Digital Lifescapes

I read the book “ Connecting the Dots ” by John Chambers from the perspective of an industry insider, having worked within the internet sector since the mid-90s, and also previously as an employee at Cisco Systems for six years. I believe that Mr. Chambers was instrumental in helping to make ‘strategic communications’ an essential part of the company’s high-growth culture. Therefore, I’ll elaborate on a key topic, highlighted in Chapter Four of the book -- “Embrace Your Purpose, Not Your Products.” Cisco is often referred to as a ‘bellwether’ stock, meaning it’s a leading indicator of the direction of the economy, or of a sector of the market, or the market as a whole. How did Cisco achieve that eminence with a remarkable internet-enabled worldview? It was partly via commercial storytelling . "Together, we did play a critical role in changing how the world works, lives, learns, and plays." - John T. Chambers Rise Above the Me-Too Vendor Noise In an industry that...

The legacy enterprise networking environment within enterprise data centers continues to transition away from proprietary platforms to more open standards-based solutions. Traditional hardware vendors will gradually embrace the trend, as their customers seek to lower networking costs and improve performance. Software-defined networking (SDN) is approaching adoption by an early majority of enterprises and will compose nearly 40 percent of global enterprise network infrastructure revenue -- that's about $12.7 billion by 2020 -- according to the latest market study by Technology Business Research (TBR). Vendor revenue displacement will be incremental during this time, as SDN solutions largely coexist with legacy networking technologies. However, the ongoing virtualization of network functions is already starting to disrupt the incumbent status-quo. SDN Market Development Opportunities "Today’s business environment is characterized by globally distributed pools of informat...

There once was a time when traditional telecom service provider networking vendors were gratified that their proprietary platforms ensured continued success. As long as carrier customers agreed to buy products that locked them into the market leader's technology and associated ecosystems, they were assured high-profit margins and limited competition. In fact, not that long ago, some industry analysts actually believed that Cisco could maintain 50%+ market share in several of their product categories, for an unlimited period of time. After all, they had already achieved that goal -- in some cases, for more than two decades. The market outlook seemed to be predictable, until one day it wasn't. Why Telecom Networking is Primed for Disruption For the past several years, the telecom industry has been moving toward a major network and operational transformation epitomized by software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) with the top goals of autom...

Public cloud computing continues to impact all other forms of IT spending. Few enterprise CIOs and IT managers will increase spending on traditional data center servers, while many plan to increase their spending on converged infrastructure, according to the latest market study by 451 Research. Moreover, those organizations that have the skilled technical staff are starting to make the switch to lower-cost open hyperscale infrastructure for the compelling economic advantages. This recent market study also shows that nearly 17 percent of survey respondents are 'very likely' to switch vendors over the next 90 days. "Commoditization of x86 systems is catalyzing competition as decision-makers increasingly consider alternatives, including white-box (unbranded) servers. A growing opportunity exists for those vendors that can position their offerings to address key customer needs," said Nikolay Yamakawa, senior analyst at 451 Research . Fifty-two percent of 'Stand...

Worldwide, public internet traffic characteristics will continue to evolve. According to the latest Cisco  Visual Networking Index  (VNI) Forecast, the annual Internet Protocol (IP) traffic will triple between 2014 and 2019, when it will reach a record 2 zettabytes. By 2019, more than 14 percent of monthly global IP traffic will come from cellular mobile connections and 53 percent of monthly IP traffic will come from Wi-Fi connections -- that's 67 percent of the total monthly IP traffic. Cisco now predicts that global IP traffic will reach 168 exabytes per month by 2019 -- that's up from 59.9 exabytes per month in 2014. In 2019, nearly as much traffic will traverse global IP networks than all prior Internet-years combined. "It took 32 years -- from 1984 to 2016 -- to generate the first zettabyte of IP traffic annually. However, as this year’s VNI forecasts, it will take only three additional years to reach the next zettabyte milestone when there will be more than 2 z...

The traditional enterprise networking market will continue to evolve as more companies deploy new technologies to increase overall efficiency and productivity, drive revenue growth, and secure their essential network infrastructure. The overall enterprise networking market will grow at a 5.9 percent CAGR through 2018, reaching $99 billion in revenue -- due to double-digit CAGRs in the wireless networks and security segments, according to the latest global market study by Technology Business Research (TBR). Fueled by a 7.2 percent CAGR, professional services will become the largest revenue segment by 2018, as vendors such as Cisco evolve their legacy hardware-based business models to facilitate engagement with Line-of-Business buyers through a services-led approach. Traditional hardware segments -- such as IP network infrastructure and unified communications and collaboration -- will grow at low single-digit rates due to the ongoing adoption of cloud computing and software define...

