Cisco IBSG is engaging with some of the world’s most dynamic cities—for instance in San Francisco, Amsterdam, and Barcelona—to jointly explore how cities can harness new technology innovations. Success for such cities can lead to smarter choices by citizens in working, next-gen commuting, and communicating. Now, a new book peels back an entirely new layer on smart cities, shedding new insight on city behaviors and opening up new pathways from which solutions can emerge in urban places.
Beyond Smart Cities: How Cities Network, Learn and Innovate by Tim Campbell, chair of the Urban Age Institute, an international non-profit and organizer of “The Meeting of the Minds,” zeroes in on how cities learn. This is a topic that’s been out of the mainstream of urban discussion, but it’s clearly in the mainstream of city practice. Nations and international organizations have completely missed the burgeoning exchange among cities. This important new book adduces a lot of evidence—at the level of global city-to-city exchange, as well as specific case experiences, involving face-to-face relations among urban elites—to show that some of the smartest cities make a practice of learning systematically. Read More »
Earlier this year, Frost & Sullivan presented Cisco’s Internet Routing in Space (IRIS) with its 2012 Global Satellite Transponder Technology Innovation Award for unrivaled accomplishments in the satellite industry.
Cisco IRIS allows space and satellite communications to take full advantage of the value and capability of networking. It extends the benefits of the Internet Protocol (IP) to satellite communications, which have traditionally used proprietary protocols that are difficult to operate within conventional IP-based wireline and wireless networks.
Watch below as Brad Boston, senior vice president, Global Government Solutions and Corporate Security Programs Security Group,Cisco and Rufus Connell, vice president, Frost & Sullivan discuss how Cisco’s IRIS solution is enabling the evolution of satellite networks.
After the jump, check out Tony Jeffs, Cisco director of marketing, accepting the award and discussing the program during the March 2012 Frost & Sullivan award ceremony in Coronado, California.
Brad Boston, senior vice president, Global Government Solutions and Corporate Security Programs Security Group, Cisco and Rufus Connell, vice president, Frost & Sullivan discuss how Cisco’s IRIS solution is enabling the evolution of satellite networks.
Frost & Sullivan presents Tony Jeffs, director of marketing, Cisco with the 2012 Global Satellite Transponder Technology Innovation Award.
Earlier this year the Australian federal government announced it would provide up to $20.6 million, to fund telehealth programs from Australian health organizations, over the next two years in what will be referred to as the National Broadband Network (NBN) Enabled Telehealth Pilots Program.
The overall goal of the program is to enable better access to high quality healthcare services, including easier access to doctors and specialists, reduced travel expenses and less crowding. It will initially focus on aged care, palliative care and cancer care, providing patients health services from the comfort of their own homes.
The Global Certification team is delighted to announce that the Cisco Catalyst 6500 has been awarded FIPS 140-2 Level 2 Certification.Certificate #1717!
The certification covers the following: Cisco Catalyst 6506-E [1], Catalyst 6509-E [2] and Catalyst 6513-E [3] Switches with Supervisor Cards (VS-S2T-10G or VS-S2T-10G-XL) and Line Cards (WS-X6908-10G or WS-X6908-10G-2TXL)
(Hardware Version: 6506-E -M0 [1], 6509-E -N0 [2], 6513-E -S0 [3], Supervisor Card VS-S2T-10G -B0, Supervisor Card VS-S2T-10G-XL -C0, Line Card WS-X6908-10G -A0, Line Card WS-X6908-10G-2TXL version -B0 and FIPS kit packaging (CVPN6500FIPS/KIT=); Firmware Version: 15.0(1)SY1)
Efficiently scale, virtualize, secure, and manage your network remotely with Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches. Offering a high-performance, feature-rich platform suitable for deployment in campus, data center, WAN, and Metro Ethernet networks, the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series provides a strong foundation for Borderless Networks, so you can connect anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Learn more about the Catalyst 6500 Series on Cisco.com!
