Cisco’s goal is to deliver best-in-class solutions that make a difference for our customers and the world. But, just as important, we are committed to delivering those solutions in lockstep with our partners. Our partners enjoy a unique vantage point because they work with Cisco, as well as with other industry leaders. So, when The Channel Company’s CRN 2018 Products of the Year awards were announced recently, we were honored to see partners had elevated Cisco to the top in multiple product categories!
CRN editors made their decision by reviewing top new products on the market across 22 technology categories. Then they polled partners to help choose winners and finalists who outperformed on technology, revenue and profit opportunities, and customer demand.
We have teams around the world—spanning all functions—working day and night, driving R&D innovation, and bringing those innovations to market together with our partners. It’s truly a team effort. And we are incredibly appreciative of the recognition CRN and our partners bestowed on us, because it’s an extended family that makes all of the magic possible.
Now, the envelopes please:
Cisco received 3 overall wins in these categories:
Software-Defined Networking: Cisco SD-WAN
Partners liked the end-to-end capability boost from integrating the Viptela platform we acquired to the Cisco IOS XE software. CRN says improvements that pushed this networking solution to the top of the list included, “centralized management and visibility, optimized connectivity and automated workflows.” Partners can learn more about Cisco DS-WAN here.
Networking: Cisco Catalyst 9000 Updates
Highlights in this series of switches included the Network Assurance Engine and Cisco DNA Center Assurance, part of our intent-based networking platform. Partners noted the benefit of a phased approach that gives customers all the consumer analytics they’re looking for, in a way that allows for an intelligent stack on existing network operations – meaning the most functionality with the least disruption.Learn more about the fastest selling switch in Cisco history here.
Collaboration: Cisco Webex Updates
The new version of Webex Meetings received praise for its updated dashboard, streamlined scheduling and one-button joining capabilities. Partners liked the new Webex Assistant and Webex Share features that allow for a better user experience across all devices. The decision to bring the Spark platform into the rebranded Webex Teams also helped us stand out from the crowd. Learn more about our collaboration solutions here. Our collaboration portfolio has been a role model of our evolution towards Software and SaaS, and, representative of our choice to lead with partners even as our portfolio transforms.
Success Secrets: How you can Pass Cisco Certification Exams in first attempt
This post focuses on service assurance for IP connectivity and how IT managers and CSPs can provide end-to-end QoS for communications. A recent survey from Nemertes research found that 36% of firms that deploy UCaaS will spend extra for some kind of direct connect or service assurance, such as MPLS, Cisco Webex Connect, or Microsoft ExpressRoute. We explore this and more and cover topics that include standard service assurance strategies offered by CSPs and enhanced services that IT managers should consider to address many of their specific situations.
Service Assurance and End-to-End Service Management
While cloud-based communications adds demands to access networks, it streamlines a critical challenge faced by IT managers, vendor “finger-pointing.” In the previous part of this post, we went to great length to describe how the site-based PBX architecture helped construct the model where CSPs manage the WAN up until the site access device and the business IT team manages the LAN and PBX operations. The point of demarcation between the LAN and WAN is typically the access device – typically a managed router, application layer gateway (ALG), or cable modem.
This model offers some clarity about who owns what. For IT managers, they typically contract with their PBX vendor and the value-added reseller (VAR) for services, systems, and devices support. Given that a voice quality issue can emerge at any point in the end-to-end path, the problem often arises when troubleshooting a voice quality issue, “Is it the LAN or the WAN?” Access network providers and PBX vendors offer a mature toolset for diagnosing and troubleshooting “their side” of the demarcation point. That said, in the hosted or cloud communications model, there are multiple types of quality issues that span LAN and WAN and can lead to confusion about the source of the problem, who is responsible and how to resolve it (especially in the case of persistent issues).
This goes even further as the cloud-based communications model breaks down the significance of the demarcation barrier and puts most of the burden of responsibility on the CSP. In fact, this is often promoted by CSPs as the “one-throat-to-choke” service model, especially in the case where the CSP brings managed access connectivity and service assurance services into the business’s site. This distinction also brings nuances to ownership that should be thoroughly understood by IT and CSPs so as to help IT planners engage with CSPs to outline migration plans. In the following section, we will walk through some of the different models of how IT and CSPs can come together to manage WAN, LAN, and traffic flows across their respective networks.
