“If there’s one reason we have done better than of our peers in the Internet space over the last six years, it is because we have focused like a laser on customer experience, and that really does matter, I think, in any business. It certainly matters online, where word of mouth is so very, very powerful.”Jeff Bezos
In today’s business climate, any sector that has doubled revenues in the past five years is considered a wonderful outlier to the economic norm – particularly in an industry as big as fashion retailing. How are they doing it? By changing the business model and selling more on-line. In fact, according to the Telegraph, over one third of all consumers have purchased clothing over the Internet in the past year, a 26% increase over the previous one.
So how can savvy retailers build on this momentum and do it again? By taking the on-line experience to the next level. Here’s one likely future of shopping experience solution. And you can see it only at Cisco Live! July 10-14 in Las Vegas:
Imagine being able to shop virtually from anywhere much more quickly and efficiently. No more crowded, clunky dressing rooms, or trawling racks of jumbled clothes in a sprawling megastore. No more changing ten times to find the perfect color combination. Simply scroll through the menu to see an unlimited amount of inventory in one place, and see how it looks on you virtually using the latest augmented reality and network technology.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” -- Peter Drucker
In 1989, a couple of amazing changes occurred that are still affecting our world today. The Berlin Wall fell, and a little company called Cisco developed the Border Gateway Protocol so routers could eventually connect the entire world. These developments still reverberate through our lives as outdated social, political, and economic borders continue to break down, and we enjoy more freedom than ever to connect and interact with virtually anyone.
While the public debate on the abstract value of these freedoms continues, most private organizations see very concrete value in giving their employees, partners, and customers the ability to connect globally using any type of device or media. And they’re investing accordingly.
For example, more than half of all companies surveyed* have already spent some of their precious I.T. budgets deploying video or collaborative applications, allowing personal devices for work use, or adopting software as a service models. Of course, these new innovations also require more bandwidth and more security; but leading organizations are minimizing additional costs and earning ROI sooner by integrating these new technologies directly into their routing infrastructure, which in turn can actually reduce overall traffic loads and complexity.
If you are attending Interop Las Vegas this week, come visit the Cisco Medianet booth (1127-C2) to learn how you can scale and deploy video with Medianet to reduce complexity and costs. Webex introduces the new medianet-enabled client to enhance cloud collaboration experience. This new “smart” client includes embedded intelligence, works in conjunction with the “smart” network for improved network visibility, quality assurance & quick problem isolation. We will be showing a demo of this new exciting solution. We will also show Cisco Prime Collaboration Manager and the new Cisco ISR-G2 ad hoc conferencing solution.
For those looking for a real video deployment scenario, we have a session on how to make your network ready for video without straining resources. The session will take place on May 10 at 2:15 pm, location Mandalay Bay L.
I’m excited to be attending Interop Las Vegas this week. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of Interop and we are celebrating by hosting our major launch event in Las Vegas. Rebecca Jacoby and Brett Galloway will be unveiling new Borderless Networks innovations during the Cisco keynote on Tuesday, May 10 at 9:30am Pacific Time. During this keynote, you will learn about breakthrough innovations in Borderless Networks that will help you deliver centralized policy, unified wired and wireless management, and a better quality video and voice experience to your workforce and customers.
If you can’t attend Interop in person, we will be broadcasting this event online on May 10 at 9:30am Pacific Time. Please register here to view the live keynote. You will also receive access to a special series of TechWiseTV episodes that will air on May 12.
Now, I’d like to share some of the other unique activities that I think you will enjoy.
Hear from Cisco experts at the following Interop Las Vegas activities:
Conference sessions: Our marketing and technical experts will speak in panel sessions ranging on topics such as breakthrough LAN technologies, WLAN, video and virtualization. Please check the latest schedule at this website.
Cisco Educational Sessions: We are sponsoring three sessions on IPv6, video and preparing your network for mobile devices and other tablets. These sessions are open to everyone, and attendees will receive a free Cisco Press Book.
InteropNet: Cisco is sponsoring InteropNet and will further demonstrate IPv6 leadership across the entire network. Customers will be able to take daily, engineer-led tours of InteropNet.
Customer Appreciation Reception: Join us for an opportunity to relax and socialize with Cisco executives and your industry peers, while enjoying drinks, food, and fun on Wednesday, May 11 from 5 to 7pm at the Border Grill, Mandalay Bay. Customers -- please register here.
Participate in a number of fun Booth Activities and win a prize!
Cisco 3D Borderless Challenge -- Test your networking IQ for your chance to be one of eight who will to win a Linksys® E4200 Maximum Performance Dual-Band N Router. The Cisco 3D Borderless Challenge is a competition that tests your knowledge of Cisco Borderless Networks innovations, especially in video and security solutions. The Cisco 3D Borderless Challenge features IT “superhero” Ike Willis and will take place at the theater in the Cisco booth 1127 on May 10 and May 11.
Cisco Interop Las Vegas Mobile Game -Attendees can check into various Borderless Networks activities using their smartphones, such as conference sessions and booth demonstrations, to win points. Read the rules and guidelines here.
Borderless Networks Demonstrations – We will showcase the latest innovations in eleven BN pods including: Borderless Mobility, EnergyWise, IPv6, Medianet, Security, WAN optimization for cloud based solutions, Cisco Prime and Borderless Branch Office. For more information about the demos, please see detailed descriptions on the following website.
LiveAction 2.2 support for medianet has been covered in our previous blogs: performancemonitor as well asIPSLAVideoOperations. However; with the the CDN program, the LiveAction 2.2 software has formally worked through an intensive test review against a purpose built medianet-enabled network.
Performancemonitor collects performance statistics including loss, delay and jitter at the network elements. This approach provides the most extensive visibility because all the flows between video source and sink must go through the network infrastructure. It also eliminates the need for expensive probes, which could lead to increased costs for data collection and operational expense.
