Online gaming is big business. In fact, according to Strategy Analytics, the mass multiplayer online (MMO) game industry is estimated to be a US $8 billion dollar industry by 2014. To be successful in this market, game developers must push the envelope, creating extraordinarily detailed game worlds and more realistic game play. Sluggish rendering and slow response times are the enemy. The network acts as the beachhead in ensuring a stellar game play experience.
En Masse Entertainment, a Seattle-based online gaming company, took a good hard look at the network when it came to the launch of TERA, a new massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
TERA is a visually breathtaking game that takes place within a vast fantasy world and offers an innovative combat experience with enhanced aiming, dodging, and tactical timing to create an intense and rewarding experience. This level of experience requires an infrastructure that can deliver high-network bandwidth and extreme processing power. That’s why En Masse turned to Cisco partner, MTM Technologies to build a network infrastructure to support the launch of this highly anticipated game.
Watch as Markus Schweig, Network Operations Director at En Masse discusses the process of building a network infrastructure to support TERA.
My last doctor’s visit, I sat in the office for about an hour past my scheduled appointment before being called into the back. I grumbled about the service, how my time was wasted, and how typical this was of the industry. These are the things we all love to hate about the doctor; they seem to always be running behind schedule, and they have completely illegible handwriting. These are also the things we take for granted, living in or nearby a city with easy access to care.
Imagine, however, you live in the rural part of your state, which represents “about 20 percent of America’s population,” and yet “less than ten percent of physicians practice in those communities” according to the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) (2011), linked with the Department of Health and Human Services. Your complaints would likely extend beyond the waiting room, and certainly carry much more weight.
With its partnership with Cisco, the Georgia Partnership for TeleHealth (GPT) was able to transform the way their state practices medicine, giving healthcare access to the underprivileged and underserved populations whose needs were being overlooked. Local doctors can consult with specialists in the city center; children can receive psychological care through high quality video; and a person suffering from a stroke can be assessed by a neurologist in a matter of minutes in order to receive the proper medication to avoid further damage.
With the power of in-person via Cisco TelePresence, GPT has not only implemented a system that has made the lives of Georgians easier, setting the bar high for healthcare providers across the United States, but they have changed the lives of their doctors too. Georgia’s doctors and specialists can extend their reach while remaining close to top Universities and research centers, honing their practice to deliver better care.
The American National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is best known for its weather forecasting and tracking services but also has responsibility for fisheries management, severe storm warnings, coastal restoration, and supporting marine commerce. By the agencies’ own estimate they indirectly provide support for one-third of America’s gross domestic product.
Behind the scenes NOAA’s scientists use cutting-edge research and high-tech instrumentation to provide citizens, planners, emergency managers, and other decision makers with reliable information they need when they need it. To help meet the needs of its researchers the agency has built a high speed network called n-wave that facilitates collaboration and enables access to supercomputers by teams across the country. Besides helping scientists work together it also provides value to the American taxpayer by ensuring optimal use of government-operated storage and compute resources.
Hear more on his agency’s vision for a 100-Gig-capable network. Read More »
Imagine that you’re standing out in the middle of a desert. All you and your work team can see is endless sand. You know where you are only from the GPS coordinates – there are no roads, no cell towers, no infrastructure. Can you expect to be able to utilize radios, smart phones, tablets, and teleconferencing systems just as though you were back in your home office? Read More »
Poll us—any of us, whether customers, partners, or Cisco. We’re all experiencing the same thing: We’re at a point where technology is enabling a pervasive computing and collaboration experience for end users. It’s the “era of engagement”—and it’s fundamentally changing expectations for the end-user experience, just as it’s changing expectations for business – how we do business, operate business and grow business.
Big End User Demands
Recently a customer CIO described how he delivers IT to his company: “When it comes to technology, we have to go where the users are. Technology must be intuitive, user friendly. Our employees choose technology based on what works. I run behind them and try and plug in the support they need to use it.”
Today, employees want their Sunday experience at work on Monday. They’re much more mobile in how they run their lives, communicate, share information and collaborate—and they expect the same on the job.
