I learned that we had a broken URL to the July 29, 2008 Mobility TV broadcast on 802.11n performance testing results, and want to give this one more shot. The video-on-demand is now available for playback at http://tools.cisco.com/cmn/jsp/index.jsp?id=78662. When you click on the link, you can jump to segments of the broadcast rather than watch the entire video. Below is a list the presentation you can segment-surf to. *Introduction -a welcome from Cisco’s Chris Kozup *Cisco-Intel Joint Collaboration -Intel’s Mayura Garg discusses importance of the testing *802.11n Testing Results -Cisco’s Jake Woodhams shares the 802.11n performance testing results *Intel Video -watch the roaming robots from Intel’s testing lab *MIT Case Study -Chris Murphy discusses MIT’s upgrade to 802.11n *Southeast Alabama Medical Center Case Study -Scott Lapham shares Southeast Alabama Medical’s 802.11n performance results Thanks for tuning in.

With the holiday season now in our rearview mirror, I scheduled a meeting over TelePresence to meet with our resident mobility expert, Chris Kozup, and Jon Stine, director of Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) focused on the retail market, to learn about some of the mobility trends in retail, specifically how retailers can evolve their mobility practice in their operations.Like many industries, retail is a market segment that is not immune to a difficult economy; and we’re seeing some new ways for retailers to use mobility to help them in the near-term, as well as position them for more long-term competitiveness after this we pass this challenging economic time. How can wireless and mobility help at a time like this? With labor as a major midline cost, increasing employee productivity is the goal -- the greater number of mobile applications, the greater the potential for staff productivity. Mobility has shown to help increase productivity by 10 to 20 percent. When a consumer comes into a store and needs help, the first thing they’ll do is locate an associate. But at the same time, the associate should be able to answer questions at point of activity or the point of sale to help the consumer make a purchasing decision. This not only results in greater productivity, but higher retail performance, and it improves the consumer experience. Recently, Joseph De Avila at The Wall Street Journal published a piece titled “œPlease Hold, My Cellphone is Buying a Gift” that focused on retailers using mobile devices to reach out to shoppers. Retailers that we’ve spoken with confirm that this is a trend to begin planning around as consumers are coming to stores with their smartphones. This is an opportunity for retailers to connect with consumers through the mobile device, and essentially bring more of the store to the consumer.Cisco’s wireless and mobility solutions serve as a secure platform to help retailers do more with less or with what they already have. Sure, applications like inventory management and price look-up are expected today; but, mobile point of sale, selling using collaborative video, and product location services from the associate’s mobile device will soon be the norm. Take another leap forward, and then retailers can securely connect with the consumer’s mobile device as another channel to interact with consumers. This too will become the norm, and this is where the compelling value proposition for mobility really takes form.That is just one glimpse into the future, and I invite you to share your visions for what an evolved shopping experience will look like in the three to five years. For the near-term, are you open to retailers, alerting you about sales on your mobile device?Thanks for tuning in.

Happy new year! What, if any, IT resolutions did you make for 2009? If one resolution is to reduce costs or do more with the wireless network that you have, then listen to eWEEK’s Mike Vizard in a recent interview (“Saving Money with Wireless Networks”) with Cisco’s Ben Gibson on how wireless networks in the enterprise pose a cost savings opportunity for IT managers. The discussion covered many topics, including: -- investing in wireless for saving money -- performance and flexibility with 802.11n wireless networking- unified communication and asset tracking in healthcare -- voice and video application enabled by the reliability that 802.11n offers -- wireless security/wireless intrusion prevention system (wireless IPS) and WLAN management -- mobile device ecosystem- voice over WLAN and call routing -- presence and location applications -- convergence of network management -- deploying pervasive wireless for advanced mobility apps -- financing options to fund wireless/mobility projectsRight click here to download and save the eWEEK podcast.

More businesses are realizing the benefits of 802.11n for delivering reliable and predictable wireless for mobility applications at their facility. As a result, we are often asked questions around conducting a site survey and planning for the number, location and density of access points required for the network.With these questions in mind, I interviewed Chris Kozup on the importance of wireless LAN site surveys, and planning for optimal coverage and performance when migrating to an 802.11n wireless network, as well as the general considerations, recommendations, and best practices and tools for conducting a successful site survey.Chris opens the discussion on the importance of an audit using a WLAN site survey to establish a baseline for understanding the current RF environment. The next step is to determine how wireless is currently deployed in a facility; and understand the RF environment with regard to building materials and the characteristics of RF interference. Factor which mobility applications that will run on the WLAN — now and for the future — like voice, locationing and data because voice and location-based service applications require a more prescript site survey and higher access point density versus data-only applications. Also, a fundamental consideration when deploying a WLAN for the enterprise is to select access points that are engineered specifically for the enterprise, and not the consumer market as some marketed enterprise-grade access points use consumer-grade silicon.As part of an ongoing effective site survey exercise, use tools and technologies available today to keep the WLAN consistent as when deployed. Use automated or dynamic radio provisioning technologies that allows the access point to dynamically adjust to environmental changes, and can automatically change channels or adjust the power output. Also, use an RF spectrum analyzer to detect, locate and mitigate RF interference sources like Bluetooth headsets, cordless phones and microwaves.Feel free to share your 802.11n migration experience and questions.