FIPS-140 is a US and Canadian government standard that specifies security requirements for cryptographic modules. A cryptographic module is defined as “the set of hardware, software, and/or firmware that implements approved security functions (including cryptographic algorithms and key generation) and is contained within the cryptographic boundary.” The cryptographic module is what is being validated.
This month Cisco TelePresence will be heading to Orlando May 15-17 for the 2012 Conference for Federal Defenders, an arm of the administrative office of the United States Courts.
Collaboration efforts are becoming common place among U.S. Courts as the need for effective communication is more important than ever. Now is the time for Connected Justice. Video conferencing, specifically, is increasingly making its way into courts around the world and proving to government organizations that it deserves a spot in their technology strategies. Its demonstrated benefits include reduced costs and enhanced operational efficiency.
At the event, Cisco will be showcasing its complete collaboration portfolio that is helping court systems around the world save on operational costs and creating in-person experiences.
The following collaboration solutions will be demonstrated:
This conference will be a great opportunity to highlight the affect collaboration can have on U.S. Courts to ensure effective communication while maximum ROI is delivered.
Networked technologies have made work and learning increasingly mobile and highly flexible. So much so that employees are now choosing work-location flexibility over a higher salary and employers are providing workers with the tools to facilitate this. Cisco IBSG calls this “Smart Work.” Of course, the ability to make flexible working a viable option depends on a number of factors, including availability of good broadband connectivity, employer trust, the nature of the work in which an employee is engaged, and suitable social software and video technologies that enable the employee to remain in a connected (albeit virtual) work environment.
Employees, too, have to develop a new form of self-discipline that involves maintaining a good work-life balance; rather than working longer hours, this entails spending much of their extra time with family, in the community, or furthering their own personal and professional development. Read More »
One of the best things about my job at CISCO is the opportunity to work with innovators in government, business, the independent sector, and nonprofits and examine the problems of urban communities in new ways.
Over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of supporting the launch of a new civic presence in our hometown of San Jose that does this very well: the San Jose office of the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association, SPUR San Jose. Read More »
Interpreters are extremely important in the judicial system, and they are increasingly in high demand. Costs for interpreter services continue to rise in courtrooms across the country, but technology is helping cut those costs while improving quality of life for the interpreters themselves.
Orange County is currently using a Cisco Connected Justice solution for Florida’s first high-tech interpreter system. The system instantly connects interpreters to 67 courtrooms through high definition, live, interactive video. From their desks, interpreters have the ability to control camera angles and audio levels in the courtroom, speak directly to any of the parties participating in a hearing and can appear in real-time on a monitor in the courtroom. Read More »
By any measure, Telework Week 2012, which took place from March 5-9 and was sponsored by Cisco and Telework Exchange, was a tremendous success. The post-Telework Week report was released today during the Spring Telework Exchange Town Hall Meeting and the results are outstanding.
This year, 71,324 people participated, a new record and an increase in pledges of 80 percent compared to last year. Moreover, 94 percent of those participants were federal employees, which is a 97 percent increase compared to 2011. Collectively, this year’s Telework Week participants saved more than $5.6 million in commuting costs, more than 6.4 million miles of driving, 251,774 hours, and 3,453 tons of pollutants.
Participating organizations reported improved productivity and continuity of operations as key benefits realized during Telework Week. In addition, participation enabled some organizations to test the waters of telework and promote its benefits internally to mangers, supervisors and employees, as well as externally to the constituents they serve – namely, the American public.
Two examples of federal agencies that participated this year are the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. General Services Administration. The USDA had 7,516 pledges from 29 different agencies and sub-organizations participate. Its pledges saved more than $1 million in commuting costs and 464 tons of pollutants. The GSA had nearly 8,000 staff members participate, which is approximately 65 percent of the agency, and together they saved more than 273,000 miles of driving. Importantly, an overwhelming majority (97 percent) said their Telework Week experience was positive.
