110 qualified teams from 75 countries submitted entries in phase 1 as they dreamed about what would do if they won the $100,000. purse. The judging panel narrowed it down to the very best ideas and 10 teams made the cut. They are working on their stuff right now as we get closer to the October final due date. Jimmy Ray and I chatted about this latest phase as took a load off in the beanbag area at CiscoLive!.Don’t miss the point of what this means to you.Check out all the details at cisco.com/go/thinkinside The Application Extension Platform on the ISR router has proven to be quite a flexible foundation. Jimmy Ray and I have talked about the AXP a number of times on the show (http://delicious.com/ciscoCIN/AXP) and have enjoyed playing a small part in the evolution of the contest. Jimmy Ray has even been doing some local classes for coding on the module and wrote up some of his ‘Tips and Tricks’ in his Network World Blog. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/38505.You can read about the ideas from each of the finalists and I encourage you to think in terms not of ‘what I could do with their ideas’ but more about ‘how does their idea re-define how I solve my business challenges?” The entries are cool -- they span 3 broad areas: -- Collaboration (SIP, Multimedia, lots of audio/video)- Security -- not just network security (AXP as a distributed point of presence), Video/Audio Surveillance -- very creative- Building Automation -- ISR/AXP as an ideal distributed collection point for ‘other’ technologiesBut the real point of all this is to show the flexibility of the platform. You may be intrigued about the way Cisco has redefined the router but again, you need to focus on how this helps you redefine and solve whatever unique issues you have. Your situation is going to be unique and with the continued recognition that the ‘network is the platform’ you now have more freedom to innovate on your own terms vs trying to figure out why your vendor (generic reference alert) designed its technology and how can you make it work… Turn the old model on its head -- “what can my technology do FOR ME?” Final judging in August, check out all the details RobbWe talked about this stuff before!