Cisco Extends WebEx to Include Social and Telepresence

But in today’s international workplace, simplifying in-person conferences and meetings is more and more problematic with a workforce that’s more and more rotated by time and place.  Even amongst video conferencing solutions the only solution that supplies a natural “in-person” meeting experience is Cisco telepresence . Telepresence produces the closeness of an in-room conference meeting, keeps staff engagement on a high level and proliferates efficiency by getting members together in a virtual manner.

Cisco TelePresence solutions accomodate businesses of all sizes with an extensive endpoint portfolio to meet the requirements of diversified budgets and use cases. This is of critical importance as Cisco telepresence becomes more dominant as clients expand the networks of people they are able to call.  That’s why Cisco had launched Cisco TelePresence Callway back in 2011, a cloud-based Cisco telepresence offer for mid-sized and smaller businesses.

Ongoing with these endeavors, Cisco is bringing into line its product strategy to construct a cohesive people-centric collaboration platform which includes Cisco telepresence. Cisco has launched an expanded set of collaboration capabilities from the cloud to assist with acceleration of this idea under a cohesive brand name, Cisco WebEx.  Comprised in this product launch are reorganized advantages and a branding modification for Cisco Callway to Cisco WebEx Telepresence, as well as a branding modification for Cisco Quad to Cisco WebEx Social.  An extended set of features from Cisco WebEx assists IT to rapidly supply more users with more services, all while ensuring protection, performance and dependability, and enabling users with simple access to their preferred collaboration tools from any device.

Cisco is exclusively placed to provide new services from the cloud founded on industry leading experience via Cisco WebEx, which currently provides the world’s second biggest public cloud for business collaboration solutions. Via the new release of Cisco WebEx Telepresence available by the end of June 2012, Cisco has included added advantages in the subscriptions like:

  • Allowing users the capability to have numerous members on the WebEx Telepresence network join their video calls
  • Unified management of installations via an online user interface
  • Support for new endpoints and devices

Furthermore, subscription tiers have been streamlined and users can take advantage of pre-paying for yearly contracts at a cheaper pricing structure.

In line with what users appreciated from the Cisco Callway service, Cisco WebEx Telepresence provides quick endpoint activation via an Internet connection and maintenance/management controlled by the service via automatic version upgrades.  Users can connect to members by using video conferencing systems on differentiated networks; allowing the users get the maximum out of their IT investments, and enabling Cisco’s current telepresence users to connect to partners and their clients who may be utilizing the Cisco WebEx Telepresence service.  Cisco WebEx Telepresence is obtainable in the U.S. and Canada and sold via Cisco’s channel partners.

Cisco is dedicated to conveying communications-improving video collaboration to enterprises everywhere, no matter the size or budget involved. You can explore Cisco WebEx Telepresence to learn more about the services and hear from Cisco’s satisfied clients.  And please do let us know in case you have any further queries—we would love to assist you in seeing what Cisco telepresence via the cloud can do for your business.

To speak to our Cisco Specialists, please click here.

TelePresence and WebEx Unite to Give You the Best of Both Worlds

What is the significance of this unification?With the existence of tens of thousands of Cisco TelePresence endpoints and in excess of 30 million active WebEx solution users, Cisco endeavoured to make B2B video collaboration easier than ever before in the past. By unifying Cisco’s market leading online Web conference solution, WebEx, with the market leading enterprise high-quality video features present in Cisco’s TelePresence solutions Cisco is facilitating an all-in-one meeting with anybody, anywhere, on any hardware device.

Augmented to function with any standards-based video endpoints, Cisco TelePresence and WebEx assists enterprises to widen the reach of video collaboration and streamline the experience for all members.

What can Cisco’s clients expect by this amalgamation of these two powerful collaboration solutions?

I’ve delineated a few advantages below:

  • Simplicity of Use
    • With One Button to Push (OBTP) you can schedule, simply begin and join in a meeting, WebEx users are able to join by clicking on the WebEx link given to them in the meeting invite
    • You can expect a unified and familiar experience irrespective of whether they select to join a meeting using telepresence or WebEx
  • Flexibility
    • You can invite anybody, selecting to utilize TelePresence and or WebEx, based on who is being invited inside their enterprise or outside via a personalized email invitation
    • These conferences can be planned and performed using tools you are used to like Outlook
    • Via Cisco Jabber, users can interconnect using mobile phones or tablet devices
  • Improved Conferencing Experience
    • Via Cisco TelePresence endpoints users are empowered to experience the finest, realistic video to improve the collaboration experience
    • High definition (HD) video with up to 720p resolution amongst Cisco TelePresence endpoints and WebEx providing a premium experience
    • Share content in the most secure manner inside a conference– like applications and desktop content
  • Scalability
    • Enlarge meeting options for enterprises to simply make video collaboration accessible for anybody to be utilized more widely inside and outside of the enterprise
    • Scale face to face communications through the whole business to nurture and facilitate increased collaboration

This announcement further supports Cisco’s vision of pervasive conferencing  and making video technologies as simplified as voice. It’s a result of Cisco’s exertions to amalgamate the greatest and brightest in Cisco’s solution offerings to improve simplicity of use and flexibility.