Cisco plays a major role in enabling the secure mobility and collaboration teleworkers need so they can access critical applications anytime, from anywhere. As Pat Finn, Cisco’s vice president, Federal said: “At Cisco, we are committed to providing solutions that support work – from any location. Telework Week provided the perfect opportunity for agencies and organizations to try telework and test out the mobile technologies – such as virtual desktop environments and collaboration tools – that truly enable and empower a changing workforce.”
If the resounding success of Telework Week 2012 is any indication, the future of telework looks very promising indeed.
As you may well know, the Global Certification Team is always striving to improve the security of Cisco’s products, throughout the lifecycle of the device. It’s been said that a chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. This not only applies to a physical chain, but it also to the supply chain involved from the conception of a product through the delivery phase. Today we have a guest post from Terrie Diaz (tediaz@cisco.com), who is heading up our Global Supply Chain Security effort.
Supply Chain Security, is the process through which Cisco delivers genuine products to the customer. In today’s highly global business model, Supply Chain security is a hot topic. In this ever-changing market, there are numerous arteries for an attacker to introduce unwanted malware, counterfeit hardware, and disrupt delivery. Cisco’s responsibility to its shareholders and customers is to ensure our supply chain is impenetrable. Cisco’s Supply Chain Security management program has been designed with the lifecycle of the product in mind. In fact, our focus on supply chain spans from product design, through sourcing components, manufacturing, distribution, and installation to support and end-of-life.
Cisco’s use of best practices and internal audits affords the ability to identify gaps or weakness in our supply chain. We are also activity involved in various organizations and agencies that are developing criteria, policy, and process, such as NIST and The Open Group to tackle today’s challenges facing the supply chain and customers’ concerns of receiving trustworthy products.
Please visit Cisco.com for more information on how Cisco is securing the supply chain.
The title for this blog post is more than just the title of a blog post. It’s a question my Cisco colleagues and I have been pondering for quite some time. And, it’s the title assigned to a panel on which I recently participated, debating skeptics who asked some good (and probing) questions. The panel was part of the American Planning Association’s 2012 National Planning Conference, which attracted thousands of attendees. As the world’s largest planning event, the conference brings together urban planners and city leaders from around the world. Read More »
Each year, ICF presents an awards program for Intelligent Communities and the public-sector and private-sector partners who contribute to them.
This year the 2012 Revolutionary keynote theme will be Intelligent Communities: Platforms for Innovation. Innovation is one of ICF’s five Indicators, but the special theme will focus on how Intelligent Communities create uniquely powerful innovation ecosystems on a foundation of information and communications technology. Innovation in Intelligent Communities brings together business, government and institutions in a dynamic partnership that produces results ranging from better and cheaper service delivery to citizens to the birth and growth of entrepreneurial businesses and vital new institutions.
These technology upgrades also open wide the doors to vastly expanded communication possibilities. For example, let’s look at how the cloud lends itself to more streamlined, personal connections among colleagues, across agencies, and from government workers to their target audiences. I’ve written about agencies and officials using video and telepresence to forge in-person, real-time links for teleworking employees, to maintain continuity during business disruptions, even to conduct top-secret missions. Well, with cloud computing in the mix, telepresence can still perform all of its regular functions, but it does so in conjunction with access to scheduling mechanisms, global directories, and advanced media services that enhance video-hosted information-sharing. In essence, the cloud makes a critical communication tool like telepresence all the more powerful.
For the 14th year, IACP and Cisco are proud to celebrate and pay tribute to departments worldwide practicing the community policing philosophy. These departments bring change, address crime and terrorism, and make their communities safe places to live, work, and play.
Please help us spread the word and encourage others to share their success. The application deadline is midnight EST on June 3, 2012.
Community policing organizations from around the world can apply now for the opportunity to be recognized for the ways it has made public safety a priority through the use of collaboration, crime prevention, and partnership formation. Winners will be honored at the 2012 IACP Annual Conference in San Diego, CA.
