Cisco Telepresence and the Rising of the Cloud

Cisco telepresence fits into your cloud infrastructure no matter in which location or which environment you need it in. According to a recent market survey, “innovation in the videoconferencing domain today is targeted towards enhancing connectivity…via cloud-based solutions and services or new low-cost on-site installation models.”

Attaining added connectivity for Cisco telepresence end users and to invite potential users necessitates vendors to perform on several heads, and these days we’ll assess how our cloud deployments deliver feature-rich proficiencies, scale user numbers rapidly, and aid numerous segments at reasonable cost.

Cisco’s customers want to get up and running in the minimum possible timeframe and many times need to scale users quickly across all their internal departments; interconnecting branch locations and offices, home-workers, global locations, partners and customers everywhere, at any given point in time.

To address these requirements, Cisco has enabled its partners to be able to offer tailored solutions that assimilate with their wider managed service portfolios and deliver end-to-end video-ready cooperation solutions to customers all over the world. Cisco has made this possible via the Cisco TelePresence Exchange (CTX) along with its incorporation with Cisco’s Hosted Collaboration Solution (HCS) so that partners can administer their customers’ video technology with the same efficacy and efficiency that they administer all cooperation applications. The mixture of CTX and HCS allows Telepresence-as-a-Service as part of a wider collaboration service portfolio, and empowers end users to interconnect numerous sites concurrently and securely cooperate with their ecosystem partners while providing the flexibility to purchase or lease out endpoints and leave the backend technology management to be handled by a partner.

Inside Cisco’s cloud solutions, Cisco telepresence assimilates flawlessly with Cisco’s Unified Communications and conferencing solutions, all of which use a shared architecture and pledge to open standards which allow for a dependable and consistent collaboration experience. This assists in making the addition of added connectivity simple for Cisco’s existing end users.

Cisco also supplies dependable cloud-based video integration for emergent businesses via their public WebEx Cloud. Via WebEx Telepresence, clients get a cost-effective, interoperable video collaboration experience offered as a turnkey solution developed to assist new users to get started rapidly and cost effectively. And investments will be safe if a client makes any changes to another Cisco Collaboration platform due to Cisco’s promise of building on the prevalent industry standards and a shared architecture.

Cloud and “as-a-service” models for Cisco telepresence:

  • Provide feature-rich abilities to assimilate into preexisting user environments and appeal to potential clients looking for a complete solution
  • Quickly scale with your collaboration requirements via common/shared video infrastructure to accommodate more users; and streamline visual collaboration with clients and partners over differentiated networks, devices and applications in a protected manner
  • Extend the spread of Cisco telepresence to companies of all sizes inexpensively
  • Are available as of today from Cisco partners all over the globe

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Cisco Universal IOS Packaging Explained

The abridged packaging model will streamline Software Management via four IOS enforced technology package licenses which will allow the complete suite of IOS software functionality. IOS technology package upgrades can be made by activating a new license key, minimizing the requirement for truck-rolls to distant locations. This model backs the “pay as you grow” concept by permitting purchase of upgrades as and when you need them by using the Cisco Software Licensing.

The Universal IOS image is pre-installed by Cisco manufacturing on all their routers prior to shipment. IOS Universal Image comprises of all the IOS features. The feature sets which are a part of the universal image can be activated by using licensing keys. For example, the level of IOS functionality obtainable is identified by the license activated on the hardware device. A new license only requires to be activated to enhance the IOS functionality on the Cisco router. Maintenance upgrades of IOS include transitioning from one IOS universal image version to another and do not need a new licensing key. A reboot of the router is licensing apparent as well.

Each hardware device is shipped with the Universal image. IPBase, DATA, UC (Unified Communications) and SEC (Security) technology packages are activated in the universal image by the use of Cisco Software Activation licensing keys. Each licensing Key is exclusive to a specific hardware device and is acquired from Cisco by giving the product ID and serial number of the hardware router along with a Product Activation Key (PAK), which is given by Cisco at the time the Software is purchased. Cisco installs license key(s) for software identified at the time that the router is initially purchased.

Every shipped device has an IP Base software activation key pre-installed on it by default. Supplementary keys are installed by manufacturing contingent on the client order.

The latest Cisco ISR routers also include a Software Activation feature license and Right to Use Feature licenses. The Software Activation feature licenses employ the same Software Activation model as the Technology package licenses, whereas the Right to Use Feature licenses are not prescribed. Feature licenses work in tandem with technology package licenses so that the SSLVPN feature license necessitates the SEC technology package license.

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