Site Readiness and Preparation
CSPs and IT managers can have different but equally valid approaches to site readiness and ongoing end-to-end (LAN + WAN) management for cloud communications.
Business Specified LAN: In this approach, the business IT team brings their own LAN solution with specific equipment, operation methods, monitoring, and troubleshooting programs. These IT teams will expect the CSP to interconnect, test, and then work within the IT teams procedures to assure real-time traffic quality.
CSP Specified LAN: In this approach, the business IT team looks to the CSP to provide as much direction as possible on the LAN specifications. In some cases, the CSP might implement their preferred equipment suite, including access device, Ethernet switching, and upgraded cabling as part of the cloud service. This might come at some upfront cost, bundled into the monthly service charges, or negotiated for inclusion into existing charges as part of an extended contract term. Many IT teams recognize that the CSP LAN together with WAN parameters will offer the greatest service assurance for real-time media. And with the installation of new LAN equipment, this approach often supports a high-quality experience for other cloud and local based IT applications.
CSP “Certified” LAN: In this case, the business may bring one of a number of LAN solutions that will need to be tested and certified by the CSP for service implementation. The CSP supports some specific equipment which can be easily certified or may support equipment outside the certification list with some additional surcharges for testing. This approach offers the business IT team some flexibility in their LAN equipment choice but offers assurance to both the business and CSP that the LAN will carry traffic.
There are numerous variants of the above three models. As each of these options and their variants typically incurs a cost, some CSPs may only offer a subset of the above options. Look for a CSP that insists on some kind of sign-off on end-to-end readiness. Beyond that sign-off and declaration of readiness, it is important that the business IT team finds a CSP that brings the set of site readiness options that makes sense for a business’s own LAN to WAN management strategy. This preference is not a question of better or worse, but really a question of “fit.”
Service Assurance Included with Cloud Communications
After establishing site readiness for cloud communications, business IT managers need to understand how the CSP handles ongoing service assurance as a part of all cloud communications offer.
Is there remote monitoring?
Is there any proactive assessment of audio or video quality?
How are trouble-tickets handled?
How is troubleshooting performed?
What kind of troubleshooting support is required from IT?
How does the CSP engage with 3rd party vendors if they manage the business’s LAN?
A set of questions such as these can establish what kind of responsibilities the IT department should expect as a part of implementing the cloud services. In many cases, the way the CSP plans to engage the business’s IT team fits very cleanly with how the IT operates their local network and presents very little imposition. That scenario would represent a good fit and could easily be incorporated into IT migration planning.
Business IT managers should also pay attention to how CSPs manage service assurance for OTT-based services. There are numerous steps that IT managers can take to work with CSPs to provide for high-quality communications on an OTT link. That said, it can often be helpful if the CSP offers some kind of added capabilities to support OTT, especially in the areas of service monitoring, proactive alerting, and reporting.
Enhanced Service Assurance Offers from CSPs for Consideration
In most cases, CSPs and businesses both benefit where CSPs provide a robust set of service assurance capabilities included in their baseline service offer. Service quality and proactive management should not seem as if it’s an “extra,” especially considering the severe cost of poor communications quality. That said, there are many valid situations where businesses want additional service assurance capabilities above and beyond what is included. These additional services could serve a variety of business IT strategies, including:
Further outsourcing IT support
Extra insurance for specific and expected networking issues (e.g., video traffic surges)
Additional security demands
Maintaining 3rd party certifications
Supporting premium services such as webinar support or advanced user training
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Another service enhancement that is popular for both IT managers and CSPs is around the terms of the service level agreement, or SLA. The SLA provides very specific terms for various aspects of IP access performance. SLA terms, contracts, and negotiations are substantial enough to justify one or more dedicated blog posts or whitepapers. For our purposes, there are many performance characteristics that can be specified in an SLA that provide the foundation quality of communications services. Some of these foundational characters are uptime, packet loss, jitter, and latency – all characteristics that can be measured and specified in an SLA. If the particular IP access circuit performance meets the specific terms of the SLA, there is a good chance that the site will see fewer or near zero call quality issues.
