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The way information technology is being  sourced and used  within government and educational organizations has been changing at an increasingly rapid rate. We’re calling it the “3rd Platform” era. What does this mean? The 3rd Platform era is the era of cloud, mobility and social media. It’s driven by the ability to tap into IT solutions anywhere, anytime on any device.

Recently we have seen the rapid spread of end-user devices and new applications. Public Sector IT departments are regularly challenged to keep up with demands needed to support the new devices within this era. The change in consumption and increase in the number of new devices and applications has increased the risk of “shadow IT,” which occurs when  new IT solutions are brought into the workplace without the involvement of the IT managers. Because it’s so easy for workers and managers to purchase apps or subscribe to new online solutions, “shadow IT” is a common issue at many organizations, bringing with them risks that are unknown to many outside of IT Management. Continue reading “The Future of #ITConsumption in the 3rd Platform Era”



Authors

Patrick Finn

No Longer at Cisco

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Over the last few years we’ve witnessed a major industry shift toward integrated infrastructure as CIOs look to simplify IT and focus on delivering business outcomes.  The opportunity is huge, with the market expected to grow to more than $14B in 2016.  It’s also one of the hottest segments of the entire IT industry: Gartner estimates the integrated systems market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 56.3 percent between 2012 and 2016, while IDC expects integrated infrastructure to make up nearly 14% of all IT infrastructure by 2016.

Slide1For channel partners, the creation of the category of integrated infrastructure has created enormous business opportunities. When our partners progress from selling servers to selling integrated infrastructure, the average size of the deal grows by two-and-a-half times.  When those partners lead the integrated infrastructure sale with a business-critical application such as SAP, the deal grows by up to seven times.  Even more encouraging:  the size of the services opportunity expands and the margins improve.

Slide2Together Cisco, EMC and VCE have played a pivotal role in creating this new category of integrated infrastructure.  Our joint strategy is built around delivering “three paths to the cloud, an unmatched menu of options for building cloud infrastructure.  These include:

  • Custom-designed infrastructure with best-of-breed products
  • Validated, easy-to-deploy reference architectures with Cisco Solutions for EMC VSPEX™
  • Pre-integrated converged infrastructure via VCE™ Vblock™ System

Today we’re taking another big step in the joint efforts of Cisco, EMC and VCE to accelerate growth with our partners. The Cloud Infrastructure Solutions Accelerator is designed to make it easier and more profitable for our top channel partners to sell Vblock Systems and VSPEX solutions. Continue reading “Fueling the Next Wave of Integrated Infrastructure Growth with EMC and VCE”



Authors

Denny Trevett

Vice President

Partner Model, Customer Experience

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A little less than a year ago, Cox took the wraps off a beauty of a next-new version of personalized television, branded “Contour.” It’s a continuation of its service extensions earlier this year into screens “beyond the TV,” such as iPads, tablets, laptops, and smartphones.

Until Contour, the app was called “Cox TV Connect,” and offered a hundred or so linear channels. With the additions that shaped it into “Contour,” Cox customers get that plus a whole lot more.

More means tuning Continue reading “You Heard It Here First: Cox’s Contour Hits 1 Million Set-Tops”



Authors

Jim Brady

No Longer with Cisco

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The programming of network resources is not just a trend, but also a way to future-proof IT and business needs.

This blog series examines how infrastructure programmability is providing a faster time to competitive advantage and highlights the differences between programmable infrastructure and traditional infrastructure, and what programmability means for your entire IT infrastructure.

To read the second post in this series that discusses benefits of network programmability, click here. To read the third post in this series that discusses how IT leaders can embrace this change, click here.

The proliferation of devices and applications has increased the complexity of traditional IT infrastructure. The complexity arises from manually managing the infrastructure box-by-box that is slow and error-prone.  The adoption of cloud computing has compounded the problem with on-premises and off-premises resources. As a result, IT leaders have to allocate critical resources to maintain and troubleshoot these systems. In a recent whitepaper, Zeus Kerravala indicated that 83% of IT budget is used to simply maintain the current operating environment. This leaves precious few resources to invest in business-enabling innovation.

At the same time, business leaders are demanding their IT infrastructure to provide them with a faster time to competitive advantage. Quick time to market is paramount in a world where a new competitive advantage might only last a few months or even weeks. And, as if these challenges are not enough, new cyber-attacks not only threaten innovation but can also threaten the organization itself.

Infrastructure programmability is providing a faster time to competitive advantage.
Infrastructure programmability is providing a faster time to competitive advantage.

