When it comes to the network, I’m a selfish guy.  I want to use my computer and phone anytime, from anywhere, and with anyone.  I want it all and when it is convenient for me.  I honestly don’t feel too bad about this selfish streak since everyone I know wants the same things from the network.  Most people don’t care about problems that result from sharing the network – they just want unlimited and uninterrupted access.  

To meet this need, the Internet, public services and many corporate networks are moving to IPv6, a newer version of basic IP protocol.  Why is there such a need to change when the existing standard, IPv4, is still running our networks just fine?  Well, quite frankly, the world is running out of IPv4 addresses. Current fixes to share IPv4 addresses among users and devices cause performance, scalability and reliability problems as new devices and new video, voice, and collaborative applications become pervasive. 

Now, there is a hidden technical problem in the SmartGrid. Luckily, it is one that is easily solved. Have you spotted it?

Abner Germanow, a technology analyst at IDC, is worried about the future of the network.  He writes about change in the network and the worries we need to address to build networks that are ready for the future.  His ideas are captured in a free white paper called “Demonstrating the Value of a Foundation Network”.

The response has been overwhelmingly positive.  In addition to our customers and channel partners, several analysts and members of the media have supported this direction and the ISR G2, and there is a “feel good” factor about the announcement.  David Gartner of the Information Week called the ISRs as the foot soliders of Networking. I thought that was a great analogy.

Yesterday, there was a note from Wedbrush Morgan giving Cisco an upgrade for this launch referring to the ISR G2 and the ASR 1000 series, including the new ASR 1002-Fixed platform, while stating “we view the ISR to be the anchor product of Cisco’s enterprise networking business and the single largest margin contributor in the company. The first generation ISR was introduced about five years ago, so the ISR G2 represents one of the largest installed base upgrade opportunities the industry has seen”.

This launch was picked up by the media in different geographies. With over 7 million ISRs deployed worldwide, and many pre-ISR routers still powering branch offices, yes, it does represent a significant installed base.

Jim Duffy at Network World commented on Borderless Networks saying:

“Borderless Network is intended to support applications, processing cycles and services that are increasingly distributed and virtualized, such as those in cloud computing and software-as-a-service environments. Some analysts say it is more than another Cisco “marketecture,” though. “

David Garner at InformationWeek picks up this sentiment as well:

“Taken together, the Borderless Networks architecture and the ISR G2 form a sort of central nervous system network that simplifies the delivery of networked business services throughout IT organizations, large and small. Cisco said a five-phased plan will help “deliver services and applications to anyone, anywhere, on any device, at anytime—seamlessly, reliably, and securely.”

Jeffery Burt at eWeek comments on the trends taking place in the industry to warrant the ISR G2’s feature updates:

“These capabilities are going to be important, given the current trends, Palmer said. By 2012, 90 percent of the bandwidth for consumer traffic will be video-based. In addition, employees in greater numbers are bringing in their consumer devices—such as iPhones or their own laptops—and expecting the same level of access to enterprise applications that they’d receive from company-issued devices.”

There are many others. Social media was an active component here as well. Lots of good responses on Cisco’s Routers Facebook page and the CiscoGeeks Twitter feed.

Even some of our competitors also found it worthwhile to give our announcement a plug. As always, we welcome that.

The approach? By listening to our customers Looking at the business trends. By seeing where networks are headed over the next 3-5 years. By getting the big picture. And by building a platform that helps our customers to innovate and grow their business. Increase efficiency, collaboration, productivity and responsiveness. Securely. Seamlessly. Reliably. Help our customers deliver richer experiences to their customers and drive loyalty.

The result? A spankin’ new Cisco Integrated Services Router Generation 2 (ISR G2) family. Upto 5 times more performance as the original ISR, at similar pricepoints. Enablng new experiences, some tickling the imagination. Getting ready for the future, now.

The first proofpoint for Cisco’s Borderless Network Architecture, helping turn vision into a reality one step at a time.

The ISR G2 is architected for video-delivery from ground-up. Video-based collaboration, video surveillance, streaming video, webex. Better collaboration. Higher productivity. Reduced travel costs.  A proofpoint for medianet.

It revolutionizes how services are delivered to branch offices. Truly. No more shipping hardware modules every time a new service has to be rolled out to the premise. Ship your hardware once. Deploy any software on new Services Ready Engines to any branch office, anytime. Sweet.

Cost reduction? Yes. In its DNA. Energy savings. Power efficiency. The choice to intelligently control power consumption. Headroom for future growth. Investment protection. All affirmative.

As technology pervades the classroom environment, learning experiences are going to evolve.  A single experience can be life-changing and motivate students to choose careers of their choices – whether they become more interested in science or arts, depends on what stimulates them early on.

And so, we continue the journey right here on the Innovations blog, as we get ready for our October 20^th event.  Earlier this week we talked about bringing doctors to your doorsteps. Now, we look at an “out-of-the-world” learning experience for these bright young minds.   

If we could bring in the best teachers, offer the best courses to students regardless of location, or what strata of society they belong to, it will amplify the impact of education.

Now, imagine what your network can do to enable this.

How do you tap into global expertise? How do you bring the “doctor to your doorstep”? And how do you do it without compromising on the quality of healthcare?

These are problems we face today, and Cisco is here to help resolve them.