This post was written by Katie Bumper
Cisco will launch its first products developed specially for small businesses in January. The new products are for video surveillance, data storage and wireless office communications. Cisco said to reach small and medium businesses (SMBs), the company will embark on a campaign focusing on business capabilities and the benefits of complete solutions rather than on products and technologies. The six-month integrated campaign called “One Voice” comes on the back of Cisco’s recent announcement of a US$100 million investment in its global small business initiative.
Cisco has created its own channel on the green.tv platform. The channel launches with a series of films focused on Cisco’s Connected Urban Development initiative, which looks at how to reduce carbon emissions through improvements in the efficiency of the urban infrastructure made possible by information and communications technology (ICT) such as Cisco(R) TelePresence. Future programs will focus on creating sustainable cities, virtual collaboration, mobility solutions and smart energy solutions. green.tv has partnerships with some of the world’s leading environmental organisations, including the United Nations Environment Programme and Greenpeace.
AlgoSec Inc., the leading provider of Firewall Operations and Security Risk Management solutions, has unveiled a solution to enable Cisco PIX Security Appliances users to seamlessly upgrade to Cisco Inc.’s ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances. The migration offering is a natural extension of the AlgoSec Firewall Analyzer (AFA) Product Suite, providing enterprises a solution to verify that no errors or risks are introduced during the upgrade. With the Cisco PIX appliance end-of-sale deadline of July 28 approaching, organizations are increasingly turning to AlgoSec to ensure business continuity, reduce risk and maintain compliance through efficient migration.
Cisco® has announced a media processing platform that simplifies live and on-demand media sharing across PCs, mobile devices and other digital screens, by seamlessly formatting video for viewing on any device. The create once and share anywhere Cisco Media Processing platform provides media conversion, real-time post production, editing, formatting, and network distribution capabilities in a single networked solution to help businesses develop targeted visual communications that drive intimacy with employees and customers. The first product being introduced within the Cisco Media Processing portfolio is the Cisco Media Experience Engine (MXE) 3000.
Cisco Systems Inc. announced that its security appliances can crash while handling Jumbo Ethernet frames. Cisco has published a software patch designed to address a denial of service vulnerability in its Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) appliances. Although IPS systems are designed to block common hacker attacks and exploits, a big in the devices meant that “kernel panic” leading to a crash might be induced when processing Jumbo Ethernet packets. The flaw only applies where Cisco IPS platforms have Gigabit network interfaces installed and where these are deployed in inline mode.
The sales of Cisco System Inc. were the highest among security appliance providers during the first quarter of 2008, despite the higher average selling prices of Cisco’s platforms. According to a market researcher, aggregate revenues for content security appliances and software totaled close to $431 million in the first quarter. Annual revenues are expected to increase 24% in 2008.
Cisco announced that the new Yankee Stadium, set to open April 2009, has been outfitted with state-of-the-art Cisco(R) technologies, giving New York Yankees fans the most wired, connected and video-enabled stadium in all of baseball. A new Cisco technology called Cisco StadiumVision(TM) will be central to the fan experience at the ballpark, providing fans with the most technologically advanced game-day experience in baseball, while maximizing the great historical tradition of the Yankees organization. Fans will be able to view sports news and scores, weather and traffic while never missing a moment of game action on the field.
Cisco Systems Inc. says its opportunity in the video segment is $10 billion over the next 3-5 years, not including network upgrades required to support video applications. While physical security alone is an $8 billion market, TelePresence virtual conferencing alone is accounting for Cisco’s biggest product ramp, according to Marthin DeBeer, senior vice president of Emerging Technologies. According to DeBeer, Cisco has 100 customers for its TelePresence virtual conference rooms, and each customer has equipped anywhere from 50 to 200 office rooms with the system.
NW Tech Capital Inc. has announced that its newly acquired subsidiary, Teledigit Inc., has become a Select Certified Registered Partner with Cisco Systems. Teledigit will now be offering the Cisco Unified Communications Product line, featuring the industry best in IP, SIP, and VoIP communications. Focusing mainly on the Small & Medium Businesses (SMB) market target, Teledigit will be offering the Unified Communications 500 Series for Small Business, which unifies voice, video, data, and mobile applications on fixed and mobile networks, delivering a media-rich collaboration experience across business workspaces.