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[Join Cisco for a Live Announcement Webinar on Cloud Innovations on February 5: Register Here]

A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Cisco on Hybrid Cloud technology trends sheds light on many of the business drivers and technical obstacles to creating a seamless connection from the enterprise data center to cloud service providers. This custom research study was sponsored by Cisco, and we’ve been authorized to share some of the data and insights in advance of the publication.

Cisco and Forrester generally define Hybrid Cloud as the integration of an enterprise data center or in-house private cloud which is seamlessly connected to a cloud service provider, at least to the extent that allows for virtual machine mobility and secure communications between the two cloud sites. A real hybrid cloud strategy can provide on-demand flexibility for where applications are hosted, and can help optimize cloud infrastructure costs beyond a purely private or public cloud strategy. In the commissioned study, Forrester showed that over three-quarters of respondents planning or using IaaS were looking for a tightly coupled hybrid cloud strategy, or were currently implementing one:

Graph 1 Continue reading “New Independent Research Study on Hybrid Cloud Business Trends and Technical Challenges”



Authors

Gary Kinghorn

Sr Solution Marketing Manager

Network Virtualization and SDN

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Mark your calendars to attend Cisco’s Big Ideas Sessions in Room 3D04, EXPO Hall, Level 3:

Find us at Cisco booth #252 to see our 5 new innovative demos:

Read more at the Cisco Retail Blog this week: http://blogs.cisco.com/retail



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Retailers are entering a new era of consumer shopping behavior fueled by the digital world in which we live. The explosion of digital content has major implications for retailers across all of the channels through which they offer products and services.

In fact, a new study just released by the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) reveals that web-based digital content is now the most powerful influence on buying decisions for shoppers across all retail channels. The study surveyed 5,000 shoppers across five countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, and China.

The study’s results highlight the need for retailers to “catch and keep” today’s consumers, who now effortlessly “mash-up” digital and physical shopping. At this week’s National Retail Federation (NRF) Convention & Expo, Cisco will explain how retailers can take advantage of this evolution in consumer shopping behavior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cTb7SXh9nA

Continue reading “Retailers Must ‘Catch and Keep’ Today’s Demanding Digital Shoppers”



Authors

Lisa Fretwell

Senior Director

Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG)

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A phrase I’ve recently been hearing repeated is that “product features will come and go, but risk mitigation is continuous.”  With that in mind, our Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is doing its part by seeking ways to improve how we transparently communicate information about Cisco product vulnerabilities to our Customers and Partners.  Starting in January of 2013 we will be launching a new deliverable called the Cisco Security Notice.

The purpose of the Cisco Security Notice is to make it easier for Customers and Partners to access information about low to medium severity vulnerabilities in Cisco products.  A Cisco Security Notice will be the primary disclosure document for all security defects that PSIRT scores with a Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score from 4.0 to 6.9 and will be posted to the PSIRT publication listing page.  Each vulnerability disclosed through a Cisco Security Notice will be assigned a Common Vulnerability and Exposures (CVE) Identifier to aid in identification.   Check out the sites for CVE, CVSS, and this CVSS scoring calculator if these terms are relatively new to you or you simply need a refresher.  Continue reading “New PSIRT Deliverable Aids Transparency in Vulnerability Disclosure”



Authors

Jean Reese

Manager

Security Research & Operations

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The Expo for NRF 2013 – Retail’s Big Show – starts Monday 1/14 and runs through Tuesday 1/15 in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Watch this video to learn more about the events and activities Cisco has planned at NRF 2013.

http://youtu.be/krgM8Ny_I0w



Authors

Peggy Casey

Senior Manager, Global Retail Industry Marketing

Cisco

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Last month in my blog Journey to “Self-Healing” Enterprise Networks, we discussed reasons why IT process automation solutions for network domain has not fulfilled its promise. Today we will first reason of the two – “Need for out-of-the-box workflow templates for rapid development of network operation process automation for quick-wins”.

In today’s high performance distributed environment, network is vital to maintaining an efficient business. Efficient, scalable and stable network environment requires time and resources from the organization. Information Technology (IT) environments encompass multiple advanced network technologies that include security and wireless for borderless networks, video systems for unified communications, and storage and virtualization management for flexible deployments.

Continue reading “Journey to “Self-Healing” Enterprise Networks continued…”



Authors

Parag Parekh

Data Center and Cloud Services

Advanced Services Product Management

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The new Oracle Java arbitrary code execution vulnerability  has not only hit many news wires and social media outlets, but many victims as well, and it has been incorporated into several exploit kits. This critical vulnerability, as documented in IntelliShield alert 27845, could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on a targeted system with the privileges of the user. If the user has administrator privileges, the attacker could completely “own” the system. A fix is currently not available.

