In Silicon Valley – home to one of the greatest economic engines in the world – there is a silent tragedy that affects more than 250,000 people every month – and that’s hunger. Hunger doesn’t discriminate. It affects the young and the old, families of every size, shape and background.  The challenge, sadly, knows no bounds. Ten thousands miles away – in India – the problem is acute. Here, some students who go to government schools often don’t have enough to eat.  Mothers sometimes don’t have enough to feed their children.

A similar story can be told in Brasilia, Bucharest, Boston, and beyond. The faces of hunger are different, but the challenge of making sure that all have enough to eat is just the same.

In every community, in every part of the world, hunger afflicts far too many– 805 million people according to the United Nations. It is the single-most addressable health problem that we face. No scientific breakthroughs are needed to solve hunger. We have the knowledge, tools, and resources at our disposal to solve this problem.

That’s why Cisco has made a major commitment to stopping hunger in our communities. Over the course of 11 years, our annual Global Hunger Relief Campaign has raised $39.9 million dollars for hunger relief, which translates into 159 million meals provided to those who need it most.

Donations from our 2013 campaign alone provided 23 million meals. These meals were provided through 162 agencies worldwide working to end hunger.

This year will be no different. Beginning on October 27, we launched a two and a half month campaign to raise $1.8 million in employee donations for hunger relief, which will be matched by the Cisco Foundation.

And the impact is incredible.

Read More »

Tags: community, giving back, Global Hunger Relief, second harvest

Earlier this week, I was privileged to join Cisco employees and executives to sort 27,100 pounds of food at the Second Harvest food bank in Silicon Valley. This food will go to help the 1 in 4 Santa Clara and San Mateo County residents at risk for hunger – roughly 625,000 individuals.

This event is just one part of Cisco’s largest annual giving campaign to help stop global hunger in Silicon Valley and around the world. We’re in the middle of our 12^th annual Global Hunger Relief Campaign, involving over 160 food agencies worldwide.

Since we started this effort, we have raised $40 million dollars for hunger relief, which translates into 160 million meals for those who need it most.

And this year, the bar is set high.  We’re in the midst of a two-month effort to raise $1.8 million in employee donations for hunger relief, most of which will then be matched by the Cisco Foundation.

At Cisco, giving back is part of our DNA.  I’m proud to be a part of this effort to help stop global hunger.  And I’d encourage all of my Cisco colleagues to consider making a donation or volunteering at a local food bank during this holiday season.

Together, we can really make a difference.

Cisco execs and employees sorting food for Second Harvest

Tags: community, giving back, hunger relief, philanthropy, second harvest

Particular songs often come to mind when I’m thinking about certain words. It’s usually a 1:1 relationship of song to word, but the mental jukebox for champions seems to vary between Queen’s “We Are the Champions” and “Gonna Fly Now,” also known as the theme from “Rocky.”

When I join a Cisco Champion Radio episode or read a blog post from a Cisco Champion, one of those songs often serves as the soundtrack only I can hear.

Who are the Cisco Champions? Perhaps you should be one. Now is the time to nominate yourself or a colleague for consideration for 2015!  Let’s start with the biggest questions:

• Are you passionate about collaboration technology?
• Do you love expanding and sharing your knowledge?

Yes? OK, let’s move on to the next round. Read More »

Tags: #ciscochampion, Cisco Champions, community

May 2014 was a big month for me! I had a long trip to Australia and San Francisco for Cisco Live. This was my 2^nd Cisco Live that I’ve attended, and the global event is making a positive impression on me.

I’ve been to scores of events, many for my role here at Veeam (a Cisco partner) but Cisco Live brings something different to the table. The themes of the events may change, but I feel the Cisco Live embodies the core of the change with trends such as the Internet of Everything. This is relevant today and in the future, but each of us can consume this theme differently.

As a technologist, I take in these themes and have the obligatory “Wow!” and “That’s cool!” after taking it all in; but what about when we return and get back into our daily routine? How do we get from here to there and make real change in our IT practice? That’s the hard part, but I’m convinced we can all get there in our own way.

Read More »

Tags: #ciscochampion, cisco live, community, network infrastructure

Happy Wednesday!

Did you watch the Academy Awards this week? It sure would been great to get my mug in Ellen’s selfie shot. I could have been Bradley right? ..and a slice of pizza would have been great with Julia, Harrison, and “Marty”. Certainly this year’s Oscars was the best one in years.

Speaking of good shows – as Master of Ceremonies here at Cisco Small Business, I wanted to pass along some fantastic news from another brethren Product Manager, Robin Penn. Her Cisco Small Business Services and Support team has been making a good showing recently by adding 15 additional Latin American Countries where folks can purchase Cisco Small Business Service. For some time, we have received requests from partners, customers and team members to extend our Award Winning coverage to more Latin American countries. As you can imagine, many folks are quite happy about this.

But wait… what exactly did Robin do?  We already sold Small Business Support Service in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. And now…the envelope please to see the new entrants: Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. And all are winners

Customers now can purchase (through their partners) the value-priced Cisco Small Business Support Service:

• Three Years of Award-Winning Technical Support
• Advanced Product Replacement - either Same Day Ship or Next Business Day**
• Unlimited telephone support with Cisco Certified engineers, 24 hours daily in English, business hours in other languages
• Major and minor software releases

So now, in more and more countries, especially Latin America, Cisco’s Best-in-show Small Business products can be purchased with the award-winning Cisco Small Business Support Service. So as Robin would say, buy/sell the best Small Business products with the Industries’ Best Service and Support, all in the one shot.

Thanks for hanging out with the Cisco Small Business Team – make it a good rest of the week.

Resources:
Small Business Support Service At-A- Glance in English

Small Business Support Service At -A- Glance in Spanish

Small Business Support Service At-A-Glance in Portuguese

For more info on Small Business Support Service features and benefits or questions…  Check out www.cisco.com/go/sbs or contact smb-services-team@cisco.com

And to see where is Small Business Support Service is available: check out www.cisco.com/go/sbsavailable

**Questions about Same Day Ship or Next Business Day Logistics?  Contact your partner or latam-tm@cisco.com.

Tags: AC, access, Borderless Networks, business, Cisco, community, mobility, network, rout, service, Service Provider, small, social media, support, switch, wireless