Welcome to the kickoff of our new video series that will share the trends we’re seeing in vertical markets and how mobility is addressing those developments. In this video, Dr. Tracey Wilen-Daugenti, Cisco’s higher education practice lead and Chris Kozup, senior manager of mobility solutions, discuss mobility trends at higher education campuses with three groups in mind -- students, faculty and administration staff. These mobility trends are topical as the EDUCAUSE conference starts this week in Orlando, Florida.Tracey opens with reporting that students, between the ages of 18 and 29, are brining an average of nine devices to campus, as well as an expectation for pervasive wireless to maintain consistent connectivity; versus hotspot coverage in only libraries, dorms and social areas. Faculty is changing their teaching formula by doing more with multimedia such as video and podcasts. For example, professors are recording their lectures, and offerings them to students for download, allowing students to review class content while mobile or remote. In addition, a recent study on dual-mode devices found that administrative staff is 35 percent more productive due largely in part to having access to information while on the move. These trends, especially with the sheer number of devices (laptops, gaming systems, cameras, dual-mode devices, etc.) lead universities to look at a network that supports rich content that is created and shared simultaneously and rapidly by both students and faculty. Stay tuned for the next episode. And until then, share with us some of the trends that you are seeing or hearing about on education campuses. What are the developing behaviors that are moving IT to change the role of the network?

If you were not able to attend the July 29 Mobility TV live webcast on 802.11n performance testing results, the video-on-demand is now available for playback at http://tools.cisco.com/cmn/jsp/index.jsp?id=78662. Think TiVo meets Cisco Mobility TV. For your convenience, you can jump to defined segments of the broadcast rather than watch the entire video. Below is a list the topics you can segment-surf to.*Introduction -a welcome from Cisco’s Chris Kozup*Cisco-Intel Joint Collaboration -Intel’s Mayura Garg discusses importance of the testing*802.11n Testing Results -Cisco’s Jake Woodhams shares the 802.11n performance testing results*Intel Video -watch the roaming robots from Intel’s testing lab*MIT Case Study -Chris Murphy discusses MIT’s upgrade to 802.11n*Southeast Alabama Medical Center Case Study -Scott Lapham shares Southeast Alabama Medical’s 802.11n performance resultsThanks for tuning in. Let us know your thoughts on how we went about this extensive test validation that also optimizes the real-world performance and interoperability of 802.11n Draft 2.0 WLANs.

Tune in tomorrow for Cisco’s special Internet TV broadcast. Representatives from Cisco and Intel will share performance results from extensive testing of 802.11n technologies. And key customers in the healthcare and education markets will discuss their business needs for deploying 802.11n, as well as technical considerations, their approach and best practices for delivering high performance mobile computing with 802.11n Draft 2.0 wireless networking and mobility technologies. When: Tuesday, July 29, 2007, 11:00 a.m. -- Noon Pacific TimeWhere: Cisco’s broadcast can be accessed at http://tools.cisco.com/cmn/jsp/index.jsp?id=78662.

Tomorrow, I head north from San Francisco to Lake County to get away for the July 4th weekend, but I’d rather head to the Pacific Northwest- to Eugene, Oregon to see some of the fast foot action at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. It has been a couple years since I’ve been to Eugene; and right now Track Town USA is in full swing, serving as the nexus where athletes, coaches, the media, family, friends and fans have converged for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials. Instead of watching the competitions in-person, I’ve been following the action from the Internet sidelines through a few sites. Eugene 08, Track Town USA and of course YouTube.This made me take a step away from mission- and business-critical wireless networks, and think about the last Olympics and how the Internet and more pervasive wireless is changing how the athletes and fans interact with each other with the broader adoption of social networks and media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Facebook launched in early 2004, and YouTube in mid 2005; and it’s difficult to think of a time before both sites existed because they are part of my life, allowing me to stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues. For the track and field athletes who traveled to Eugene, many of them must keep in touch with family, friend and fans — from their hometown — who are rooting for them just as I am -- from the Internet sidelines. I wonder how many fans and athletes will use Twitter to share quick thoughts during the trials and Olympics.Wi-Fi Planet’s Naomi Graychase posted an article on the University of Oregon mesh wireless network in action for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.I’d like to hear from you. With the Trials heating up, and the Olympics just around the corner, how will more of these social and media sites — enabled by a wireless network --change competitive sports?Have a happy Fourth!