The introduction of open source software platforms and bare-metal systems into the legacy enterprise network realm will eventually disrupt the status-quo for leading vendors that have previously benefited from the lack of unruly innovation. Meanwhile, established vendors can still take advantage of the apparent resistance to change within many traditional IT organizations that depend upon the conservative leadership of cautious CIOs. Results from the latest market study by Technology Business Research (TBR) indicate growth in the enterprise networking market is accelerating, as demand for cloud, mobility and security solutions -- particularly in developed markets -- escalated and major suppliers leveraged their dominant market positions to capture customer spending. Total enterprise networking revenue among the benchmarked companies grew 4.3 percent year-to-year in the first half of 2014, that's more than the 0.9 percent growth in second half of 2013. Vendors capitalized on...

Marketing leaders at multinational companies within the Technology, Media and Telecom (TMT) sectors have witnessed the slow but consistent decline of the trade publications that once dominated the marketplace -- as the go-to media for specific industry news and vendor insights. Today, many of these legacy trade media organizations within the TMT sectors are barely able to maintain solvency as advertising revenue continues to decline faster than they can find sponsors of their high-cost events. Ceasing their print publications did help to improve overall profitability, but losses have continued. Besides, the perpetual stream of displaced trade media senior editorial staff meant that most publishers lack the talent to research the marketplace and write meaningful or substantive stories. The remaining junior editors can barely keep up with re-purposing press releases into articles -- so that the few remaining advertisers are appeased with the promise that significant reader traffi...

As you may recall, according the the latest Cisco VNI forecast, global mobile data traffic will grow 13-fold from 2012 to 2017, with a compound annual growth rate of 66 percent. Moreover, mobile traffic per user will reach 2,037 megabytes per month in 2017 -- that's up from 201 megabytes per month in 2012, with a CAGR of 56 percent. Mobile network service providers around the globe have been investing in infrastructure, in anticipation of the growing demand for mobile internet access via the increased adoption of smartphones. ABI Research found that while the overall 2012 wireless network equipment market was quite challenging for infrastructure vendors, the incessant demand for 3G and 4G mobile broadband will continue to drive significant new investment in mobile packet core equipment. As a result, the mobile packet data core network infrastructure market will reach $1.8 billion in 2013. "Continued growth in 3G and 4G traffic will propel the mobile packet core infra...

As people increasingly demand more flexible workplace environments, enterprise IT departments are being pressured to incorporate Wi-Fi wireless access and functionality into their set of network features. According to the latest market study by In-Stat , this trend will lead to an increase in demand for wireless access points (WAPs). "Out of this opportunity, comes stiff competition. Industry giants such as Cisco are facing increasing pressure from smaller companies that focus wholly on the WLAN," says Brad Shaffer, Research Analyst at In-Stat. Companies like Meru Networks are already taking small bites out of the traditional industry leader portion of the pie. Meru has seen notable growth in WAP shipments and installed customer base. According to a recent press release, in the fourth quarter of 2010 Meru's installed base increased nearly 50 percent year-over-year. In-Stat estimates Meru Networks experienced a 19 percent increase in their WAP market share in 2010. ...

In December, Cisco Systems launched the Cisco Connected 360 Apple iPad app -- the on-the-move resource for Service Providers -- that's part of a growing trend where companies are co-creating and packaging content intended for consumption on new multimedia-enabled mobile devices. eMarketer reports that business executives have been reliant on a mobile phone for years, giving them a lifeline to their work while away from the office. Moreover, as smartphones become entrenched into all aspects of life, and more tech-savvy executives move up the ranks, opportunities for business-to-business (B2B) marketers are improving. Among C-suite executives surveyed in October 2010 by Forbes Insights, 82 percent had a smartphone -- far above smartphone penetration in the population as a whole. For a majority of executives, their mobile device is considered their primary business communications tool. The oldest survey respondents were the group least comfortable with making a business purch...

