By Roland Klemann, Director of Service Provider Practice, Western Europe, Internet Business Solutions Group

Although the coaxial cable may have been born in 1929, predictions of its death have been greatly exaggerated.

While traditional models for consuming television are indeed under siege—from time-shift TV, over-the-top video, and an ever-expanding array of new devices—cable remains highly relevant, even in an age of exploding data traffic. In fact, with savvy deployment of Wi-Fi services, cable providers can seize an opportunity—not in spite of the mobile data deluge, but because of it.

After all, that sleek new iPad—introduced last week while I was attending the Cable Congress in Brussels—boasts dazzling video resolution. But for network operators, it only adds to a growing problem. They are already reeling under the burden of a massive upsurge in traffic, from tablets and IP-enabled devices of all kinds. What’s worse, they are still at the low end of an ongoing mobile data explosion. Cisco’s Virtual Networking Index predicts an eighteen-fold increase in mobile traffic from 2011 to 2016.

As a result, two things are breaking down: 1) the physical capacity of the networks, and 2) their economics. Theoretically, mobile carriers can build enough macro cells to carry all the traffic in the world, but in reality, that gets prohibitively expensive—fast. No wonder some are feeling an encroaching sense of doom.

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Tags: broadband, byod, cable, carriers, Cisco, data, IBSG, mobile, Networks, offload, providers, Service Provider, Smartphones, Tablets, traffic, tv, video, wi-fi

Only a few years ago, the challenges facing mobile providers seemed well within the realm of their traditional expertise. Their vast and complex infrastructures, built around towers, antennas, core networks, and the like, focused on providing the bandwidth and signal quality necessary for providing clear voice signals. Early mobile Internet applications were limited to services like weather, news, and stock quotes. As video entered the picture, it was mostly limited to a quick, manageable snack here and there on YouTube. After all, on a tiny, phone-sized screen, the prospects for a sumptuous two-hour movie feast were limited.

The situation, however, is being radically transformed. And at this years’ Mobile World Congress, which I attended last week in Barcelona, a clear focus was on a prime disruptor: the tablet and vast, media-rich applications. For with the sudden and phenomenal growth of the iPad—along with its Android-based counterparts—end users who had been limited to quick bites on YouTube are ready to indulge in long-form video buffets, anytime and anywhere. And while those game-changing tablets don’t quite provide an IMAX experience, their larger screens nevertheless offer the perfect mix of visual quality, mobility, and convenience.

For mobile service carriers, however, this has created a certain amount of havoc. Read More »

Tags: applications, apps, Cisco, data, deluge, IBSG, mobile, mobile world congress, monetization, mwc, Networks, optimization, providers, Service Provider, Tablets, video, wi-fi

Have you ever wondered how Cisco IT overcomes the challenges of deploying products and technologies in a large-scale, global enterprise – the same challenges that your customers face everyday?  Or how Cisco IT is transforming into a sharply competitive, services-centric organization? Cisco on Cisco: Inside Cisco IT shares our journey and lessons learned on these and many other fronts.

We’ve just redesigned our website from the ground up to make it easier and faster to find Cisco IT content relevant to you and your customers.  Head over to the Cisco on Cisco website to benefit from our IT Success Stories that include case studies, best practices, videos, and interactive content.

The new site focuses on content that YOU are looking for:

• How does Cisco build a highly secure network that connects anyone, anywhere, on any device, at any time? Check out our Borderless Networks page.
• How does Cisco enable collaboration, boosting productivity and enhancing myriad business processes?  Visit our Collaboration page.
• Want to know more about the cloud, virtualization, service-oriented infrastructure, and unified computing? Our Data Center page can help.
• How does Cisco IT achieve greater workplace efficiencies and help solve business process problems?  Learn more on our Business of IT page.
• Click on our Events page to see when and where you can engage with the Cisco on Cisco team at industry events.

Take a look Inside Cisco IT today at  http://www.cisco.com/go/ciscoit.

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Tags: aaron, aaron chiles, borderless, Borderless Networks, business of it, center, chiles, Cisco, Cisco IT, cisco on cisco, collaboration, data, data center, information, IT, Networks, technology

This post was authored by my colleague Jessica Kelly (@JessGoddesse)

If you’re wondering why social media should be an key  part of your communications strategy, just note these current statistics demonstrating the ubiquity of the medium:

• Facebook now boasts more than 800 million active users worldwide, and more than half of these log on to the network on any given day.

• Twitter too is no slouch (and growing), with 200 million registered users, one quarter of whom tweet daily.

Want more justifying numbers? A recent infographic on MediaBistro lists more compelling stats―like, say, the fact that 56% of consumers are likely to recommend a brand to a friend after becoming a fan on Facebook, and 20% of marketers have closed sales using Twitter.

Given that social media networks are timely (if not immediate) communications platforms that are interactive, and therefore― if used correctly (that is, authentically)―engaging, their success in marketing should come as no surprise. Read More »

Tags: corporate social responsibility, CSR, education, facebook, getideas, good, impact, impact multiplied, networking, Networks, philanthropy, red, social media, starbucks, twitter

As we all know, the world is changing at networked speeds and organizations need an IT partner that can help lead them through these challenges. Cisco is that partner.

To help further communicate this, we recently launched our new brand and advertising campaign. This campaign is to showcase that our true value is in what we make possible for customers with our innovative networking technology.  Our company strategy starts and ends with customer success. As such, the ongoing campaign will highlight Cisco customers and the ways that Cisco’s intelligent network empowers their business with new, more effective ways to connect, exchange ideas and innovate.

IMHO, Cisco is uniquely positioned to help our customers solve their most important business challenges. Our strengths are many: beginning with engineering depth and expertise, an ecosystem of partners, a passion for networking, and culminating in our vast experience at building and delivering Intelligent Networks that unleash business potential.  It’s our rich portfolio transformational business solutions that help CEOs and CIO/CTOs achieve greater innovation and momentum.

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Tags: advertisement, customers, Gary Numan, innovation, Intelligent Network, Networks, Solutions, webinar