Programmability to the rescue

Infrastructure programmability provides the ability to control and change the functions of IT infrastructure. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading “What is Infrastructure Programmability?”



Authors

Jim Grubb

Chief Technology Evangelist

Cisco Customer Experience Center

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Class is in session
Class is in session

As I start to explore more and more information about Software-Defined Networking and Programmability in the Nexus portfolio, I’ve been fortunate that there have been a lot of people helping me learn along the way.  I thought I’d share some of these as it gave me a bit more insight into some of the more holistic perspectives that I’ve been trying to get my head wrapped around lately.

I’m still starting off at a rather high level, though I’m spending more and more time getting deeper into the tech. Every once in a while, though, I need to look up and make sure that I’m swimming in the right direction. It’s really easy to get mired in the details and forget the bigger picture. Continue reading “Two Resources on Nexus Programmability”



Authors

J Metz

Sr. Product Manager

Data Center Group

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Choosing a career in technology turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. At one time, however, it seemed counterintuitive to enter such a male-dominated industry. I’m not an engineer. I don’t have a degree in computer science. The only traditional tech skill I possessed was a small knowledge of HTML programming language, which I at one time used to put up static web pages. Today, that skill is useful only for editing blog posts.

What I was trained for was design. I moved into technology because it offered me a fresh way to leverage those talents while having a bigger impact. As a designer, I was taught to understand the context of a problem and to generate insights and creative solutions. I switched from a career in print design because technology was providing exciting new ways to reach people. I found it fascinating and wanted to be a part of it.

Apparently, I’m in the minority. A Forbes article cited research from Maria Klawe, a computer scientist and president of Harvey Mudd College, in listing some of the main reasons women don’t choose tech careers. Many believe that they won’t find a career in tech interesting, while others fear they won’t be good at it. A third concern is working in such a predominantly male bastion.

I have to say that my experience on all three counts has been just the opposite.

Continue reading “Girls Among the Geeks: Why Women Should Absolutely Seek Careers in Tech”



Authors

Rachael McBrearty

Chief Creative and Group Leader

Cisco Consulting Services

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At this year’s Cisco Partner Summit, Chuck Robbins announced the upcoming availability of SalesConnect. SalesConnect was originally announced at Cisco Partner Summit 2013 in Boston and we promised then that we would have a functional version within 18 months.

SalesConnect screenshot2Well as Chuck suggested in Las Vegas, we are ready for the SalesConnect app to go live, and you can download it starting today. The app is a single point of access for you to quickly access the latest sales collateral, demonstrations, training and proposals on a mobile device. The content can be rated and recommended by your peers, and covers solutions that Cisco sells today, along with the latest launches.

All of that combines to help you build the most compelling message for your customers. If you saw the live demonstration at Cisco Partner Summit, you know just how handy SalesConnect can be. If you missed the announcement at Cisco Partner Summit, check out our short demo to get an overview. Continue reading “SalesConnect App Now Available”



Authors

Bruce Klein

Senior Vice President

Worldwide Partner Organization

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We recently returned from another great experience at the High Performance Computing Linux for Wall Street event in New York on April 7, 2014. This year’s 11th annual HPC conference focused on big data, HPC applications, data centers fabrics, cloud economics, low latency and how these technologies are all changing the way global financial markets are evolving. As usual, the industry’s top minds from various financial trading firms were in attendance to learn how to gain a competitive edge using the latest innovations in technology.Panel Closeup

This year, I was asked to take part in a panel discussion about the evolution of the high performance trading fabric and where we are heading. Our session discussed the newest and next wave of innovations that are addressing scalability, optimizing application performance, enabling event-based dynamic decision-making, enhancing analytics in support of risk/compliance, and taking accuracy to the next level. The top question being asked is, “How can I ensure performance and intelligence in the changing technology landscape?” Continue reading “Wrap-up: Cisco at HPC for Wall Street”



Authors

Dave Malik

Cisco Fellow and Chief Architect

Customer Experience

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Update 5-1-2014: We can confirm Cisco customers have been targets of this attack. For the latest coverage information and additional details see our new post on the VRT blog.

 The recent discovery of a new Internet Explorer zero-day exploit underlines how exposed web browsers are to vulnerabilities for which a patch is yet to be released. Cisco is aware of the issue and is releasing IPS signature 4256-0 and Snort signatures 30794, 30803 to detect the exploitation of this vulnerability. You can read more details from Cisco here.

Continue reading “IE Zero Day and VGX.dll”



Authors

Martin Lee

EMEA Lead, Strategic Planning & Communications

Cisco Talos