April 27, 2006
The mtvU Generation
Video Wizards
Take just one look at the video pinball that is mtvU, MTV’s around-the-clock student network, and you understand why new media is getting so much attention from those trying to discern the future of broadband content and its delivery. Experience the multiple feeds, flashing colors, music videos and messages, and you know you’re in another world.
So it’s no surprise that Cisco Systems is partnering with mtvU to fund "Digital Incubators," ten student groups with $250,000 to help showcase their digital video projects on mtvU’s networks. These projects combine elements of short-form programming, gaming, social networking, blogging, instant and text messaging, podcasting and mobile phone-based interactivity.
"The media business is in a disruptive era and consumers are being empowered to create and share their own content,” Dan Scheinman, senior VP of corporate development for Cisco, told CNET. “It's important for (Cisco) to see where the trends are going so we can build capabilities into our products to enable it.”
My favorite trailer from the incubator so far is “How Do I Say This?” billed as “an interactive peer-to-peer advise column and online community video project” from students at UCLA.
Heard it on the Radio
In his White House Radio Address April 22, President George Bush mentioned his visit to Cisco and cited the company’s Networking Academy Program. “I had the chance to visit Cisco Systems, a company that understands the importance of preparing the next generation for the high-tech jobs of tomorrow,” Bush said. “Through its Networking Academy Program, Cisco is helping to train high school students in math, science, and information technology skills. By ensuring that we have a skilled workforce for the future, companies like Cisco are helping America compete with confidence, and keeping our economy growing, and creating new jobs for our citizens.” To listen to Bush’s remarks during his visit to the company, check out the News@Cisco podcast.
CRM for SMBs
Cisco is collaborating with Microsoft to integrate Microsoft’s Dynamic CRM 3.0 application with Cisco’s Unified Communications technology. The just-announced Cisco Unified CRM Connector 3.0 includes an IP phone service that pushes customer information to Cisco Unified IP phones from inbound calls.
The solution will help SMBs who want CRM applications but don’t have the time or money to get too involved, Yankee Group analyst Helen Chan told InfoWorld. "To get this to work before, it required someone to sit down and write a custom application, and all that technology is proprietary," Chan said. As a result, for updates or additions to the system, "you're always going back to that same partner," she said.
Cisco also introduced its FastStart program for Cisco and Microsoft partners, providing resources to help them sell Cisco Unified Communications and Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions.
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April 24, 2006
Bush, Chambers and Competitiveness
Setting an Agenda for Change
President George Bush’s visit to Cisco Systems focused the country’s attention on the need to reinvigorate programs for math, science and R&D to maintain America’s lead in technology competitiveness. Bush joined his strong ally in the project, John Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco, who worked with the president earlier this year to promote increased funding for such initiatives, both in the federal government and in the private sector.
Chambers followed up on the panel with an article in the San Jose Mercury News. “Our competitiveness in innovation, job creation and university education is strong, but the question remains: Will we keep it strong? And will it get our leadership in K-12 education back?” Chambers wrote. “Change is hard for all of us, but not to change will be doing a disservice to our children and future generations of Americans.”
Linksys Wireless Products Build on Next-Gen Specification
Cisco Systems Division Linksys, unveiled a Wireless-N Broadband Router (WRT300N) and Wireless-N Notebook Adapter (WPC300N), the first in a line of Wireless-N products available from Linksys that will be built to the 802.11n Draft Specification.
With up to four times the range and up to 12 times the throughput of Wireless-G*, the WRT300N and WPC300N deliver to the home and to businesses wireless networks with the capacity to surf the Web, enjoy multiple streams of high definition video, listen to digital music collections and make Internet phone calls - all at the same time. "With these products based on the IEEE 802.11n draft specification, Linksys is enabling users to transform their home networks into media distribution platforms and access premium content around the home over a wireless network,” said Mike Wolf, principal analyst, ABI Research."
Jefferson Parish Comes Back
Dr. Diane Roussel, superintendent of Jefferson Parish Schools in Louisiana, works out of a warehouse. In her parish, Hurricane Katrina destroyed four schools 50 percent or more and 26 were damaged significantly. But the parish is getting back on its feet, re-opening nearly all of its 84 schools.
Cisco Systems and others, through the Cisco 21st Century Schools ("21S") program, are helping Jefferson Parish go beyond simply restoring its schools to their previous state. The 21S program is a $40 million multi-phase, long-term effort to help with redesign and restoration activities in the Gulf Coast region post-Katrina. Cisco recently announced the second phase of 21S, in which the company is specifically committing $20 million for the Louisiana Education Initiative (LEI). In the first year of the LEI, $10 million will be invested in baseline technologies and pilot strategic initiatives for eight schools in Jefferson Parish, touching 5,200 students.
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April 14, 2006
Living Room Strategy
Capturing the Consumer
“Can Cisco Systems, a technology giant best known for making the routers and switches that drive traffic around the Internet, capture the hearts, minds and remote controls of television viewers?” That’s the question posed by Fortune this week in a thorough article examining Cisco’s Scientific Atlanta acquisition. Cisco CEO John Chambers has no doubts. "Our goal," Cisco CEO John Chambers tells the magazine, "is to be the key player in the home."
Listening to the Brazilian Broadband Beat
What are the facts behind the hype over broadband rollout? In Brazil, Cisco, along with IDC, launched its own Broadband Barometer to take a close look at the market. Periodic updates will report on the number of broadband Internet connections by geography, type, speed and user segments-from small businesses and large corporations to home usage. "Cisco proposed to the Brazilian government that the best way to lead this crusade for broadband is to set a goal for the next four years, and measure the development of broadband connections every three months," says Rafael Steinhauser, general manager of Cisco Brazil.
ACE in the Hole
Cisco’s Application Networking Services (ANS) campaign is using the network to help drive applications performance, and as part of that plan, the company unveiled this week its Application Control Engine (ACE), a multi-service module for the Catalyst 6500 Series Switch. George Kurian, vice president and general manager for application delivery business unit, explains Cisco’s ANS strategy in a Q&A and in a podcast.
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