Enterprise Networking Business 2019 Year in Review

Towards the end of this busy and innovative year, Cisco leadership decided to combine several businesses under one leader, SVP/GM Scott Harrell, to create the Intent-Based Networking Group. So, what is the meaning in a change of names? The new organization consists of engineering and product marketing teams from Enterprise Networking and Data Center, with a renewed focus on creating deep multi-domain integrations across wireless, wired, data center, cloud, and SD-WAN/edge computing.

The name change represents how we are focusing on solving customer challenges with complete intent-based networking solutions. As enterprises enhance the ways their workforce connects and collaborates, Cisco is there. As organizations move applications and data resources to multiple cloud platforms to improve flexibility and responsiveness of business processes, Cisco is there. When branch offices need to connect to SaaS applications over the internet, Cisco is there to secure the data, devices, and provide high quality of experience to the distributed workforce.

In this review of 2019 achievements, both technical and cultural, we will take a closer look at how our engineering teams’ accomplishments have benefited enterprises large and small, in every region in the world. Throughout this post, I’ll highlight products and solutions with links to past blog posts and external articles for deeper dives.

Solving Customer Digital Transformation Challenges

Everything we design, code, and manufacture is created to support our customers’ digital transformation journey with multi-domain connectivity, built-in security, and high-availability.

Expanding Wireless Connectivity with Wi-Fi 6

Top of mind for many organizations in 2019 was the arrival of Wi-Fi 6. Wireless connectivity is the preferred method of connecting devices to enterprise networks, applications in the cloud, and internet data sources. The next generation of faster, lower latency, and higher density wireless communications is already replacing the existing wireless LAN infrastructure and it is expected to be a high-priority, multi-year project for organizations of all sizes. To support this major transition, Cisco engineering created the Catalyst Access Points and Wireless LAN Controllers to exceed the Wi-Fi 6 standard, incorporating innovative features such as Flexible Radio Assignment, real-time analytics, integrated security, and intelligent capture. In addition, we introduced new Catalyst 9000 switches to unite the new faster and higher bandwidth wireless networks with the wired campus.

Many new enterprise endeavors are already relying on Cisco Wi-Fi 6 wireless technology to bring fast connections in high-density sites and in complex facilities, such as manufacturing, where older Wi-Fi bersions struggled to work at all. There will be even more innovations ahead as we work to connect the proliferation of IoT devices with Wi-Fi 6 with its power-saving capabilities to conserve IoT device battery life and the new Catalyst IE3k Rugged Series Switches.

As telecommunications service providers expand their 5G footprints, Cisco is providing methods for integrating the two wireless networks to deliver seamless connectivity and take full advantage of network slicing to provide specialized services to enterprise applications governed by common security policies. Wi-Fi 6 was a big leap in 2019 and will be even more important as enterprise workforces continue to be more distributed and mobile, while the business applications people need to access are hosted in multiple cloud platforms.

Uniting Campus and Branch with Cloud Resources using SD-WAN

2019 was also the year that Cisco SD-WAN powered by Viptela became the go-to solution for uniting a distributed workforce in branch offices, retail stores, and partners’ systems with cloud and SaaS applications. We built-in full stack security to ensure that using direct internet connections at branch locations to connect to cloud applications doesn’t expose data and devices to external and internal security threats. With centralized cloud management, Cisco SD-WAN connects remote offices with zero-touch edge routers, traffic segmentation, and threat detection using built-in Application-Aware Enterprise Firewall, intrusion detection system, and URL-filtering with Cisco Umbrella. As a result of these enhancements, Cisco SD-WAN was given a coveted CRN Product of the Year award.

Our next goal for SD-WAN last year was to ensure a high quality of experience (QoE) for cloud and SaaS applications being accessed by a distributed workforce. Working with cloud application providers, such as Microsoft and their Office 365 applications, we built Cloud OnRamps that automatically connect workers at branch offices with the nearest, or most efficient, point of presence for the desired application via the SD-WAN. Cisco Cloud OnRamps monitor and adjust traffic to ensure the best level of performance for the primary cloud application providers.

Taking the OnRamp concept one step further, we developed Cloud OnRamps for CoLocation for regional point of presence and IaaS centers. This advancement creates transport-independent connections to regional hubs to service multiple branches and business sites to provide high QoE for applications. The regional aspect of the colocation also addresses the need for some enterprises to keep certain types of personal data local, versus storing it in global clouds, while providing an SD-WAN fabric that is easy to manage from a central console.

Augmenting NetOps Skills with AI and Machine Reasoning

Just because networks grow in complexity doesn’t mean they have to be complicated to manage. But trying to make sense of the billions of data points generated by campus-sized networks of switches, routers, and access points can quickly overwhelm an IT team. Using machine learning, machine reasoning, and artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze the vast data lakes of telemetry to determine norms and anomalies, we developed Cisco AI Network Analytics to help IT navigate the torrents of network telemetry to zero-in on time-critical problems. Applying machine reasoning to the analysis of network anomalies leverages thousands of man-hours of Cisco troubleshooting knowledge to suggest the correct remedies for many challenging issues.

Empowering IT with an Architecture for Access Control

To simplify the complexity of campus to branch to cloud connectivity, we augmented Cisco SD-Access with additional intelligence to translate business intents into segmentation and security polices—a foundational aspect of intent-based networking. SD-Access shifts the workload from IT staff performing routine tasks of onboarding individual devices and managing network configurations, to building intelligence into the network. The network learns to manage itself by, for example, automatically onboarding specific device types with pre-determined security and access policies that follow people and devices across the wired and wireless fabrics, from ground to cloud.

