Did you know that WebEx has 4.8 million registered users in 225 countries? Or that more than 310,000 WebEx meetings take place every day? As a regular WebEx user myself, stats like those definitely catch my notice. And, I wonder how many plane trips (and trips to the office) are avoided as a result of using WebEx.
With its easy access on laptops, smartphones, and tablets like the Cius or the iPad, plus desktop sharing capabilities, and video to help see one another face-to-face, WebEx truly is a global collaboration tool. See what these customers have to say about how WebEx has changed the way that they conduct meetings.
And if you’re looking to take advantage of WebEx to reduce your own travel costs, read on to find out the details on a limited-time 90% WebEx Everywhere discount promotion for partners, taking place now. Read More »
Mobile devices have changed the way we manage our lives—in fact, just the other day I used apps on my smartphone to pull up recipes and locate a nearby grocery store. (Now only if there were an app that could enable a smartphone to cook dinner.)
Did you know that there’s an app that can help you manage your Unified Computing System (UCS), too? UCSand, which is available for Android phones and can be found in the Android Market, enables you to monitor and control your UCS. Sounds pretty cool, don’t you think?
It definitely can be a useful tool, according to Colby Cousens, Systems Administrator for the City of Melrose, Massachusetts.
The city has a secure, multi-tenant FlexPod architecture in their data center. This solution provides the City of Melrose with the ability to offer secure network, storage, and compute resources to their partner communities.
“One of my own shortcomings regarding UCS is that I don’t get into the manager as often as I should to check events and warnings on the system,” Colby said. “The UCSand app highlights the value of Cisco’s XML-API in allowing a program to pull targeted data out of the UCS Manager without requiring an individual to navigate through extra configurations or information at the time.”
This meter represents your reputation at a 100% scale based on your level of participation on the site. Find out more
Comments Off
You can’t turn around without seeing new stats on the growth of cloud adoption. (One of our favorites stats states that by the year 2015, 50% of all CIOs expect to operate the majority of their applications and infrastructures via the cloud.)
While growth is imminent, many customers are still wary and concerned about risk. To both help partners better prepare for growth and help address customer concerns, we launched the Cloud Partner Program with three tracks: Cloud Builder, Cloud Provider, and Cloud Services Reseller.
On the heels of that news, Gartner released a report titled “Cloud Adoption at Risk without Big Channel Investment.” We’ve summarized a few of the key findings and recommendations for partners:
Through 2015, cloud service brokerage will represent the single largest revenue growth opportunity in cloud computing.
The channel has an opportunity to play a significant role in aggregation and brokerage services. The challenges facing enterprises building private cloud services or leveraging public clouds are significantly more complicated than just technology.
“Use it. Know it. Sell it.” That’s what Ken Snyder, emerging technology solutions manager at partner CDW, has to say about the Cisco Cius, the ultra-portable enterprise tablet that’s changing the way that businesses work.
With its integrated Wi-Fi, 4G data, 720p HD video, and interoperability with Cisco TelePresence systems, not to mention its inclusion of one-click access to WebEx meetings and AppHQ, the new application ecosystem built specifically for Cius, the Cius can be a powerful tool that can help customers collaborate and work from remote locations, both seamlessly and securely.
The Cius enables multiple opportunities for partners to drive sales, offer professional services and expand their customer base, according to Richard McLeod, Cisco’s senior director of collaboration sales in the Worldwide Partner Organization. He says there are opportunities for partners to upgrade their customers’ networks, particularly since it cuts across Cisco’s technology architectures: Collaboration, Data Center and Virtualization, and Borderless Networks.
And that’s definitely what I heard when I chatted with Ken, as well as with Steve Reese, director of solutions marketing for partner Nexus IS, Inc., about their experiences using the Cius and selling it to customers. Ken and Steve also offered advice to partners looking to include in the Cius in their portfolio.
Seamless Team Communications, Anywhere Read More »
This meter represents your reputation at a 100% scale based on your level of participation on the site. Find out more
Comments Off
In this episode of Partner Update, we find out what Andrew does first-thing in the morning, learn about a free new mobile app that delivers the latest partner news from Cisco, get the scoop on what kind of network can best solve endpoint and application challenges, get tips on minding your Twitter manners, learn how Cisco partners can grow cloud revenues, and figure out what Triple V means. (And a lot more.)
Tune into this action-packed newscast to get the latest news and info you need to know (in less than five minutes).
So what’s in the news this week?
Keep reading for a transcript of the newscast with timestamps so you can view the parts of the video you want to see and important links where you can find more information. Read More »
Get Onboard With The Cloud
Doesn’t it sometimes seem like we live in a world where the technology band wagon is rolling forward at warp speed. Cloud computing is the technology topic on every IT manager’s mind these days, as it promises the prospect of reducing IT costs, freeing up resources and relieving headaches.