On the other hand, there are many ways that communications quality can be impacted outside of typical SLA terms. And SLA terms can only be as effective as the reporting and monitoring behind them. Consider latency. Sometimes, the source of latency is from outside the CSP’s network and could be a function of the 3rd party network or application performance. Unless the CSP reporting includes the source of the latency (in or outside the network), the specifications for latency may prove ineffective at ensuring a higher quality of experience for communications.
The other challenge for SLAs involves the actual claim and credit process in the cases where SLA terms are broken. A couple of questions to consider are as follows: Is the claim process so onerous and difficult to deter your IT from requesting a credit? Are the credits provided (typically a refund of MRC in the period specified) substantial enough to offset the business disruption brought on by the performance incident? IT may also want to review their existing internal network quality reporting tools and check that their CSP will accept the reporting from these tools. This will streamline how IT can work with and ultimately cooperate with the CSP to enforce SLA terms.
Despite these challenges, SLAs provide an extremely valuable signal to the market and buyers – setting expectations for services performance, showcasing CSP priorities, and how CSPs manage the network and delivering services. In the web era where social media, user review sites, and 3rd party sources can generate “noise” around service performance, the SLA provides a hardened reference point to make sure that IT managers are focusing on the substance of an IP access offer and have the confidence to move forward.
Proactive Monitoring
In addition to premium SLAs, some CSPs offer proactive monitoring of service quality performance. CSPs install a probe or set of probes that allow the collection of real-time signaling and media traffic at various points in the WAN and LAN. When probes trip specified quality thresholds, CSP staff can begin looking for sources of contention or network equipment problems at the source of the service issue. Some proactive monitoring services include terms that enable CSPs to execute basic steps to resolve quality issues – from remotely rebooting devices, to rerouting traffic, to sending a technician on site.
Another popular service is to extend proactive service quality monitoring to other critical IT applications. CSP access connectivity offers often include “express” or prioritized connectivity to key cloud service providers, like Salesforce.com or Microsoft for the Office 365 suite. Where the CSP can monitor and proactively address quality of service for communications and then “quality of experience” for IT apps, then IT managers can present a more comprehensive approach to business productivity.
The last, perhaps most in demand, service that can be layered in or around a communications bundle is for security. Just as CSPs can offer remote monitoring across communications and IT applications, CSPs sit in an equally unique position to extend security protections around this traffic. The depth of what CSPs can offer in security is only increasing as vendors bring more sophisticated tools to the marketplace.
The Catalyst expansion with the Catalyst 9200 addresses a large target in the mid-size and branch office markets. Try to imagine that these markets represent 25% of all the network ports in the world. To think about this in another way, 25% of all the land mass on earth would represent the combination of China, India, Russia, and Brazil – now that is a massive opportunity!
The new Cisco Catalyst 9200 Series is ideally positioned to address an extensive set of applications for your customers. We’ve doubled the features of the previous versions for nearly the same price, and integrated industry-leading security and intent-based networking, just for good measure. They represent an enterprise-class solution, right-sized to fit into many smaller installations at schools, hospitals, banks, and retail locations, to name a few.
You will notice all the features you have come to expect with intent-based networking innovations:
SD-Access and Assurance for extreme efficiency, monitoring, automation and much lower total cost of ownership
Simplicity – deploy on a web interface in just three clicks, and will be centrally managed
Security – Integrated and Trustworthy Solutions, MACsec Encryption, and all anchored through Talos, this helps detect and stop threats
Faster Core – provides for rapid access with up to twice the capacity of legacy switches based on the latest IOS XE operating system
Updates – first time to allow software updates
Always on – a fully redundant solution
I believe the Catalyst 9200 will not only be the engine for Cisco Partner’s run rate sales, but will also be an entry point for managed services you can provide to your customers. Further, the Catalyst 9200 will provide your customers to see the benefit of Cisco DNA, and be the bridge to the broader Catalyst family of solutions.
While the Catalyst 9200 is based on simplicity that does not limit your professional service teams from growing with your customers into more advanced use cases.
To support our partners, we are now providing these popular Field Engineering level training offers free of charge:
SD-Access Fundamentals curriculum. Four courses are focusing on building Cisco Software-Defined Access (SDA) from the ground up.
Success Secrets: How you can Pass Cisco Certification Exams in first attempt
At Cisco, we talk all about the innovative solutions that our partners bring to life for our customers around the world, all the time. This time, the tables have turned. We are the customer. And the Cisco Partner Ecosystem has delivered, yet again.
When you think of Cisco, a bricks-and-mortar retail store is probably not something that comes to mind, but that’s about to change. We’re working with our partners to transform retail shopping around the world and we’ve started at our own front door.
The Cisco Connected Store says…
We wanted to develop of living lab to showcase and test the latest and greatest of retail technology, while also creating the best retail experience for our employees, customers and partners. And we knew we knew just where to turn. We knew that by leveraging our own technology and our partner’s best-in-class solutions, we could improve operations, empower associates, and enhance the customer experience.
Imagine this: You’re trying on a shirt in the fitting room when you get a notification that they sell shorts to go with it. You tap to call a salesperson to bring you a pair. When you’re done, you scan and pay for the items, right from your phone. You don’t even have to take them off.
Combining a numbers of Cisco technologies – Cisco Connected Mobile Experience, Cisco Webex Board, Cisco Wireless 4800 Access Points, Cisco Meraki Security, just to name a few – plus partner technologies – Mishipay, Asynchrony, StoreAdvise, Apple, and Intel – the future of retail was realized.
The power of our ecosystem working together created an incredible journey throughout the store. The inventory system from Sato talks to Intel sensors to let associates know exactly what’s on the shelves at any given moment. Mishipay then allows allows you to scan and purchase merchandise right from the palm of your hand. And, there is even a heat map provided by Asynchrony’s technology, which allows associates to meet customers exactly where they are in the store.
And the results were monumental. Everything is built on existing operations, which creates a real-world demo for customers and employees to experience the future of retail. Frictionless payment, smart dressing rooms, and connected sensors make for a seamless customer experience. And smart inventory management and an associate app empowers associates to provide an exceptional service. All of which makes shopping easier and more fun for customers and retail associates alike. So, watch out, online shopping.
Our experts say about CCIE Service Provider Exam in this video
Cisco emerged as the one of the biggest winner at the Telecom Asia’s 11th Readers’ Choice & Innovation Awards, winning three categories – Cloud Innovation of the Year, for Cisco Managed Services Accelerator; Data Center Innovation of the Year, for Cisco Network Assurance Engine; and NFV Innovation of the Year, for Cisco Network Services Orchestrator. The annual awards ceremony held at The Mira Hong Kong on 28 November 2018, recognized the advancements and contributions of the industry’s top vendors from the Asia-Pacific region. These wins are testament to Cisco’s industry-leading innovation for our Service Provider customers, as voted by them.
Cisco was recognized by Telecom Asia as a leader in innovation in three key business growth areas – Cloud, Data Center and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). Cisco’s Managed Services Accelerator (MSX), formerly known as Cisco Virtual Managed Services, was awarded Cloud Innovation of the Year. Cisco MSX is a service creation platform that helps managed service providers quickly and easily create and deliver managed network, security, and business services to enterprise customers. Using Cisco MSX, service providers have created entirely new services from scratch and leveraged pre-built service packs like SD-WAN and SD-Branch from us. Cisco MSX gets up and running with minimal integration time and costs, offering an unlimited range of services based on both virtual and physical network functions from both Cisco and our third-party vendors.
The Cisco Network Assurance Engine (NAE) was awarded Data Center Innovation of the Year for transforming operations in data center networks to a fundamentally more proactive model. Built on our patented network verification technology, Cisco NAE is the most comprehensive assurance engine that mathematically verifies the entire network for correctness. This gives operators the confidence that their network is always operating consistent with intent.
For the second consecutive year, we won the NFV Innovation of the Year award for the Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO). As one of our customers in the region has recently experienced, our NFV portfolio enables the automation and integration of component functions. This optimized their operations and enabled greater business agility for the development of new services such as helping small and medium enterprises with ICT Cloud Computing.