Update: Oracle released a software update (JDK7 update 11) that fixes this vulnerability. The update is available on their website. If you disabled Java in the Java Control Panel, you will need to manually re-enable it after installing the patch by using the check box in the Security tab of the Java Control Panel. Oracle’s security advisory and JDK7 update 11 release notes includes more information about the patch.

The exploit is now found in several exploit kits!

There are many reports that the vulnerability is being “exploited in the wild”. Not only is the exploit publicly available, but it has been incorporated into exploit kits such as BlackholeCool, and Nuclear Pack. Exploit kits make it easy for criminals to spread malicious software using exploits that take advantage of well-known and new vulnerabilities. New exploit kits are loaded with some of the most dangerous zero-day exploits (including this one) and other features, which allow criminals to increase their profits.

The impact to the public is huge!  Java is used by millions of users around the world. It is used in Microsoft Windows, Apple’s Mac OS-X, and Linux systems, as well as many mobile devices.   Continue reading “New Java Vulnerability Being Exploited in the Wild”



Authors

Omar Santos

Distinguished Engineer

Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) Security Research and Operations

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Guest Blog by Sarah Evans, Social Media Correspondent

Sarah-Evans

Sarah Evans (@prsarahevans) is the chief evangelist at Tracky and owner of Sevans Strategy, a public relations and new media consultancy. She’s the author of new book, [RE]FRAME: Little Inspirations For A Larger Purpose (published by SlimBooks). It’s her personal mission to engage and employ the use of emerging technologies in all communication that connects her with a rapidly growing base of more than 120,000 people. A “for good” advocate, Sarah worked with a local crisis center to raise more than $161K in three weeks via social media and is a team member of the Guinness Book World Record holding #beatcancer. Sarah can be seen in Vanity Fair’s Americas Tweethearts, Forbes’ 14 Power Women to Follow on Twitter and Entrepreneur’s Top 10 Hot Startups of 2010.

For the past few days I’ve had the privilege of serving as entertainment services provider Cox Communications social correspondent at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and working very closely with the Cisco team promoting the personal TV experience. TV is everywhere at CES. And it’s right on par. Nielsen says that Americans are actually watching more TV than ever – about 34 hours per week, in fact.

Cox and Cisco have been working very closely this week with joint announcements on the personalized television experience. Working with Cisco, Cox evolved their video services platform to deliver more personalized video experiences, offering their customers more of what they enjoy. While Cox customers have been able to watch 90 channels of live, linear TV on an iPad for more than a year now, this new app – powered by Cisco’s Videoscape Unity software and technology – expands the service to iPhones and iPods, adding significant improvements in navigation. Learn more about the announcement here.

It’s hard to miss the focus on hardware at CES, specifically on size and sharpness. However, I think the real story about TV at CES is what’s happening on the backend. And what’s the big innovation? The personalization, synchronization and socialization of video, with personal on the forefront.

To keep the buzz around TV going I moderated a #CoxCiscoTV Twitter chat to talk more about the idea of #PersonalTV with Cox Communications and Cisco executives. Our Twitter lineup was made up of:

  • Len Barlik, EVP of Product Development, Cox Communications (@Cox_PR)
  • Martin De Beer, SVP of Video and Collaboration Group, Cisco, (@MartinDeBeer)
  • Nick Thexton, CTO, Service Provider Video Technology Group, Cisco, (@CiscoSPVideo)

Continue reading “#CoxCiscoTV TweetChat at CES and #PersonalTV Instagram Photo Contest”



Authors

Lindsay Kniffin

Public Relations Specialist

Corporate Public Relations

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Today’s students are connected. This past holiday break, I was reminded just how much Gen Y (18-30 year olds) requires anytime access to the tools in their life.

I came to the realization that board games and cards may become a thing of the past.    If you don’t have a smartphone and/or tablet, you’re considered old school.  I do have one of the two so I’m only half old school.  Smartphones and technology have come a long way.  I still have a bunch of physical maps in my car from when I first moved to California.  I honestly don’t remember the last time I touched that stack of maps with built in navigation and point to point map applications in my phone that’ll take me where I need to go without having to plan the physical route myself beforehand. Continue reading “New Year’s Resolution: Digital Diet”



Authors

Wendy Leung

Former Marketing Manager, Private Sector Industries

No Longer with Cisco