During a short break between meetings at a recent trade show, I found myself chatting with a guy who is an IT buyer for a small company. At one point, he told me that we analyst types have fallen short in our coverage of the things that matter to small businesses. “Oh sure. You’re all fine when it comes to technology speeds-and-feeds, but at the end of the day, a technology purchase is a financial decision, and you’re all woefully unprepared to engage at that level.”
As an analyst who specializes in go to market strategies, I figured I had the upper hand in this discussion, but he was unimpressed.
This week in Partner Update, Andrew and I cover a variety of topics, from ways to help partners differentiate to huge WebEx deals to B2B social media tips. And a lot more.
This time around, we also test out QR codes, a new way for you to get more information about the topics we cover. QR, short for quick response, is a barcode that you’ll see along with the URLs in our videos. To take advantage of the codes, simply download a QR code reader for your mobile phone (I used i-nigma for the iPhone).
When you see the QR code box appear on the bottom-right side of the video, simply open the app and snap the image using your reader. The reader will then automatically take you to a specified site or resource. We hope you like this new feature. Let us know what you think.
Now, let’s get to some news…
And, if you’re not a fan of QR codes, no problem. Keep reading for a text summary with links and timestamps so you can follow along with what we covered in this newscast. Read More »
Let me tell you about a great opportunity if you’re an executive or professional in the Manufacturing or Industrial sector. Cisco is hosting a special ‘Industrial Intelligence Day’ on the 12th July 2011 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas held in conjunction with Cisco Live.
The event is especially tailored to bring together manufacturing, controls, operations and IT executives and professionals. The theme of the day is ‘Industrial Intelligence’, and will cover the subject of converging industrial automation systems based upon standard IP networks with business applications including voice and video to more responsively and cost-effectively manage industrial operations globally.
The day is packed with information, training, and industry best practices and is sure to be one of the smartest investments you can make in your career—and one of the smartest investments your employer can make in you.
By attending Cisco Industrial Intelligence at Cisco Live, you can:
Learn how Industrial Intelligence brings production closer to IT and converges industrial automation networks with business systems to improve the efficiency, safety, agility, and utilization of your production assets.
Receive training in architectures specific to industrial automation from Cisco and alliance partner Rockwell Automation including wireless and wired technology advancements, availability, security, sustainability and energy management.
Engage Industrial Intelligence and IT Networking thought leaders from our partners and the industrial analyst community via a live panel discussion plus join a community of manufacturing executives and IT and Control professionals deploying and operating Industrial applications and networks.
La Petite Baleen keeps its network operating swimmingly and has grown the business with the help of a Cisco Partner.
When you’re running a small business, you can’t do it all, like managing your own network. And, oftentimes, you can’t justify the cost of an in-house IT staff. This is when having the right IT partner can help keep your business running.
Our third small business in the spotlight during Small Business Week isLa Petite Baleen, a swim school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not large enough to support an in-house IT person, co-founder John Kolbison turned to IS-WORKS, a Cisco certified partner. As La Petite Baleen has expanded from one location to three swim schools, IS-WORKS has helped the company grow, connect, and manage its network. This partnership helps keep La Petite Baleen’s business afloat by improving productivity and minimizing network downtime.
Remember the old days when work meant sitting at your desk, typing away at your desktop computer, at the office? There was no such thing as a smart phone or even a laptop or a tweet – you just sat at your desk and waited for the network, which was probably running at 56k dial-up speeds or slower. (Now I probably sound like my father who told me he had to walk uphill to school in the snow every day.)
These days, we don’t need to be tied to a desk, but we also expect much more of our networks: they need to be fast, secure, run the applications we need, and allow employees to work anywhere, anytime, and on any device.
So how to design an enterprise network with enough flexibility and security to address users’ needs without CIOs and IT managers having coronaries in the process? And how can enterprise networks live harmoniously (and securely) with our many devices, from smart phones to iPads to laptops?
As we continue the Seven Myths of the Good-Enough Network series over on Silicon Angle, Cisco’s Mike Rau--Vice President, CTO for the Borderless Network Architecture--tackles those questions and more as he dispels the second myth: bolt-on security.
What exactly is bolt-on security anyway?Read More »
Guest Post by Contributing Author Ken Presti
