Collaboration November 2009 Archives

Sharing is Caring Using Cisco Collaboration

By Terry Bayer, Chief Operating Officer at Molina Health Care.

Molina Healthcare is a managed care organization that arranges the delivery of healthcare services to people who are eligible for Medicaid. With 1.4 million members in 10 states and 2,700 employees throughout the United States, people are the main focus on our business. Collaborating both internally and externally is critical to our success.

In our business, we’re acutely focused on managing care for our members but also managing our administrative costs. That’s where the importance of collaboration comes into play. It’s very important that we leverage technology to help reduce the cost of direct care delivery and administrative services. As we have grown, we have worked with Cisco to build upon our current technology and maximize long term ROI.

Read More.

Posted by Doron Aronson at 09:56AM PST

Why I’m Excited about Cisco WebEx Mail

I’m excited about Cisco’s announcement today of Cisco WebEx Mail on three levels - as a Cisco employee, as an industry observer, and as an end-user.  Let me address two of those in this blog post.

As an email user, I am an IT nightmare.  I receive large graphics files, video files and MP3s. My mailbox is full all the time.  So I have created close to 100 PSTs, on my hard drive.  Those emails are no longer on the server, no longer available to be backed up, no longer availability for e-discovery.  And I complain about it.  So the option of moving to Cisco WebEx Mail with up to 35G capacity while using that familiar Outlook interface as well as my Blackberry is exciting. Thankfully I’m scheduled to be one of the first group of Cisco employees on Cisco WebEx Mail.

Read More.

Posted by Alex Hadden Boyd at 10:35AM PST

The New Collaboration Experience

We’re living in a new world. It’s more complex, it’s more global, and it’s moving faster than ever before. For organizations everywhere, these realities are forcing a shift in the nature of work: how we work, who we work with, when we work, and where we work. This is the new normal, and it demands a new collaboration experience.
 
Beginning on November 10^th, watch the replay of Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers as he shares Cisco’s vision for collaboration and its ability to drive innovation, productivity and competitive differentiation in today’s new normal.  

Read More.

Posted by Doron Aronson at 12:07PM PST

Kroma Rolls Out Red Carpet With Cisco Collaboration

By Chris Tillett, CEO, Kroma Makeup  

During the 2009 Oscar Awards, Kentucky Derby and Emmy Awards, celebrities who peeked into their gift bags found samples from Kroma Makeup, owned by renowned makeup artist Lee Tillett.  Headquartered in Maitland, Florida, we develop and manufacture all-natural, botanical makeup products, distributing them through apothecaries, dermatologist offices, plastic surgeons, and spas throughout the United States. Customers can also purchase Kroma products through our online store and from our retail store in Orlando, FL.

Our company is able to remain competitive with multi-billion dollar juggernauts due to the fact the we are light on our feet and that we pay more than the usual attention to customer service.  So that means that any technology that we deploy must be unobtrusive, simple to operate, and enhance our image.  Also, our President Lee Tillett demands that it JUST WORK!  No excuses, no problems.  Thank goodness we partnered with Cisco!  Not only has UC been simple to operate and rock solid, it has even enhanced our competitive edge.  We now can take two laptops anywhere; whether we are at a celebrity gifting lounge or a KROMA launch party and work just as if we were connected with our home office.  The Cisco IP Communicator has been invaluable!  By adding WEBEX to the mix, we have been able to even save money on celebrity gifting by offering virtual sessions whereby Lee consults with celebrities on anything from new looks, custom powdered foundations, or even eyebrow shaping.  As a matter of fact, we have just added virtual sessions to our services card so that clients can get assistance from anywhere. 

Read More.

Posted by Doron Aronson at 09:19PM PST

Cisco Learning Partners Breaking New Ground with Collaboration

By Irene Kinoshita, President of Ascolta

Ascolta Virtual, Fusion, and Simulclass are examples of how we utilize collaborative technologies such as Cisco’s WebEx and TelePresence to provide an effective training solution to clients enrolled in our Cisco classes.  These collaborative technologies allow us to transform the traditional instructor led classroom environment into an online virtual classroom with the added convenience of attending from wherever you choose eliminating the need to travel.

Although we have been teaching courses in a virtual environment for over 10-years, delivery technologies like WebEx and TelePresence have vastly improved to provide the student with a much more robust learning environment.  By introducing TelePresence as part of our solution, we find that it enhances the human experience eliminating the “detached” feeling often encountered from other distance learning offerings.  And, as technologies advance so do our instructor’s facilitation skills.   We continue to refine and perfect our teaching methods to incorporate all the tools and resources provided via these technologies to fully maximize the learning process.

Read More.

Posted by Doron Aronson at 10:39AM PST

New Ways to Join Cisco WebEx Meetings from an iPhone!

I’m really excited about our latest version of Cisco WebEx Meeting Center for the iPhone.  In version 1.3, available now in the AppStore, you can now hand off your web conference session from your iPhone to your desktop, join by a meeting number, and when you get dropped (still happens!) automatically have your audio reconnected. These new features are in addition to the current feature set:  joining a Cisco WebEx Meeting from your iPhone, attending a scheduled meeting, viewing presentations, applications, desktop, live annotations, and chatting with attendees. 

Read More.

Posted by Alex Hadden Boyd at 05:11PM PST

Collaborate with Confidence

Collaborate with Confidence

By Maurizio Taffone, Business Development Manager, Cisco

There is no doubt that collaboration technologies - from social networking to unified communications and video technologies – offer substantial business benefit and competitive advantage. These range from reduced travel and increased productivity to the ability to create sophisticated virtual enterprises that span continents.

At the same time, however, and as businesses adapt to take full advantage of these tools, security threats are evolving. Staying ahead is vital to ensure that business innovation and development is not jeopardized. With the proliferation of mobile devices and the growing options for work locations, no area can now afford to fall outside of the organization’s security policy. The key is to address all of this without detracting from the business’s agility.

Read More.

Posted by Doron Aronson at 01:46PM PST