Multi-Service Business Gateway (MSBG) equipment manufacturers have shifted their focus from the U.S. enterprise branch-office market to small businesses and selected vertical markets around the world, according to the latest market study by In-Stat . Here in Austin Texas, CLEAR recently launched its 4G WiMAX wireless service -- continuing their Cisco 4G WiMAX solutions deployment -- including service offerings specifically targeted at local small businesses. According to In-Stat, worldwide MSBG revenue is expected to grow slowly from $729 million in 2009 to $951 million in 2013. MSBGs are defined as products purposely designed for small business and branch office applications that integrate multiple communication voice, data, and video functions into a single device. Since 2007, the number of enterprise branch offices in the U.S. has declined by nearly 6 percent to 1.48 million establishments. Small business start-ups and the expansion of enterprise branch offices are expected to cli...

Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico doesn't usually come to mind when most online gamers think of where to engage in their favorite pastime. That may very well change, given today's announcement. Etvino Rogelio Medina has won the Cisco EDGE QUEST Tournament of Aces, receiving a $10,000 cash prize, plus a Cisco Aggregation Services (ASR) 1002 Router, valued at approximately $35,000. Medina serves as a network administrator for Omnilife de Mexico in Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico. Cisco EDGE QUEST was an online game introduced in tandem with the launch of the new Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers -- the world's most powerful compact router. The game allows players to virtually experience the benefits of the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers. The Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers are driven by the new Cisco QuantumFlow Processor (QFP), the industry's first fully-integrated and programmable processing engine. The ASR 1000 Series features software virtualization to enable 'instant-on' provi...

In the very serious world of business technology and enterprise networking, is there ever a time and a place for fun and games? Cisco Systems believes that time has come, and they want you and I to join in and play along with them. Cisco has apparently found a new way to make routers fun -- yes, I really do mean entertaining. Bloggers like Brian Boyko previously shared their perspective on the initial Cisco EDGE QUEST game launch. And now Paul Young has written a commentary about the recently launched tournament of aces that offers a $10,000 prize to the winner. Cisco's Doug Webster says "Our intent with this game is to find new ways to engage with our customers and to have fun in the process." Will the company's newfound embrace of digital marketing practices change people's perspectives about the world's leading networking equipment provider. I think it will. "We've become a society where video and web 2.0 collaboration applications are shapin...

In a sea of multi-play product launch sameness, how can a forward looking broadband service provider (BSP) deliver something truly unique and remarkable for their customers? That's the question that I considered as I prepared my entry for the Cisco Connected Life Contest . Moreover, will real innovation bubble-up to the surface, and see the light of day? I wonder. Regular readers of my columns may recall that I'm eager to offer ideas and suggestions. When I was previously approached by Dell, regarding the introduction of their Idea Storm microsite, I gladly submitted my " Dell Customer Corps " concept for their consideration. Service Delivery Platform Innovation I prefer to avoid the obvious topics, and use my deep-domain knowledge to propose something off the beaten track -- so to speak. That's exactly why I decided to tackle the issue of service delivery platforms (SDP), and more specifically enhancing the consumer experience in a distinctive way. I...

As you may recall, Cisco recently created a microsite to feature their new campaign that re-positions the traditional networking equipment company as they expand and evolve their business model. The website already includes some interesting content, and I hope that they continue what they have started. The site's introduction says "When we're all connected, great things happen. Join us and see how life on the network is changing life as we know it." However, most of the content on the site is highly polished storytelling which applies the predictable voice of professionally edited marketing communications. I believe that it's ironic, because this campaign strategy is really a legacy marketing approach that's used to describe a unique and unconventional phenomenon -- ordinary people using communications and digital media composition tools without the intervention of professional journalists, videographers or PR spin-doctors. The idea behind the site has the po...

Cisco's consumer strategy will establish the company as one of the most important challengers to the old guard of the consumer electronics (CE) industry, according to the latest research from the Strategy Analytics. Cisco must address two key hurdles in order to implement the Human Network vision demonstrated at this year's CES in Las Vegas: resistance to open technology standards from service providers and maintenance of its lucrative returns in the face of wafer-thin margins and plummeting prices in the consumer electronics market. However, if the Cisco plan succeeds the field would be open for a wave of newcomers to exploit the potential of open digital IP platforms to support successive waves of device innovation, transforming today's competitive environment. "Cisco should be watched closely by every major CE and digital home player," says David Mercer, Principal Analyst at Strategy Analytics. "The company's proposals to transform technology industry...