In my job as Cisco’s Field & Sales CTO for Borderless Networks in the Cisco EMEAR Theatre, I have the privilege of working directly with many Cisco customers and partners. The majority of these folks are what you’d call “Technical Decision Makers” and CTOs. They’re the IT leaders who do the planning, the strategy, and work on the evolution of their infrastructure.
And frankly, in my 20 years in the IT industry, I have never witnessed such a perfect IT storm!
We are in the midst of a time in IT, where, for most organizations, the current megatrends are having a profound impact on the relevance of their IT. This is felt in both the infrastructure technologies as well as the solutions required to support those megatrends. Read More »
Tags: byod, cloud, IoE, Megatrends, SDN, video
Today’s workplace is radically different from ten or even five years ago. Work has changed. The way people work has changed, and technology needs to be in synch with these changes. In the office, people still want access to traditional conveniences, including a desk phone. They also want access to high quality video from the desktop, and, some want to use many of the capabilities they use every day on their smart phones. It’s the whole “consumerization of IT” in action.
At Enterprise Connect 2013 this week, Cisco is debuting our latest addition to the enterprise desktop: the DX650. The DX650, orderable globally today, is an Android based phone that delivers traditional voice functionality, high-definition 1080p video, and many features commonly associated with today’s smartphones straight to the desktop.
And, on top of the Android operating system, we’ve added Cisco software, which provides better security, quality of service, manageability and higher fidelity audio and video. In short, this new disruptive technology is doing for the desk phone what smartphones did for mobile devices. Imagine – a smartphone experience for the desktop where users will never have to worry about battery life or dropped calls.
New capabilities include:
Cisco DX650
- High quality video: In addition to extending the 1080p high quality video experience to the desktop, users can also dial directly into a TelePresence meeting or connect to any standards-based video endpoint from the device.
- Smartphone capabilities at the desktop: The phone has many “smart” features or attributes, including a familiar Android user interface, instant access to critical applications and the ability to create multiple unique user profiles. Each profile can easily integrate with the user’s email and calendar as well as a full directory of contacts and speed dials. Applications such as Cisco Jabber, WebEx, and AnyConnect come preloaded on the phone.
- Cloud-readiness: This new phone enables users to access on-premises or cloud-based applications. Given that this is a fully compatible Android device (Compatibility Test Suite certified), users can now access enterprise applications such as customer service portals or CRM solutions from the DX650’s built in browser. Or, they can view content and share video with colleagues through cloud collaboration applications such as Cisco WebEx, available natively on the phone or through the Google Play store.
- Teleworking: We’ve also ensured that the DX650 supports multiple connectivity options. The DX650 can connect to the network wired or wirelessly. It also has a built in VPN client so remote users, working from home or in branch locations, can access their enterprise applications as needed.
Read More »
Tags: Android, Cisco, collaboration, desktop, unified communications, video
Reports of the physical retail store’s death have been greatly exaggerated. As a recent survey from the Cisco® Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) found, 93 percent of products sold in the United States are still bought in brick-and-mortar locations. And while technology has upended many product categories and more than a few individual retailers, it simultaneously creates opportunities for retailers to continue to make the store shopping experience both relevant and compelling. Big Data in the store is key to achieving this.
Read More »
Tags: Big Data, business intelligence, Cisco, data in motion, IBSG, Internet of Everything, IoE, machine learning, Machine to Machine, machine-to-human, mobility, online shopping, retail, social media, video
Cisco is changing the game for B2B collaboration with new software and cloud advancements that make HD video collaboration more affordable and accessible between businesses. Today at Enterprise Connect, Cisco is announcing new enhancements across our collaboration portfolio that deliver conferencing your way on any device, anywhere.
It’s about bringing all types of conferencing together whether video, voice, or web with a consistent user experience — Cisco is doing this.
We’re also introducing new ways to help our customers take advantage of intelligence within the network to easily and cost-effectively scale video collaboration across their organization and business community. Here are a few highlights of what is now available: Read More »
Tags: B2B communications, Cisco WebEx, collaboration, conferencing, HD video, TelePresence, video, video collaboration
Cloud computing provides new opportunities to increase capacity and add new capabilities on the fly. Whether you are an enterprise looking for ways to make your business more agile and responsive to market transitions, a Service Provider exploring new business models, or an executive wondering how your employees can benefit from cloud collaboration services, there’s a lot to learn.
Over the next four weeks Cisco will host a series of webinars highlighting the challenges and opportunities of cloud computing. This is a great chance for you to learn from Cisco experts as well as your industry peers.
Below is info on four webinars in March and April. I encourage you to save the dates and register to attend!
1/ Building Service Provider Public, Private, and Hybrid Clouds for Enterprise and SMB
Date: March 19, 2013 Time: 11:00 AM ET / 8:00 AM PT
With half of all IT needs shifting to the cloud, Service Providers have a great opportunity to profit from this business. But how do you build the capabilities needed to offer these IT services as cloud services? What about the cost vs. time-to-market tradeoff? In this webcast, you’ll learn how CIOs plan to move to the SP cloud, how to account for complex tradeoffs, and how Cisco’s SP Cloud Smart Solution can help.
For more information and registration visit here
2/ Innovate with Cloud Conferencing
Date: March 19, 2013 Time: 12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT
Video capabilities across devices are changing the way we work and communicate, bringing people closer together and increasing productivity levels. As businesses expand the ways they collaborate, Cisco makes the experience consistent regardless of device. Join our video and collaboration leaders on March 19 as we announce new solutions to evolve conferencing. Learn more about Cisco’s collaboration strategy, see the new solutions in action, and have your questions answered live by Cisco experts. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to be on the front lines of the market trends in video, conferencing, and collaboration.
For more information and registration visit here
3/Cloud 201: Getting Both – Efficiency & Agility with Private and Public Clouds
Date: April 9, 2013 Time: 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT
Ready to learn more about the future of cloud computing and how your organization can embrace it? Join our National Cloud 201 Town Hall and discover how to implement, secure, manage, update, and monitor solutions across multiple cloud environments. This webinar will leverage the power of Cisco Telepresence and connect you with an expert panel for advice you can use for running advanced enterprise workloads across multiple cloud environments.
For more information and registration visit here
4/Simplifying Your Journey to Private Cloud — A Roundtable with Cisco, NetApp, Intel, and Microsoft
Date: April 17, 2013 Time: 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT
Cisco, Intel, NetApp, and special guest Microsoft come together for an executive roundtable to help you on your journey to the private cloud. Join this expert panel and learn how to decrease storage costs, reduce time to market, and improve application performance and business agility. Discover an integrated solution to achieve IT-as-a-service model in a fast and simple way through this partner webcast.
For more information and registration visit here
Tags: Cisco, cloud, collaboration, Intel, Microsoft, netapp, TelePresence, video
