It was only a year ago that we were all eagerly anticipating London 2012 in our role as network infrastructure supporter. It was exciting, at times daunting and – looking back – tremendous to be at the heart of bringing the Games to the world.

To quote Lord Coe at the closing ceremony, “we did it right.” In many ways, the end of the Games was actually the start for us. That’s why on the back of our success, I’m looking forward to 2013 with huge optimism. It’s time to make our Games legacy a reality.

Back in 2011, we pledged to support the development of Tech City in London and the Government’s wider UK growth and innovation agenda. So how are plans shaping up And how are we helping students to learn? How are we discovering and supporting entrepreneurs? How are we helping them to mature and grow their technology start-ups?

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Tags: BIG, BIG Awards, British Innovation Gateway, innovation

Here I sit… In Mel’s Drive-In Diner, San Francisco, CA. I just inhaled the “El Ranchero Americano”, which I am sure to regret later, and am enjoying tunes from yester-year complete with Doo-Wop and Presley. You may ask, “Why do I care…?”  Well, before this turns into an episode with Anthony Bourdain, I will let you know that I am in ‘The City’ attending RSA Conference 2013.

RSA Conference 2013 Video

Allow me to give you a quick background.  RSA’s goal is to connect security professionals from around the world in order to continue the growth and importance of security as technology aggressively expands. RSA started these conferences in 1991 when internet security really became a topic of discussion.  Everyone who is anyone is here, from start-up companies to our own Cisco.

Again, you might ask “What’s the big deal?”  I listened to a keynote by Vint Cerf, widely known as ‘The Father of the Web’, he gave an ‘If you can imagine…” speech. In this talk, he said if we could imagine our refrigerator being able to ‘talk’ to us… explore the internet for recipes in which the ingredients are what we currently have in the fridge and have a list of those recipes ready for us on the door or emailed to us. Pictures on our refrigerator being streamed live from our loved ones as they are posted on various social media sites, keeping us in the loop with our families across the world… It’s not ‘If’, it’s most certainly ‘when’… We are currently living in the era of the ‘Internet of Everything’.

With this, though, comes the most important element:  Security. How? How do we secure all of our information as we move forward? How do we secure billions of people while maintaining a ‘free moving internet?’ That’s why we’re here. We are here to discuss current security initiatives, evolving ideas, discussing the gaps in our current security… We are here to protect you.

As we move forward, it is absolutely essential to protect our ‘freedom’ to use the internet anytime, anywhere, and on any device. There are professionals working tirelessly in order to maintain that connectivity, and conversely, there are just as many trying to take our freedom away by disrupting our service and ‘stealing’ our personal information for their personal gain.

In our progression to ‘work our way’ in every way, we must stay vigilant and always on guard. I don’t know about you, but I do enjoy my flexibility and I also know I can sleep well at night knowing that there are people invested in my cybersecurity safety.

Until next time.

Mark

Tags: 21st Century Government, Cisco, cybersecurity, government, Internet of Everything, IoE, RSA Conference 2013, security

I really love my mobile devices, my iPhone, iPod, and rPod.

What’s an rPoD you ask? It’s my mobile getaway vehicle.

I can get access to mobile apps, listen to music, and enjoy a getaway to the coast. These devices are not just for fun though, these are powerful tools that allow me to telework from home or in reality anywhere and anytime. My mobile apps include my email, calendar, webex, jabber and other apps required for me to do my job.  I’m more productive, it’s more cost-effective, and very flexible.  And, it’s secure.

This week, I’m attending the RSA security conference in San Francisco.  Mobile device security and cyber security are some of the hot topics in the keynotes, special government sessions, and throughout the event. I’m able to attend this event to learn about the new technologies available to secure mobile devices and cloud and also the expanding cybersecurity threats. At the same time, I’m productive, mobile and secure.

Next week, like most every week, I will be teleworking. Please join me and more than 100,000 others to support Telework Week.

Cisco, in partnership with the Mobile Work Exchange, is a proud supporter of Telework Week from March 4-8. Telework Week 2013 is a global effort to encourage government agencies, business organizations, and individuals to pledge to telework anytime during this week. Please take a minute to visit this site to learn more about the benefits of Telework, pledge to support this initiative, and use the calculator to estimate savings. I have been teleworking for nearly 20 years and plan to continue to enjoy the benefits for mobility and telework for years to come.

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Tags: Bring your Own Device (BYOD), citizen services, cybersecurity, Mobile Government, telework

From super storms to snow storms, the U.S. has experienced its share of extreme winter weather over the past few months -- evidenced today by the revelations from my family in #Snowklahoma. The damage left by recent blizzards, Hurricane Sandy and the Nemo Storm has businesses and residents rethinking ways to ensure continuity during severe weather.

For government agencies, businesses and even schools in some cases, teleworking (or telecommuting) is a popular solution that allows continuity of operations (COOP) while keeping employees out of harm’s way during natural disasters. In contrast to the Yahoo announcement today, many agencies, organizations and teams rely on telework to keep employee productivity high regardless of weather, travel delays or other conditions. Read More »

Tags: collaboration technology, govtech, marissa mayer, mobility, mobility exchange, telecommuting, unified workspace

The Global Certification Team is proud to announce that the Cisco Aggregate Services Routers (ASR) 9000 series have completed USGv6 Certification on software version 4.2.1 or later, with USGv6 SMU.  The details of the certification can be found at https://www.iol.unh.edu/services/testing/ipv6/usgv6tested.php?company=7&type=Router.

The Cisco ASR 9000 system incorporates innovative technologies such as Cisco Network Virtualization (nV) technology, which intelligently blends the edge, aggregation, and access points to simplify operation and accelerate IPv6 services. Two new nV enabled platforms provide additional flexibility and support to optimize service delivery.  More information can be found at Cisco.com

Get up to the minute updates on Cisco product certifications from the official GCT twitter, @CiscoCertTeam!

Tags: aggregated, asr 9000, ASR9000, certifications, IPv6, NIST, router, services, USGv6