicles will likely break even within one to six years, depending on the readiness of the auto insurance industry to adapt rates to the lower risks of autonomous vehicles and on owners’ willingness to share autonomous vehicles.

The fixed ownership cost of the average U.S. passenger vehicle is approximately $8,700 per year:

  • $4,300 depreciation, financing
  • $1,900 license, parking, warranty, etc.
  • $1,500 crash related cost born by the owner
  • $1,000 auto insurance

Human error accounts for over 90% of crashes. Assuming autonomous vehicles can eliminate 80% of this risk, the average vehicle owner would save approximately $1,800 (80% x 90% x $2,500) each year.

Conventional vehicles are used less than 5% of their usable time. The convenience of being able to call an autonomous vehicle when it is needed and easily release it for others to use when it is not needed is likely to make autonomous car sharing a much more convenient and cost-efficient mode of transportation for many. Assuming the remaining ownership cost ($6,900) can be shared by 3 users, this would equate to additional savings of $4,600 per user.

For the purpose of this “back of the envelope calculation”, let’s assume that structural design savings and the incremental autonomous cost are a wash. Virtually crash-less autonomous vehicles would require less structural and other safety features (e.g., fenders, airbags) built into vehicles, thus reducing cost and weight.

According to a recent Morgan Stanley study, driverless technology is estimated to initially add about $10,000 to the cost of a vehicle (less than the cost of a battery pack for an average electric vehicle). At the above savings rates, the investment in an autonomous vehicle would pay back in year six at $1,800 crash risk related savings, and in year two at $6,400 savings including the sharing option.

With mass market adoption, the autonomous upgrade cost is expected to go down to about $5,000 per vehicle. At this price point, the investment in an autonomous vehicle would pay back in year three at $1,800 crash risk related savings, and in less than a year at $6,400 savings including the sharing option.



Authors

Andreas Mai

Director

Smart Connected Vehicles

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In continuing my blog series from Marketing Velocity 2014, I am spending the next few months talking individually about the five superheroes we introduced in Chicago this year:

  • Wonder Vision – The power to see what no one yet can see
  • Alchemist – The power to blend art with science in a way no one can ignore
  • Super Voice – The power to reach millions at the same time
  • Data Man – The power to turn piles of data into competitive insights and deliver real marketing value
  • Mega Mentor – The power to get the most from others

Next up, The Alchemist!

Marketing super powers like those possessed by The Alchemist are required to keep up in our industry. With the ability to “blend art and science” you can define your strategy and objectives by aligning organizational goals and positioning your brand to aid in new customer acquisition, gain new market share and tie in directly with the revenue generation marketing goals I defined in my previous blog series. Continue reading “The Alchemist: The power to blend art with science in a way no one can ignore”



Authors

Sherri Liebo

Vice President

Global Partner Marketing

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As a business or technical leader, you know you need to protect your company in a rapidly evolving mobile ecosystem.

However, threats are not always obvious. As malware and attacks become more sophisticated over time, business decision makers must work with technical decision makers to navigate security threats in a mobile world.

I’m excited to introduce a new blog series, authored by Kathy Trahan, which will explore the topic of enterprise mobility security from a situational level and provide insight into what leaders can do now to mitigate risk.

This first post will discuss the security concerns presented by the rapid-fire growth of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and how implementing specific policies can help organizations reap the benefits of true mobility now and in the future.

Kathy Trahan Senior Security Solutions Marketing Manager Global Marketing Corporate Communications
Kathy Trahan
Senior Security Solutions Marketing Manager

With the increasing amount of tablets, wearables, and other connected “things” in the workplace, it’s no wonder that the BYOD trend is causing a dynamic shift in security policies and protocol.

This heightened focus on security only increases when the security threat evolution shows that attackers seem to stay one step ahead of the security measures in place to stop them. And while the BYOD movement does present special challenges to ensuring data security, it also affords BDMs and TDMs an opportunity to collaborate and come up with security solutions that balance the need to secure company assets while still allowing employees to conduct business on devices that are familiar and comfortable to them.

As enterprises look for ways to improve productivity, efficiency, and flexibility for their workforces, mobility has become a key factor. A Gartner survey predicts that by 2017, half of employers will require their employees to provide their own devices for work purposes. And as use of and reliance on mobility increase, so does the need for security policies that allow employees to function in a work world that extends beyond their cubicle and office walls.

Continue reading “Securing Employee Device Freedom”



Authors

Bret Hartman

Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Security Business Group

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In my last blog on 5 GHz spectrum, I discussed the recent FCC ruling that permitted outdoor access points to use the U-NII 1 band (5150-5250 MHz).

But the story doesn’t  stop there. As mentioned last time, there are significant technical challenges to using the 5 GHz band. It is not cleared spectrum. It contains incumbent uses that are important for national security and public safety. Therefore, it is imperative that Wi-Fi not create harmful interference to these incumbent systems. Cisco will not settle for less.

On the topic of interference, a particularly interesting component of the same  FCC ruling that opened the U-NII1 band for outdoor AP’s is that it also re-opened the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) band (channels 120, 124, 128) with new test requirements for DFS protection. Hold on, let’s backtrack a bit before diving into what this means:

What is TDWR?

In brief, Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) “is a Doppler weather radar system used primarily for the detection of hazardous wind shear conditions, precipitation, and winds aloft on and near major airports situated in climates with great exposure to thunderstorms in the United States.” TDWR uses the frequency band from 5600-5650 MHz which is why wireless network equipment needs to be proven to “do no harm” to TDWR. If you’re curious for more information on TDWR, then please click here and/or here.