But how do you get onboard? You need to think creatively to attract customers. Cloud service providers need to differentiate their services, to add value, and reassure customers of reliability.
The key to delivering a compelling service is to build it on a converged compute platform that is optimized for the cloud, like Vblock. With the Vblock platform Cisco partners can address the concerns and challenges of enterprise customers who are looking to move their data center operations and applications to the cloud.
Let’s take a closer look at ways that service providers can differentiate services, assure customers that solutions are reliable, and help customers move to the cloud with confidence.
The Cloud Service Opportunity
The cloud delivery model is an opportunity for service providers to develop new services that meet the changing needs of customers. But to succeed in this evolving marketplace, service providers must offer added value when competing with established Over-the-Top (OTT) providers.
The key to delivering a compelling service is to build it on a converged compute platform optimized for the cloud. Adding service-level agreements (SLAs) for enterprise customers for whom performance, security, and availability are paramount can reassure customers that their applications are hosted on optimized platforms and delivered from reliable data centers that will be consistently available.
This is a motivator for customers who are considering moving to the cloud-computing environment to enter in to longer-term contracts. Read More »
If you’re like the nearly 30% of mobile workers who check their smartphones every six-to-12 minutes during downtime – for those doing the math, that’s nearly 80 times a day provided that you’re not checking during work hours or in your sleep—you want easy ways to help you keep up with the latest news and info.
Now there’s a way to keep track of the latest Cisco partner news from your phone: the new Cisco Partners app. It’s available to all iPhone and Android mobile devices users for free!
The Cisco Partners app gives you access to late-breaking Cisco partner news, how-to articles, tips, program updates, the most current blog posts, and our video library – all at your fingertips. Plus, you can share with friends and colleagues using social media.
Ready for a quick tour of the new Cisco Partners app? Read More »
If you’re an active Twitter user, then you know that working within the confines of Twitter’s restrictive character limit can be tough—what’s the best way to cram in a catchy message, a link, and a few important hashtags without exceeding 140 characters?
I know I’ve struggled to write catchy tweets—sometimes I feel proud of my messages, other times, I feel like they just enter the Twitter stream only to be completely ignored. So I set out to get some advice, and turned to our resident expert, Alex Krasne, for her tips.
Alex is a veritable Twitter expert, having used the service for years, both for personal use as well as through @Cisco_Channels. She offered me some advice on how to get the most out of Twitter, and how to tweet effectively to reach your ideal audience.
In addition to her tips, Alex has advice on how to mind your Twitter manners. Watch her video to see what you need to know to maintain and grow, rather than alienate your followers.
So what do you need to know to use Twitter effectively? Here’s what Alex recommends.
Funny thing about myths—they always seem to spread quickly. But more often than not, they’re not based in fact. We’ve all wondered if Elvis really did just leave the building, or whether the Loch Ness monster does exist. (To our knowledge, neither is true.)
But myths are really easy to debunk—especially myths about “good-enough” networks. We’ve debunked a lot of myths about them lately: You now know that networks don’t serve a single purpose, you can’t simply bolt-on security or basic QoS; you can’t lock yourself into a standards-based network, and you can’t just consider a network’s acquisition cost.
So now it’s time to debunk the last myth: The Application and End-Point Ignorant Network myth. If you’ve outfitted your business with a good-enough network, then you’ll be out in the cold when you want to know what is happening—a good-enough network won’t provide the tools you need to solve real performance, endpoint, and application challenges.
Thankfully, next-generation networks today have the ability to understand the applications being run. A next-generation network can also see the end-users of those applications, and even deduce what devices they are using. Cisco provides these three things combined in the AppVelocity Network Service, and a “good-enough” network can’t deliver these capabilities. Read More »
This meter represents your reputation at a 100% scale based on your level of participation on the site. Find out more
Comments Off
It’s been a busy couple of weeks around here and we’ve got a fresh batch of newsfor partners!
In this week’s Partner Update newscast, Andrew finds out that even though an actual cloud can’t stream his music, Cisco’s new Cloud Partner Program offers everything partners need to capitalize on the growth of cloud, which is expected to reach $172 billion by the year 2014.
We also get to hear Andrew’s top video tips, find out why his suit needs to go to the dry cleaners, learn about networking myths, find out how one customer deployed VXI and virtual desktops, and we answer your technical questions.
Watch this week’s Partner Update newscast.
Keep reading for a transcript of what we covered, links to what we shared, and additional information. Read More »
This meter represents your reputation at a 100% scale based on your level of participation on the site. Find out more
Comments Off
By the year 2015, 50% of all CIOs expect to operate the majority of their applications and infrastructures via the cloud.
