And if New York City is too far for you, be sure to watch the conference online at http://tv.interop.com

Connected Care, a partnership between Cisco and UnitedHealth Group, is the first national telemedicine network. The goal is to deliver high-quality healthcare services in a variety of settings, including rural, retail and workplace environments, where in-person physician visits might not be possible or practical.

While Cisco has a healthy respect for all of our competitors, acquisitions in our industry only validate the fact that networking is becoming the platform for all forms of communications and IT.  As the leader in the networking market, Cisco is very confident in our business strategy, commitment to product innovation and ability to provide strategic business value to our customers in a highly competitive marketplace.

Andrew Clarke of the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust talked to the Platform after his presentation about how Cisco TelePresence is helping to make a difference in this ‘golden hour’ after a patient presents at the hospital, and about how remote diagnosis is having an impact on both patients and hospital staff.

Additionally, you can now watch and listen to our CEO John Chambers present Cisco’s vision for Collaboration and exciting additions to our Cisco Collaboration portfolio. (Please note that registration is required to watch this video.)

The Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies at Cornell recently put together a nice piece on Brian Schipper, Senior Vice President of HR.

The article not only profiles Schipper’s career, but also touches upon how his team keeps Cisco employees engaged and performing at a high level. Technology definitely plays a role, but an additional, and essential component is having an inclusive and diverse workforce. Through this, companies are able to anticipate market transitions, be responsive to customer needs, and build a solid foundation for the future.

As TechTarget and others reported, UCS is starting to get into the hands of a wider group of Cisco partners via distributors such as Comstor and Tech Data.

And just as partners prepare to take delivery of those systems, the media is getting its first look under the hood too.

Today, InfoWorld reviewer Paul Venezia published his take on the system. We certainly appreciate Paul’s headline (”How Cisco UCS reinvents the Data Center”) but what he goes on to say is even more interesting.

South African rock band The Parlotones have been making use of Cisco technology to get to new followers.  While fans waited for their first live concert in Russia in early November, the South African rock band paid a virtual visit to Moscow via Cisco TelePresence.

From London, they joined a press conference hosted by Cisco Russia and discussed their upcoming tour with local music journalists. Then the scene shifted to the halls of the Moscow World Trade Center, where – still using Cisco TelePresence technology - The Parlotones gave a transcontinental virtual concert for visitors of the annual Cisco Expo ICT forum.

Here’s a short video of The Parlotones’ virtual visit to Moscow: