All too often, vendors talk about products or features when customers really want solutions and “how do I get there?” models for evolving their business. Cloud Computing is a topic that definitely falls into the latter category because it isn’t a single piece of hardware or software, but rather it’s a new way to align business needs with technology capabilities.
For many companies, Cloud Computing represents both an opportunity and a challenge. From an opportunity perspective, it potentially represents a chance to leapfrog your competition by leveraging technology as a core driver of new business models. This would create a compelling business differentiation and it’s most likely what every CIO will be talking about in 2011. From a challenge perspective, it introduces some new types of change that your company will need to address, such as:
[WARNING] It’s very possible that this post could get slightly lengthy, so if you’d like the cliff-notes version, check out Cisco’s Enterprise Private Cloud homepage and click on the short video at the top. 3 minutes could save you months or years on your Cloud Computing strategy. Evolving the Data Center to Private Cloud
So, I got locked out of my Cisco “everything” account recently. At first I thought it was just my home router acting up, but after a couple days I called IT for help, and they asked me to reset my router, and my modem, and then when that was done they informed me that maybe my password had expired.
Long way of getting to the story. I hate when my password expires. We have pretty stringent rules about passwords here at Cisco. I appreciate that. I just don’t want to change my password. You see I have (guessing) at least 20 sites that I use, all have different password requirements. Some have unique requirements for User Names too.
So I have figured out that from now on, the day that I change my company password I am changing all of my other account passwords too. At least within Cisco they synchronize all of the passwords. But I still have all my individual accounts, and I’m quite sure they sit there and watch, here comes that idiot, requesting a new password. Why can’t these people remember their password, they likely wonder while they smirk.
To some degree it is a matter of how often you go to the website, I suppose. Read More »
We hear a lot about Collaboration and Innovationthese days. People try to define what each word means, and how they relate to each other. Probably the best source I’ve found so far is in a great blog by Carlos Domingez that addresses just that. Carlos is one of Cisco’s senior thought leaders, so check out his blog here: Collaboration: What Does it really mean? It’s a fascinating read, especially the references to Evan Rosen and Mark Granovetter. It’s also a great segway to the Manufacturing Active Collaboration Space Solutionthat I talk about in the video below:
Peter Granger talks about Cisco’s Manufacturing Active Collaboration Solution and how it can help with innovation and product development. GE calls their version Virtual Collaboration Space.
As you can hear in my video, the truth of the matter is that Collaboration and Innovation go hand-in-hand simply because when people get together they feed off one another, adding to each others ideas and seeing opportunities from different angles. They solve each others issues and talk through problems using words, images and video. When you click ‘read more’ you’ll hear more about GE’s use of MACS in a short video featuring senior GE and Cisco figures. I’ll also solve the riddle I set for you in an earlier blog about how to make a new square out of four matches! Read More »
Cisco Live Europe is back , in Excel London this year, under a sunny day . And the Cisco Data Center team, working diligently with partners such as APC, BMC, Citrix, Commscope, EMC, Intel, NetApp, Panduit, Rittal, VCE built a 2 rows Data Center of the Future demonstration, which showcases Cisco data center and partners solutions and products : Unified computing – Unified Fabric Secure Multi-Tenancy – Unified Network Services – DC Switching (Access, Core, Aggregation)
In addition of the Data Center of the Future, our visitors have the opportunity to visit 14 demo kiosks covering solutions (see below)
Tonight I invited for a Daily Blogger Techminute in London 3 great bloggers : Cisco Lisa Caywood, NetApp Tim Waldron, and CA Technologies Steven Guthrie- Please check this video, where each of them share some highlights of the day.
Cisco CEO and Chairman John Chambers key note was the highlight of the day - John Chambers was just coming back from theWorld Economic Forum where he met leaders such as the UK prime minister, and shared their growing interest for the solutions that Cisco and the other technology leaders have to offer to develop at an increasing rate the economy and the productivity of the countries. In his speech, as he did in Davos, John Chambers reaffirmed that “ The network changes the way citizens work, live , play and learn, transforming competitiveness through innovation and productivity” Read More »
Introducing Cisco Industrial Intelligence. Neither James Bond gone corporate nor Cisco gone espionage, Industrial Intelligence is the enabling of business enterprises and municipalities to more intelligently and responsively manage industrial operations globally, and it’s one of Cisco’s latest adjacencies as part of the Borderless Networks solutions portfolio. Having IP-data and control flows converged with voice, video and virtualization creates a more intelligent platform for innovations that connect devices to measure, monitor, and manage resources for greater efficiencies, to connect people in less time and space, and to connect ideas that generate solutions to today’s industrial, operational and environmental challenges.
Chet Namboodri talks about how the Cisco Industrial Intelligence solution can help to improve operational efficiency, safety, agility, and use of assets.
