Cisco to Introduce Larger Cius Tablet Next Year

Cisco Systems in the first half of next year will release a tablet with a larger screen than the current Cius, the first move in the company's long-term plans to introduce tablets in multiple sizes, an executive said this week.
The new tablet will be released around the spring season in the U.S., and the screen size will be larger than the 7-inch screen on the current Cius tablet, said Chuck Fontana, director of Cius product management at Cisco.
"We're still working through the details of the exact form factor, but that work is under way," Fontana said, adding that the tablet size is being evaluated based on customer demand.
The company is looking at multiple screen sizes, but a lot of research is around tablets with 10-inch to 11-inch screens, Fontana said. buy Cisco is also looking at smaller Android devices with 3.5-inch to 5-inch screens from where users can access videoconferencing, collaboration and virtual desktop tools.
"The same Cius experience you'll be seeing on other form factors," Fontana said.
After delays and a long trial run, Cisco's Cius tablet start shipping in July and is targeted at businesses. The tablet has Google's Android 2.2 OS, which is code-named Froyo, and Intel's mobile processor, which is code-named Moorestown.
Cius is currently priced at US$725, higher than the iPad 2, which is priced starting at $499. The tablet is not available in retail stores and competes with business tablets such as recently introduced Hewlett-Packard's Slate 2, which has an 8.9-inch screen, and Dell's Latitude ST, which has a 10-inch screen.
Fontana described Cius as an "endpoint" device that can be used as a virtual desktop or as a mobile device for communication or collaboration. The device works with Cisco's TelePresence videoconferencing system, WebEx tools and other applications including Quad, a collaboration tool also available for the iPad and iPhone. Virtualization software from VMware and Citrix allows the tablet to run a virtualized Windows desktop. The tablet also provides access to Android Market and Cisco's AppHQ, which carries business applications tested and certified by the company.
Cisco is also working with Intel to upgrade the current Cius to Google's Android 4.0, also called Ice Cream Sandwich, and the new OS can be expected by fall, Fontana said. He declined comment on whether the new larger screen tablet would come with Android 4.0.
There are no current plans to put Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 in the Cius tablet, but the company is keeping all hardware and software options open, Fontana said. The company is proceeding with Android, as wholesale Cisco applications can expand to other Android devices, iPads and iPhones.
Use of the Cius is growing in the enterprise as applications move to the cloud and businesses increasingly find ways to use tablets, Fontana said. There is a demand for larger screens, so one of Cisco's immediate focus is to upgrade its tablet lineup. The current Cius is being used in hospitals for doctors to interact and access documents, and by Cox Communications field workers for customer support.
Larger screens are useful in businesses, especially in dealing with rich media and for those who want wider screens but don't have a dock or a monitor, Fontana said. It will be possible to dock larger-screen Cius devices on desktop phones, and will provide a PC-like experience via secure access to virtual desktops hosted on servers.
"Some people don't want a device that's more mobile, they want something that's an endpoint that's both a videophone and a virtual desktop," Fontana said.
Smaller devices with 3.5-inch to 5-inch screens are also under consideration, Fontana said. These devices could resemble smartphones in size, but will be smaller cousins of the larger tablets, with access to enterprise collaboration, communication and virtual desktop tools.
"It's another [unified communications] endpoint. Everything you can do on the 7-inch Cius today you can do on a 5-inch as well. The use cases are, some people just want something they can put in their pocket," Fontana said.
For instance, smaller-screen Cius devices could resemble smartphones and be alternatives to older devices like Cisco's old IP phones which are currently popular portable devices for voice and video.
The company this week introduced a model of its current Cius 7-inch device for AT&T's 4G network. The company will also introduce a Cius for Verizon's LTE network soon, Fontana said.

Why Cisco?Reasons to Choose Cisco for Enterprise, SOHO and Home Network

Cisco, famous for supplying all kinds of network equipment and flexible networking solution for small to large business, definitely, is the premier network gear provider worldwide. Owning large numbers of fans,buy Cisco is always proud of providing the platform for campus, branch, data center, and wide-area networks that are highly available while integrating security at all levels of the network, helping to ensure the optimized delivery of application and communications, and providing inherent manageability. How to achieve it? Why Cisco? Let’s figure out what makes Cisco become NO.1 in the networking solution and device.

Several reasons help Cisco to be the computer networking giant

Reliability

used network hardware is extremely reliable and Cisco has an excellent history in helping diagnose and fix any software issues with their equipment. Cisco offer 24*7*365 support which covers technical support and advanced hardware replacement.

Manageability

Managed switches provide remarkably better uptime as a result of enhanced diagnostics, allowing trained engineers to isolate network problems in a fraction of the time required with old-fashioned hunt and pluck troubleshooting. used cisco equipment Router management features allow sophisticated configuration, utilization tracking, and diagnostics. Advanced features, like BGP enable non-stop Internet connectivity, and really separate Cisco from the pack.

Scalability

Cisco solutions easily scale from Small Business Start-ups that want reliable managed workgroup switches to Enterprise-class Corporations that demand flawless uptime, need secure wireless networks, managed layer 2 and 3 switches, dependable routing, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and the software to manage it all.

Variety

Wide range of Cisco network products are offered, including routers, switches, VPN concentrators, wireless, firewalls, IP Phones VOIP, etc. Satisfying Cisco fans by providing various Cisco network equipment and solutions.

Interoperability

Cisco provides legendary interoperability, providing real assurance that your investment in Cisco gear is ready for whatever tomorrow brings.

Enterprise Class Features

Depends on the router capabilities and the IOS image you have, you can have an enterprise class features in your LAN. Advance firewall system, Intrusion Detection System, Multicast handling, VoIP, all of that you can have just by upgrading your Cisco routers later when your company got bigger.

Cost

Compared with other manufacturers, Cisco suppliers often provide a very competitive price of Cisco network equipment. New, refurbished and used Cisco routers, switches, firewall security, and so on, all different cisco used equipment items are offered on the market for you to choose. If you want to save money, used and refurbished Cisco network products is not a bad choice.

Nowadays, business requires a network platform that enables technology innovation and business-critical services across the entire network.Cisco has ability to provide an end-to-end network platform tied together by a common infrastructure and a common operating system, and manageable as a single, cohesive entity. Why choose Cisco? That’s it.

Cisco shoots down talk of phone flaws

Cisco is coming out in support of an upcoming presentation on hacking techniques for voice over IP (VoIP) systems.

Security testing firm HackLabs is planning to hold a one day tutorial on security testing for VoIP systems, which will include sections discussing Cisco router communications platforms. The tutorial will take place on Thursday at the AusCERT security conference.

Though news of the session initially lead to speculation that researchers would be disclosing 'zero day' security flaws in Cisco's VoIP systems, a company spokesperson told V3.co.uk that it does not believe any new flaws will be reported.

"We have spoken with both the conference organizers and presenters ahead of the upcoming AusCERT 2011 tutorial on VoIP Security Testing," the Cisco routers spokesperson said.

"They have confirmed that no new security vulnerabilities will be revealed."

The spokesperson noted Cisco's history of working with researchers and said that in this case, it even supports the aim of the HackLabs tutorial.

"We understand their presentation will reference the importance of securing IP phones in line with the manufacturer's installation and configuration recommendations," the spokesperson said.

"We support this message and recommend it as a best practice for our customers."

Though Cisco is best known for its network infrastructure and enterprise hardware platforms, the company has long been involved in cyber security initiatives and research operations.

At this year's RSA conference, the company introduced a software architecture designed to support reputation-based security measures, while the 2010 RSA show saw Cisco researchers give an overview of the notorious Zeus malware.

Cisco Announces Cloud-Based Products For Branch Offices

Cisco announced Tuesday two new cloud-based products aimed at branch offices and remote locations.

The first is the Cisco router Flex 7500 Series Cloud Controller, a LAN controller that enables the central management of up to 500 branch locations and 2,000 access points from one data center. It allows IT managers to remotely configure wireless policies, management, and security settings without having to physically be in the branch location.

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The benefit for small branch offices to have a controller, rather than standalone access points at multiple sites, is that a controller brings consistency, allows you to more easily manage access points and upgrade firmware, and provides more simple troubleshooting, Sylvia Hooks, senior manager of mobility marketing for Cisco, said in an InformationWeek interview.

"Taken all together and when you put that into a data center, we're minimizing the need to put IT experts in the store, so we're minimizing that support burden that is difficult to fulfill in many branch offices," Hooks said.

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This is the case at Bass Pro Shops, a model client Cisco cites. Bass Pro Shops implemented the 7500 controller two months ago to centralize the management of wireless connections for its 54 retail stores, corporate headquarters, and distribution facility.

"By deploying a Cisco Flex 7500 Series Cloud Controller, we will be able to reduce costs by eliminating the need for a controller at each store to manage the wireless networks, while also reducing the amount of interaction needed by store personnel," Steve Marshall, director of IT services at Bass Pro Shops, said in a statement.

Cisco routers also introduced the Integrated Services Router Web Security software for the ISR G2 branch router. The software extends Cisco's ScanSafe Cloud Web Security and allows organizations to deploy cloud-based Web security and Web usage policies, enabling secure local Internet access for branch offices and users.

The security software addresses a trend Cisco has seen in branch offices: LAN bottlenecks caused by increasing bandwidth usage have driven some organizations to use a tunnel traffic over the Internet, which increases the security vulnerabilities of an organization.

"What we've done with Cisco ISR Web Security is to provide an intelligent software solution in all branch-office routers to intelligently redirect all the Internet access directly to cloud-based, ScanSafe security towers, rather than backhauling all traffic through data center," Prashanth Shenoy, senior manager of borderless networks marketing at Cisco, said in an InformationWeek interview.

The benefits include a reduction in hardware for security, including routers, and cloud-based security monitoring, Shenoy said. The new software will be available in July for $2,495, plus an annual Cisco ScanSafe service subscription.

The Cisco Flex 7500 Series Cloud Controller is available now; pricing starts at $47,995.

Cisco On Networking: 'You Get What You Pay For'

Cisco on Wednesday took to the Web to defend against an increasingly prevalent criticism: that its end-to-end network architecture approach -- and the prices buy cisco router commands for ubiquitous networking products like switches -- is costing customers more than they need to be paying.

It's quite the opposite, argued Cisco: while commodity networking products might seem cheaper on an acquisition cost by acquisition cost basis, its single-vendor network vision is in fact what will preserve companies for the long haul by future-proofing their networks and offering better total cost of ownership (TCO).

In other words, infrastructure that's merely "good enough," Cisco says, won't be able to handle the demands of security, mobility, robustness, video and ROI placed on the networks of the future.

"There's a debate raging about whether the network really matters," said Rob Lloyd, Cisco's executive vice president, worldwide operations, during Cisco's Wednesday Webcast. "One one side, we have many new vendors to the networking industry who believe the value of the network should be determined by the cost of its components and that customers should focus on acquisition costs."

The Webcast -- served up in concert with a viral video and declarative white paper from Cisco -- is a thinly veiled counterattack by Cisco aimed at rival HP and other competitors looking to paint the networking titan as unnecessarily expensive and exclusive.

Criticism of Cisco's approach has also stepped up in the industry as it's experienced declines in its core networking technology businesses and taken lumps from a number of recent public relations headaches, from an ongoing executive exodus to its restructured consumer unit.

HP has emerged as Cisco's most frequent public haranguer. But Cisco's single-vendor networking approach has been challenged by researchers like Gartner, which took Cisco to task in a Nov. 2010 report that declared that multivendor networks are more cost-effective for businesses overall.

Opting for Cisco's architectural vision instead of "commodity competitors" was the key message from Lloyd to partners at this year's Cisco Partner Summit. In the Webcast, Lloyd and Cisco executives and partners sought to portray Cisco as the network innovator -- whose ideas are the building blocks for enabling next-generation technologies like cloud computing -- rather than something assembled with commodity sales.

"The real cost," Lloyd argued Wednesday, "is in project deployment and ongoing support," not equipment sales.