I may be a biased source, but a nice summary of our announcement from Michael Stanford, an expert in the voice-over-WLAN realm. Cisco Motion AnnouncementCheck out his blog too … some great information on FMC, VoWLAN, etc.Wirevolution

As Alan Cohen mentioned in his last blog, Cisco Motion transforms IT managers into Mobility Superheroes with unprecedented mobility superpowers to protect mobile workers’ experience and ultimately save their world, the mobile enterprise.Thinking more about this theme, I realized that superheroes and superpowers were often a source of high public interest covered in the press. Superheroes actually often were the press. Clark Kent, Superman’s secret identity, was a reporter at the Daily Planet to have access to the latest breaking-news and be at the heart of the- motion. Peter Parker, Spiderman’s alter ego, was a photographer at the Daily Bugle specialized in pictures of Spiderman in- motion.Then I started wondering if Superman or Spiderman’s alter egos would still be the same if they lived today. Reporter or photographer? Probably not. With the internet and new media, they would have to be bloggers. I could just imagine our Mobility Superheroes blogging at night, educating the rest of us on the rightful wireless way, while spending their day-time exercising their superpowers saving the mobile world. I now had to uncover these Mobility Superheroes. Read More »

“œYou think you’re the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you’ve become part of a bigger universe. You just don’t know it yet.” -- Nick Fury, IRON MAN (post-credit closing scene)

In thinking about our recent Motion launch, I found the confluence of two key factors peppering my thoughts about Cisco’s new Mobility Services Engine: a laser beam focus on enabling IT managers to practically enable mobility applications and the Memorial Day kickoff of movies inspired by comic books. Traditionally wireless and mobility are like”superpowers”: they amaze and astound us, even if we are neither sure how they work nor if they can be controlled. We increasingly run our businesses and lives through mobility but rely on others to provide the capabilities. Our mobile society is overseen by the good graces of a mobility superclass. Cisco’s answer: make our customers, core IT managers,”Mobility Superheroes.” That is, take the province of a few and make it easy for many by separating the deeper physics of the network from the application enablement IT knows cold.Although I am not a comic-book aficionado, I grok the basic thesis of Superhero 101: take an unlikely ordinary individual through a technically transformative experience, add dash of courage or initiative, and, ta da, great things come out on the other side.Cisco’s Business Mobility initiative is bringing 4 superpowers to IT: Read More »

Lately there has been a lot of discussion around the general notion of mobile users with dual-mode devices seamlessly making voice calls, and connecting and transferring from a private Wi-Fi network (WLAN) to a public cellular network and vice versa. To learn more about this service in the area of enterprise mobility, I asked Aleem Rizvan, senior product manager for wireless, to talk about some of the business and technology drivers for-what we’re calling-mobile intelligent roaming, as well as the IT challenges for bridging voice over multiple wireless networks and some of the current mobile devices used in the enterprise today. Click the video below to watch the latest Cisco Mobility Video Blog episode.

It’s not every day that you announce a major industry milestone like shipping five million wireless access points (since 2000). And adding to that, we shipped more than 50,000 802.11n access points, making it the fastest ramping access point in Cisco history. So where was the five millionth access point shipped to? The world-renowned Mayo Clinic. They are running a Cisco Unified Wireless Network for hospital staff, patients and guests at its three U.S. campuses in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona.A Q&A with Randy Regimbal on how Mayo Clinic sees efficiency as a major mobility benefit can be read here.And the press release is available here.

Aside from access and voice services, what else can businesses do with their wireless networks? This is something I think many mobility application providers and innovators maintain their focus on a daily basis. Here is the setup: since a WLAN is available, I can roam around the office and campus while maintaining a connection to check email and access unified communication-type applications like messaging. Grand. I can make phone calls with a voice over Wi-Fi phone. Grand. If I did not have an actual handset available, then I could use my IP softphone client installed on my laptop to make phone calls. Grand. (I’m sure many users are over it, but my IP softphone client has a high usability and practicality factor, especially when I work from home or away from my desk.) And, if I were to work in a retail store, I could use a mobile computer to check inventory levels or collaborate with team members to better serve customers. Grand. Not to digress-But, how about some of the not so often discussed mobility services? I’m talking about services that happen in the background, behind the scenes, yet have an impact to operations. I wanted to learn about some mobility services that do not get too much play, but deserve equal billing because I think they fall into the cool (literally) mobility application category.In this episode, I interview Isabelle Guis, senior manager of mobility solutions, and asked her what mobility-related area she has been focused on. (Mobility has been a long-standing hot topic, but Isabelle always adds that certain je ne sais quoi-) So I will not say more; but, watch and listen about how adding context awareness to a wireless network can benefit the carpeted enterprise and enterprises in the every vertical market, including healthcare and manufacturing. Also, Isabelle talks about what IT should look for when planning to deploy context awareness services within their organization.

Thanks for tuning in for the second episode in our Mobility Video Blog series.It is clear that more mobile devices are entering the enterprise, and this trend does not show any signs of slowing with industry analysts predicting an additional 1.1 billion new mobile devices coming to the market in the next couple years.Security is a maintained concern with IT, especially with wireless and mobility; and with the expected wave of devices entering the enterprise, I interviewed Chris Kozup for his insight on the trends he is seeing that are related to securing a broader mobility network with a growing number of connecting end points and mobile users traversing multiple networks. Although businesses can not deny the benefits of mobility, they should be cognizant of emerging security threats, as well as adjust their strategy when evolving their mobility network.