If that statistic isn’t impressive enough on its own, the market for cloud will grow from $70B in 2010 to $172B by the year 2014 – that’s at 25% compounded annual growth.
To prepare our partners for this growth in cloud adoption, we are launching the Cisco Cloud Partner program with three tracks that map to three primary business models in the cloud marketplace. Partners can chose the track (or tracks) that best suit your business model.
Watch this video for details on the tracks and information about the sign up process.
Keep reading for more details and links to sign up. Read More »
When your customers are shopping around for the right network, it’s a bit like being on “The Dating Game.” For those who aren’t familiar with the TV show, it first aired in the 1960s and featured an eligible bachelor or bachelorette hidden behind a wall. Said bachelor or bachelorette got to interview three candidates to find out which one would be most appropriate and worthy of a date. The candidates could not see each other so had to rely on the person’s answers to determine the best fit.
Customers looking for the right network may feel like the eligible bachelorette or bachelor on “The Networking Game.” Is contestant number one trustworthy and able to meet both current and future needs? Does contestant two offer security and flexibility? What about three: is that one stable? Can one network meet really meet all of those needs?
There are quite a few variables to consider when customers are shopping for a network, especially when 20% of a typical enterprise IT network budget is spent acquiring hardware while a whopping 80% goes toward operating costs.
Yet some industry pundits and vendors look only at acquisition and maintenance costs when calculating TCO, ignoring functionality that may improve productivity or business opportunities that are lost when the network goes down. That’s a bit like choosing a date based on a single factor, like a voice, rather than looking at the entire package.
We continue our coverage of the “Good Enough Network” myth series with myth #6: Acquisition Cost. Read More »
This meter represents your reputation at a 100% scale based on your level of participation on the site. Find out more
Comments Off
Small and mid-sized Businesses (SMBs) make up more than 90% of all companies. They’re also the largest consumers of enterprise cloud services--a market that is expected to grow to $35.6B by 2015, according to consulting group Analysys Mason.
If you’re looking to capitalize on this growing market, join us for a live, interactive video broadcast and discussion on Tuesday, July 19 from 8:00-8:30am PT. We’ll focus on key opportunities in this market, offer insight and tips, and answer your questions live on the air.
Topics we’ll cover include:
The Service Provider Cloud Services landscape including security, availability, and business impact
Small and Mid-Sized customer needs driving interest in Cloud offerings
New business opportunities for Service Providers Read More »
This post is the first in a new series we’ll be featuring called Your Questions: Answered. In this series, we track down the answers to partners’ toughest technical questions. You can submit your questions here, post on the Cisco Channels Facebook page, or drop us a note on Twitter.
When Cisco recently introduced the Identity Services Engine (ISE), you likely started fielding questions, with many customers concerned about whether Cisco Network Admission Control (NAC) and Cisco Access Control System (ACS) will cease to be supported or become end-of-life. (Kind of like how I felt when the iPhone 4 came out and I was stuck with the iPhone 3G).
To help you address customer questions, I went out looking for answers on what’s up with ISE, NAC, and ACS. First up, a little about ISE: It has similar functionality to NAC and ACS, combining the functionality of those two existing products onto a new platform. Your customers can gather information from users, devices, infrastructure, and network services to enable organizations to enforce contextual-based business policies across the network, create and enforce consistent policy from the head office to the branch office, and combine authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA), posture, profiling, and guest management with this single product. And that’s just the beginning--I’ll share details on how to find out more about ISE later in this blog.
Back to the issue at hand — I chatted with Brian Sak, Cisco’s Consulting Systems Engineer and expert on Borderless Networks Security products. He filled me in on the most frequently asked questions that he’s been getting from partners around ISE.
Are NAC and ACS being replaced by ISE?
No, both NAC and ACS have ongoing roadmaps, developments, and new releases planned. If ISE does not meet your customer’s current needs, your customers can still use NAC or ACS. Cisco will not stop innovations on NAC and ACS anytime in the near future.
Should I encourage my NAC and ACS customers to migrate to ISE now?
The answer varies based on your customers and their requirements. Check out this handy chart in the Partner Community Discussion Forum (log in required) to help you determine if ISE is the right fit, right now for your customers.
Our expert on this topic is Andrew Phillips, co-anchor of our Partner Update newscasts and our Cisco Channels go-to video guy. Andrew knows his way backward and forward in Final Cut Pro. And, he’s staged and filmed countless videos that we feature here on the Cisco Channels blog and elsewhere.
According to Andrew, nothing can ruin a video more than poor setup. If you invest some time and thought in lighting, staging, and audio, your video will come out so much better than if you just shoot in front of a window without regard to your light source, or if you film outside with loud cars driving by that drown out your audio.
Want to put Andrew’s tricks to use in your videos? Here are his Top 10 Tips for Setting Up the Perfect Video.Read More »