Click here to find out more about how TelePresence and WebEx are working in tandem to make an environment where people can work together with ease, from any place and from any device.

To speak to our Cisco Specialists, please click here.

Software Licensing for Data Centers is Evolving due to Virtualization

To mirror this novel reality, software wholesalers and Information Technology departments have been searching for methods to fine-tune existing licensing models. IT staffs also would like to minimize the licensing expenditures via economies of scale and precise data about how many licenses are really required.

Two new Cisco products now assist Cisco IT in considerably minimizing the costs associated with licensing OSs and App Software in the data center:

   The Cisco UCS B420 M3 Blade Servers possess the super-dense memory which enables you to provide up to 192 virtual machines per blade server. For OS licenses, you purchase one license with infinite guests for the blade. You are able to configure as guests all of the virtual machines (VMs) hosted on that specific server blade. This method implies that some of your OS licensing costs are 80% less than what they would have been if you had purchased individual licenses for each Virtual Machine (VM).

   Cisco’s Intelligent Automation for Cloud (Cisco IAC) is basically an orchestration software which you can employ to create the virtual machine instances. For App Software licensing, you can also employ Cisco IAC to keep track of the quantity of licenses actually deployed, then you can buy those licenses at a negotiated volume discount from Cisco. This methodology can be less costly than purchasing an enterprise license having unlimited number of users.

Another benefit for your IT staff is that you will not have to keep guessing how many licenses you require at the start of your contract term. Rather you can simply analyze Cisco IAC counts to “pay as you grow,” so that you are only purchasing licenses at the contract price when you really require them.

Precise license counts are also advantageous for vendors with the peace of mind that you will not be using more licenses than you have paid for. License tracking has been difficult problem between vendors and IT departments for a long time now as “true-up” counts can be very problematic to do without the automation and cloud standpoints supplied by the Cisco IAC.

However, there is one caveat for this: Diverse software vendors delineate their licenses in different manners so a given vendor’s license coverage & terms are continuously subject to changes.

Since virtualization plays a more and more greater role in more data centers, we anticipate that licensing choices will continue to evolve. We suggest you take a look at your virtualization strategies and licensing models with the target of harmonizing your hardware investments with the capability to minimize licensing costs.

To learn more, please speak to our licensing specialists today.

Achieve Improved Business Outcomes Quickly with Data Virtualization

The challenges of making better informed business decisions in a highly networked globalized structure isn’t a shortage of data. It’s having data existing in multiple systems, global sites and locations, hidden away in spreadsheets and in people’s heads.

Nearly every enterprise is faced with this data compartmentalized challenge to a greater or lesser degree. But how enterprises tackle it makes all the difference between rising to become a market leader or just an “also-ran.” The fact of the matter is that improved information will lead to improved decision-making and much better business outcomes. It is an established fact that data-powered organizations are at least 5% more industrious and 6% more lucrative as compared to the competition.

Having the capability to simply gain access and make use of huge data stores has always been a rather difficult proposition. However, in the past few years, the problem has been exacerbated by 10 times. If it was just a matter of more data, then more computing and database horsepower could resolve it. The larger problems for organizations are flourishing data silos and ever-increasing distribution.

Data Virtualization is the Key

Industry-prominent companies are tackling this challenge head on with the use of data virtualization. Data virtualization is an agile information assimilation methodology which enterprises can use to:

  • Obtain more insights from their respective data
  • React quicker to accelerating analytics/business intelligence needs
  • Minimize costs by 50-75% as compared to data replication & consolidation methods

   Data virtualization conceptualizes information from manifold sources and transparently brings it in one location to give you a cohesive, approachable view of the information that you require.

Equipped with fast and simple access to critical information, users can examine it with their preferred business intelligence/analytics tools to power a diverse range of business outcomes. As an example, they can enhance customer profitability, bring products to the market more quickly, minimize the costs and lower the involved risks.

To learn more, please speak to our licensing specialists today.