A Brief History

Many of you reading this will recall that the FCC closed the use of the TDWR band several years ago as the result of numerous reports of wireless equipment creating interference with TDWR. Continue reading “Winning Back the Weather Radio Channels Adds Capacity to 5GHz Wi-Fi Spectrum”



Authors

Chris Spain

VP Product Management

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Brian Jeffries is a vice president of operations on Cisco’s Global Business Services team.  Working collectively with his colleagues across Cisco, he is responsible for increasing the speed and scale of end-to-end operational performance, driving efficiency and effectiveness, and simplifying the operational experience for our customers, partners, and sales field.  His key areas of focus include software simplification, customer relationship management, pricing optimization, and business architecture and policy.  Part of the software simplification effort is redesigning the Software Licensing Portal, an important step that will have a positive impact on our customers’ and partners’ ability to easily view and manage their licenses today.

I’ve asked Brian to join us to share details on the redesign, and to field any questions about the Registration Portal, or about Cisco’s larger transformation of the licensing experience. Be sure to submit any questions to the team via the Licensing Registration Portal forum on the Cisco Support Community.

Brian Jeffries, VP, Operations By Guest Author Brian Jeffries

While we’re making continual improvements to the software licensing experience with Cisco, we know that our customers still feel plenty of pain throughout the licensing processes.  We’ve made it a top priority  – and a long-term commitment – to simplify this experience and better help our customers manage their licensing. Continue reading “The We’re Listening Blog Series: Simpler Licensing Registration Experience with Redesigned Portal”



Authors

Curt Hill

Senior Vice President

Customer Assurance

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Recently, I was able to spend a day with a leading food manufacturer whose products you most likely enjoyed at your Fourth of July barbecue.  I was with this customer to see what they have implemented and help them understand some next steps to leverage IoT to enhance their business.

I was pleasantly surprised with the automation that this CPG customer already had in place. I was even more pleased with the fact that they use our joint Cisco and Rockwell Automation architecture as their standard for their industrial network implementation.  They had just completed a new processing-to-packaging line that had over 200 different sensors aggregated up to 15 Stratix switches (Rockwell OEM products from Cisco) and then are bringing this to their operational systems for tracking and tracing.

The amount of robotics in use at this food company was pretty incredible to witness.  The automation improvements were not taking away jobs but rather, adding value and new ways to up-skill  line workers to take on more decision making and control of their roles in operations.  Automation in this sense is moving the mundane repetitive roles away from human beings and into machines.  This in itself adds tremendous value  in terms of health and safety improvements.    We are seeing this with not just this company but other CPG customers as well.  Take a look at the CPG video below which profiles some additional automation  use cases in action:

Currently their office systems are virtually separated from their operations but this will cease in the next few weeks as they are seeing benefits of tying all their operational, planning and other systems all together.  This is where Cisco and our partners are bringing value—to help them understand what data they have and how this can move from data to intelligence.  One key area is bringing the operational data into preventative data software to no longer “run to break down” but start to plan maintenance plans and schedules.  Once we have this in place, we are going to help this company move to predictive maintenance where we take all the variables (the human resources aspects- who is available, scheduling, ordering, forecasting and more) to drive to schedule maintenance depending upon the many variables for optimization.

At the same time, we are talking about building metrics so that the various locations can be compared to start to see what can be improved at the locations from other locations to start to drive plant optimization to the next level.  This includes standardizing metrics across all locations, standardizing reporting and delivery mechanisms such as our remote access capabilities and visual factory solutions.  The reason they are able to do this is that they have already started to drive standardization of their networking down to the PLC layer following the Cisco and Rockwell architecture.  Once this is in place, the drive towards IoT and IoE are much easier.

Others have done this across multiple industries and we are seeing this start to become implemented not just in the big companies but also the small and mid-size companies that make up the bulk of our world manufacturing economy.   IoT can truly make a difference for food manufacturers, both big and small.  Thanks for reading.



Authors

Douglas Bellin

Global Lead, Industries

Manufacturing and Energy

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As a writer for the IT media, conference speaker, and co-host of the Packet Pushers podcast, I cover emerging networking technologies often. The new tech that comes across my screen ranges in value from “I can’t believe that got funded,” to “Why has no one thought of this before?” and everything in between. As a big idea, software defined networking (SDN) seems to generate about that same range of responses from network engineers. Some networkers think that SDN is an extraordinary technology that’s going to change the world of IT. Others see SDN as yet another in a long string of quirky networking ideas that never gained acceptance. In fact, as I’ve read responses to my SDN-related content over the last few years, I believe that more folks are in that latter camp. SDN is a fad. SDN is a buzzword. SDN will go nowhere useful. SDN will eventually fail to have a universal impact.

I understand the cynicism. After all, for a long time, networking had lapsed in an innovation coma, with nothing especially exciting coming along to really shake things up. Yes, Ethernet’s gotten faster. And that BYOD thing got everyone excited a couple of years ago. But for the most part, we design, build, and operate networks the same way today that we did fifteen or more years ago. The core underlying protocols have grown up or had new knobs and levers added, but generally speaking, if a networker of the past fell out of a time warp and into a design project today, it wouldn’t take them too terribly long to catch up. Continue reading “Will Software Defined Networking Actually Happen?”



Authors

Ethan Banks

Senior Network Architect

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When last we left our hero, he (that is, me, or I) was getting a crash course in Nexus programmability and trying to understand what all of this stuff meant. I had plied Jim* with beer in order to get him to explain to me – using the available napkins in the bar – what the technology was, what it meant, and why I should care. Continue reading “The Napkin Dialogues: Nexus Programmability, Part II”



Authors

J Metz

Sr. Product Manager

Data Center Group