Gartner has released their 2012 Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure Magic Quadrant.  Cisco is recognized as a leader in this highly anticipated publication.

Our industry is going through dramatic changes. The rapid growth of cloud, mobility and business collaborations has put more and more pressure on the network. Disparate wired and wireless networks architected and managed separately are no longer sufficient to meet the new demand. This is the first time that Gartner covers wired and wireless LAN infrastructure together in one Magic Quadrant. It is a clear sign that the time has come to evolve the network infrastructure to address the rapid growth of cloud, mobility and business collaborations with a unified approach.
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Tags: Gartner, infrastructure, LAN, Magic Quadrant, management, mobility, Netowrking, policy, security, switching, unified access, wired, wireless

On May 24, 2012, the non-profit Sustainable Silicon Valley and its partners gathered at West Summit 2012, with hundreds of others, to explore interlocking themes: Global Trade, Regional Resilience, and Climate Volatility. The Summit featured high-caliber speakers and sponsors from corporations, governmental agencies, NGOs and educational institutions.

I was part of a panel entitled, “Leadership and Vision to Achieve Regional Resiliency,” which focused on the twin challenges facing cities — sustainability and resiliency. We honed in on best practices gleaned to date and how leaders can catalyze the deep transformation necessary to build a sustainable future. Read More »

Tags: Cisco, climate change, corporate leadership, IBSG, infrastructure, innovation, invention, investment, natural resources, public engagement, public policy, public sector leadership, resilience, Sustainability, urban

Networked technologies have made work and learning increasingly mobile and highly flexible. So much so that employees are now choosing work-location flexibility over a higher salary and employers are providing workers with the tools to facilitate this. Cisco IBSG calls this “Smart Work.” Of course, the ability to make flexible working a viable option depends on a number of factors, including availability of good broadband connectivity, employer trust, the nature of the work in which an employee is engaged, and suitable social software and video technologies that enable the employee to remain in a connected (albeit virtual) work environment.

Employees, too, have to develop a new form of self-discipline that involves maintaining a good work-life balance; rather than working longer hours, this entails spending much of their extra time with family, in the community, or furthering their own personal and professional development. Read More »

Tags: Big Data, Cisco, cloud services, device proliferation, future of work, IBSG, infrastructure, network, S+CC, security, smart applications, Smart+Connected Communities, urban services, urban sustainability, work-life

Productivity and flexibility are key words that we hear many times in the work place.

What do they mean to IT administrators in relationship to telepresence meeting room scheduling? In the past this was a complicated process that meant that Microsoft Exchange server had to be taken off line to do this type of upgrade. Now with a new feature capability from Cisco TelePresence TMSXE, IT administrators can install TMSXE quickly and easily with step by step instructions without impacting Microsoft Exchange during the upgrade. This means there is no impact to end-user’s productivity because the upgrade is seamless and transparent to them. TMSXE continues to empower end users by giving them more control and flexibility to schedule telepresence meeting rooms when and where they need without needing IT support to do so. TMSXE frees up IT resources to focus on more pressing issues vs. having to be the telepresence meeting room scheduler for an organization. Read More »

Tags: Cisco TelePresence, infrastructure, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Outlook, TelePresence, TelePresence Management Suite, TMSXE

Co-written by Bryan Mobley, Director, IBSG Service Provider

The business world’s rise to the cloud has been dramatic and increasingly rapid. From an initial attitude of vague interest mixed with trepidation, organizations have begun to embrace the transition in a big way. Some are already realizing the expansive benefits in costs, efficiency, and innovation that come with this game-changing technology.

To keep with the pulse of cloud migration, Cisco initiated a series of roundtable discussions two years ago. The philosophy of each meeting was to bring together 10 to 20 decision makers from a variety of enterprises, midsized businesses, and government agencies. So far, we’ve held 15 of these discussions across North America. In addition to providing a unique opportunity to share our thought leadership, these sessions provide an ideal forum for hearing our customers’ thoughts on cloud: the benefits, the inhibitors, and even a few war stories. In the end, however, it is the advantages of cloud that spark the most contagious conversations.

Here are some of the key trends that have emerged from two years of discussions:

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Tags: Cisco, cloud, Computing, enterprises, IBSG, infrastructure, migration, private cloud, Public Cloud, SaaS, Service Provider, services, SMBs, software as a service, vdi, virtual desktop, WebEX