Licenses and Warranties for the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches – Part 1

Companies can now transparently upgrade the software feature set in the Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches via Cisco IOS Software CLI by the use of the right to use (RTU)-based software upgrade procedure. Software activation empowers the Cisco IOS Software feature groups. Founded on the license’s category, Cisco IOS Software triggers the suitable feature set. License types can be altered, or upgraded, to trigger a different feature set.

The three feature sets which are available for all Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches are:

  1. LAN Base: Enterprise Access with Layer 2 switching features
  2. IP Base: Enterprise Access with Layer 3 switching features
  3. IP Services: Advanced Enterprise Access with Layer 3 switching (IPv4 and IPv6) features

No PAK (product activation key) is compulsory for software licensing in the Cisco Catalyst 3850 series switches. Cisco Catalyst 3850 series switches employ a trust-based RTU licensing model. While placing the order, the customer simply indicates the requisite license requirement and then receives an electronic or paper license for entitlement purposes.

There are two main types of Cisco Catalyst 3850 series switches licenses: the Permanent RTU license and the Evaluation RTU license. These are offered for both image-based licensing (IP Base or IP Services) and AP count licensing.

A permanent RTU license is a paid license having no expiration date. The universal Cisco IOS XE Software-based images possess all three license levels: LAN Base, IP Base, and IP Services. RTU CLI commands enable the switch license to be relocated amongst different license levels.

An evaluation RTU license permits the client to assess image-based and/or AP count license for 90 days at no cost.

To find out more, please speak with our Cisco Licensing Specialists here.

The Capabilities of Cisco Mobility Express Solution

To help companies sort out their mobility requirements, Cisco has introduced the Cisco Mobility Express solution which is precisely developed to deliver enterprise class Wi-Fi solutions for small to medium-sized businesses.

As the most easy-to-install and cost-effective solution in Cisco’s wireless range, the Mobility Express Solution, which has been built on Cisco’s industry-leading technology, has the following key features:

   Streamlines Deployment—Without the requirement of a dedicated controller appliance, it is able to be deployed in less than 10 minutes, managing up to 25 Access Points and supporting up to 500 clients in a single cluster. The Cisco Wireless Mobile Application is now available for iOS and Android, and can be utilized to configure and manage this wireless management solution.

   Supports 802.11ac—the solution will be shipped with Cisco Aironet 1830 or 1850 Series 802.11ac Wave 2 Access Points, allowing you to get benefits like increased bandwidth for more apps and enhanced client density. You can also have Cisco 802.11ac Wave 1 and 802.11n Access Points included as a part of the Mobility Express Cluster, which gives investment security as your organization continues to grow.

   Gives new experiences for end-users–Enhanced for Small Scale BYOD, CYOD, Guest Access and Internet of Things/Internet of Everything implementations, you get the chance to generate new mobile experiences for your end-users and clients.

What does the Cisco Mobility Express Solution do for your organization?

We will share two experiences from a couple of users of Cisco’s Mobility Express Solution below.

“Go Digital” Education Directives Streamlined with Cisco Mobility Express

Classes in the Academic sector going digital? The Cisco Mobility Express Solution may help meet developing online learning directives flawlessly.

Cisco’s Mobility Express Solution enables educators with reliable, protected and simple-to-manage network access which stimulates connective and collaborative learning.

With Cisco’s Mobility Express Solution, even the smallest of schools/colleges/universities can get access to the bandwidth required to meet new digital mandates– all this within minutes and without the requirement for higher levels of IT support.

“Bringing Enterprise Class Solutions to Small/Medium Hospitality Sector”

In the highly competitive hospitality sector, unified, reliable and quick Wi-Fi connections and analytics can vastly influence revenue and guest contentment. With the Cisco Mobility Express Solution— an enterprise class Wi-Fi in an easy, inexpensive solution developed for small to medium deployments— united with the Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX) Cisco’s location-based solution, everyone can now have a five-star experience!

From a cozy bed and breakfasts to mid-size business-focused hospitality, the Cisco Mobility Express and Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences solutions provide the insights and analytics which operatives need to rejuvenate and distinguish guest engagement and business goals.

What’s more? To support the introduction of its Mobility Express solution, Cisco is growing its CCNA Wireless Certification with the addition of support for its new access points and 802.11ac technology training. This certification is available as of now, as well as the Cisco Cloud-Based Predictive RF Planner Tool and two improved analytics solutions named Presence Analytics and Social Analytics as a component of its Connective Mobile Experiences coding.

To find out more, please speak with our Cisco Licensing Specialists here.