The promise of the Internet of Everything (IoE) looms near, and as the networked connections between people, process, data and things exponentially increase, the opportunity for private industry sits at $14.4 trillion USD. And the potential for humanity is limitless. This means that the future of information technology (IT) will look very different.
Realizing the potential of IoE will require what I have been calling the Model for Next Generation IT. It’s a familiar view of IT, but the value is shifting in each layer. And as the value shifts, we’re seeing new business models emerge, in great part due to the adoption of cloud computing and everything as a service (XaaS). But we must keep in mind the value that the network delivers in the future as I wrote in my earlier blog, “Three Truths About Networking – the Next Chapter”.
In the past, category leaders that provided separate components defined the infrastructure layer of IT. In fact, we referred to them by what they delivered – server companies, storage companies, networking companies, security companies and so on. But as we see the needs for IT shift with the consolidation of major technology trends like mobility, cloud, M2M (or the Internet of Things / IoT), big data and analytics, and a whole new breed of applications -- the infrastructure needs in IT have changed.
Long after she made it cool to be a woman in high tech, Sheryl Sandberg is now making it popular to talk about gender in the workplace. The Facebook COO is sparking wide discussion about female ambition with her blockbuster book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead”.
In my latest blog post on Inclusion & Diversity, I discuss Sheryl Sandberg’s new book and the growing role of women in the work force. Read the full post here.
While the topic of Open Source is not new, the topic of using open source in today’s networks has gained momentum in recent times, which, not surprisingly, coincides with the broader conversation of open networking. While there is considerable interest, there is also a lot of confusion. Several questions pop-up:
- What is Open Source vs. an Open Standard?
- How do Open Source consortiums work? What is the governance model?
- What are the security implications of Open Source based implementations?
- What are the likes of Cisco and IBM doing in this space?
- What is the Open Daylight project?
- Is open networking the same as open-source networking?
If you would like to get an overview of not only mechanics behind open source projects and communities, but also get a great overview of the recently announced OpenDaylight project from the Linux Foundation, I invite you to register for the 4th session of the Cisco Open Network Environment webcast series “Using Open Source in Networked Environments – Discover the Possibilities and Benefits” broadcasting on June 18th at 9 a.m. PST.
Joining me in this webcast as I host three industry luminaries in the Open Source community including Michael Enescu, Cisco Chief Technology Officer for Open Source Initiatives at Cisco, Daniel Frye, Vice president of Open Systems Development from IBM joining and Jim Zemlin the Executive Director of the Linux foundation.
My father taught me at a young age that hard work pays off. Over the years, this lesson has proven to be true, again and again.
I reflected on this important lesson this week when new Q1 data from Synergy Research Group showed that Cisco has taken over leadership of the cloud infrastructure equipment market, just one quarter after IBM’s share of the market had hit a two-year high.
While market share can certainly fluctuate, the report is a strong testament to the strategy, focus, execution – and yes, hard work – of Cisco’s entire cloud team, which has enabled our enterprise and service provider partners to build and deploy best-in-class cloud computing solutions
According to Synergy, the first quarter was an exceedingly poor one for the server market, and as a consequence IBM and HP both took a big hit in cloud infrastructure equipment revenues. Meanwhile Cisco had a very strong quarter in public cloud networking infrastructure, helping it to grab more than 15% share of the overall cloud infrastructure equipment market.
”Cisco has been steadily and consistently building its share in this market and now finds itself in the leadership position,” said Jeremy Duke, Synergy Research Group’s founder and Chief Analyst.
Cisco® TelePresence® has transformed the way we collaborate—enabling immersive, face-to-face meetings at a distance, and access to remote experts anywhere in the world. What if that experience was combined with robotic technology, to give the remote user “location spontaneity”—the ability to move around a faraway space…have a chance encounter in the hallway or tour the factory floor?
That is why Cisco’s new joint effort with iRobot—demonstrated publicly this week for the first time—is so exciting: We’ve created a mobile Cisco TelePresence unit that brings collaboration to you—or, conversely, brings you to wherever you need to collaborate. Called iRobot Ava 500, this high-definition video collaboration robot combines Cisco TelePresence with iRobot’s mobility and self-navigation capabilities, enabling freedom of movement and spontaneous interactions with people thousands of miles away.
While market share can certainly fluctuate, the report is a strong testament to the strategy, focus, execution – and yes, hard work – of Cisco’s entire cloud team, which has enabled our enterprise and service provider partners to build and deploy best-in-class cloud computing solutions