Multivendor networks are one way to do it, added Mike Rau, vice president and chief technology officer for Cisco Borderless Networks, but looking at network costs that way distracts from a broader view of total cost of ownership. He cited the "large amount of test and integration work we do" at Cisco to make various technologies, from switches to security, work seamlessly.

Another way to look at it, Cisco said, is whereas a "good enough network" might allow for things like single purpose networking, bolt-on security and basic quality of service, the ideas that those things are "enough" to future-proof businesses are myths. In contrast, executives argued, Cisco architecture provides innovations like integrated security, application intelligence with optimization, a unified computing platform, and better long-term ROI and investment protection because of those things.

Rau insisted that customers need mission-critical security and application support built into networking products instead of cumbersomely managed in a multi-vendor environment. He also railed against the idea that basic warranty is sufficient for network protection -- that's "one of the biggest myths out there," he said.

"You get what you pay for," argued Rau.

One place where the heated Cisco debate is playing out dramatically is in the channel, where partners are asked to build behind Cisco's end-to-end vision and convert their Cisco sales from technology-led to architecture-inspired.

Bob Cagnazzi, president and CEO of BlueWater Communications Group, a New York-based buy Cisco switch Gold partner, joined Lloyd and Rau during the Webcast and declared his support for Cisco's vision of networking sales.

"I think it's simple when you start to [see] all the elements that can impact the network," Cagnazzi said during the webcast. "It's more than just acquisition cost. You don't have to go out very far long-term to see the benefits."

Cisco, Verizon Moving Cloud UC Service Into Beta

Cisco Systems and Verizon in July 2010 kicked off field tests of a hosted unified communications service built around new offerings from Cisco. That partnership evolved further last month, when the two businesses unveiled their Unified Communications and Collaboration as a Service offering during the Enterprise Connect conference.

At a recent briefing for analysts and journalists, officials with both companies gave an update on the service, which currently is entering the beta test phase. The enterprise communications service, offered by Verizon, in corporate Cisco’s HCS (Hosted Collaboration Suite), which includes Cisco Unified Communications Systems Release 8.0, HCS Management System and a virtualization platform, according to Eric Schoch, senior director of hosted collaboration solutions for Cisco.

The buy Cisco technology is integrated with such Verizon assets as audio conferencing, service applications, salesforce, capabilities such as ordering, billing and SLAs, and the carrier’s data center infrastructure.

“It is truly and completely a Verizon service, with key elements provided by [Cisco],” Roberta Mackintosh, director for hosted unified communication and collaboration at Verizon, said during the briefing, which was conducted via Cisco’s TelePresence and WebEx technologies.

The service currently includes such offerings as hosted e-mail, Jabber instant messaging and presence, conferencing, unified wired and wireless clients, and IP PBX. A key benefit of the cloud-based service is that it can be offered on-premise, though the cloud or in a hybrid fashion, and can be customized depending on a customer’s needs, Cisco’s Schoch said. The key is the combination of Cisco’s IaaS (infrastructure as a service), based on the company’s UCS (Unified Computing System)—and integrated all-in-one data center offering—and the services offered through Verizon.

“It enables this hybrid environment and also provides the architecture that is more suited and attuned to the enterprise,” Mackintosh said.

The companies are currently in the first phase of developing Verizon’s Unified Communications and Collaboration as a Service, according to Schoch and Mackintosh. It is a 14- to 18-month phase that will get the initial set of applications—from voice, video and messaging to IM and presence—in place.

The response from early customers has been very good, Mackintosh said. The two companies now are working with several enterprise customers, hoping to get them into the beta testing phase, she and Schoch said. Neither would name which companies they’re talking to, but promised more information later.

They also said that for the first phase, the two companies are focusing on the U.S. market. That will change down the road, Schoch said.

“This will be a very global offering,” he said.

A key part of the second phase will be incorporating some of the enterprise-level social networking technologies that Cisco has been working on into the Verizon service offerings, Mackintosh said. That includes integrating the Contact Center applications and Quad platform, which used Cisco introduced last summer. Quad offers businesses communications capabilities similar to those used in such social media environments as Facebook, including profiles, updates, microblogging, people search and autotagging.