We also improved the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) to work with multiple Cisco DNA Centers. This enables regional Cisco DNA Centers to leverage a master instance of Cisco ISE so that SD-Access can apply access and segmentation policies across each region. With this capability, SD-Access ensures that security and access policies defined by corporate IT are implemented consistently across global networks, while enabling regional control over specific aspects of workforce and device rules.

Focusing on Innovations in Connectivity Solutions

At several 2019 events, Cisco had the opportunity to demonstrate OpenRoaming, an open method of enabling mobile devices to automatically and securely connect to Wi-Fi networks without entering IDs and passwords. We created the OpenRoaming Federation ecosystem with partners such as Apple, Intel, and Samsung. As the Federation grows with additional device and access providers, the general public will be able to seamlessly connect to authorized Wi-Fi networks in stores, public spaces, and offices without manually signing in to captive portals with IDs and passwords. OpenRoaming unites wireless connectivity from LTE, 5G, and Wi-Fi to provide continuous internet connectivity to the applications people depend on for collaboration, finance, shopping, and community. Last year, OpenRoaming was demonstrated in real-world environments such as Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Cisco Live in San Diego, Cisco Impact in Las Vegas, and a public trial at the Canary Wharf Group business center in London.

Building on the premise of always-on connectivity for mobile devices with OpenRoaming, we released the Cisco DNA Spaces Cloud Location Platform to empower property managers to interact with guests’ devices to offer location-specific services, wayfinding, and customized experiences. For sites that already use Cisco access points, capabilities such as Operational Insights, Locate, and Detect are available through Cisco DNA Center and the DNA Spaces SDK for building custom location apps, with no need for additional hardware or software overlays. Physical spaces become digital spaces that improve customer service by measuring and understanding the habits and preferences of guests using wireless devices.

Worldwide Events Bring Cisco Customers and Engineers Together

Like most technology companies, Cisco often announces new solutions sets in conjunction with customer and partner events that provide an opportunity to receive immediate feedback from customers, industry analysts, and the technology press. This year we used events to unveil and demonstrate:

◉ OpenRoaming and DNA Spaces Cloud Platform at Cisco Live Barcelona

◉ Wi-Fi 6 Catalyst Access Points and Wireless Controllers at Cisco Live Melbourne

◉ Cisco AI Network Analytics at Cisco Live San Diego

◉ SD-WAN integration with MS Azure vWAN and Office 365 at Partner Summit

◉ SD-WAN integration with AWS Transit Gateway at AWS re:Invent

Being Inclusive and Innovative Makes Cisco the #1 Place to Work

Cisco stands committed to empowering business, society, and people to help develop a more Inclusive Future for all stakeholders. Our investments in Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) goes hand in hand with our People, Culture, and Social Impact initiatives to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.

Our innovation mindset in Enterprise Network engineering produces an average of 300 patents a year. To turbocharge our internal thinking, we host or participate in multiple events throughout the year. For example, our annual EN Hackathon combines team building with technical prowess and a healthy portion of fun, to generate original prototypes that could one day become products that solve customer challenges. The Pioneer Awards represent a similar take on innovation, but with a focus on solutions brought to market that are making a significant impact—the Cisco AP4800 with Location-based Intelligent Capture was this year’s best product, and the best productivity solution went to WARP (Workflow Architecture Renewal Program), which is key to keeping the IOS XE network operating system up-to-date. Engineers also attend external events—such as the Grace Hopper Celebration and Women of Impact—to broaden their thinking and make new professional connections.

One result of these internal and external celebrations of innovation is that Cisco was named #1 World’s Best Workplaces by Great Place to Work in 2019, capping off a year of employee engagement and Cisco’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in a wide variety of social endeavors around the world.

Enterprise Network Engineering is a significant driver of Cisco solutions. We take great pride in our innovations and progress in producing quality solutions for our worldwide customers. Now that we are an integral part of the larger Intent-Based Networking Group, I personally look forward to the amazing journey ahead in 2020.

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How we take our culture to the next level with Conscious Culture

A company’s culture can be its greatest asset. Unfortunately, you don’t have to look far to find companies where culture isn’t working. Places with problems like unethical behavior, discrimination, and harassment. And employees who are afraid to speak their mind.

Cisco aims to help set a new standard, reinforcing the values and behaviors that make this a great place to work. In FY19, we built upon our solid foundation and started defining culture using a new framework. We call it “Conscious Culture.” It has three components:

◉ An inclusive, diverse environment that positively impacts people, society, and the planet.

◉ The typical traits of our culture, such as our unique beliefs, behaviors, and principles.

◉ The everyday interactions people have with their leaders and colleagues.

Many companies focus on only one of these three aspects of culture. Bringing all three pieces together is what sets Cisco apart. And this culture is “conscious”—aware and accountable for what’s working, what’s not, and how we can improve. When we see or experience something, like harassment by a manager or a violation of our Code of Conduct, we say something. Employees can protect our culture by sharing concerns with our Ethics Office. As part of Conscious Culture’s debut, we shared metrics internally regarding concerns our employees reported—issues like bullying and other negative behavior. We’ll continue to do so every six months, as well as sharing how concerns are handled. But Conscious Culture is more than addressing concerns. It affects every aspect of how our people work and interact. Now, business functions across Cisco are determining how to apply Conscious Culture to their practices. As this journey progresses, the result will be better employee engagement. And in turn, better experiences for our customers and communities.

One example of the implementation of Conscious Culture at Cisco is our no shame, no stigma campaign around mental health.

Over the past year, Cisco has made it a priority to not only end the taboo against talking about mental health but encourage people to ask for help. It all started with an email. In 2018, in the face of growing concerns about mental health in society, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins sent an email to all Cisco employees. In it, he expressed Cisco’s concern for those who are struggling, sharing that no one needs to go it alone.

The response was overwhelming. Robbins received more than 100 replies from employees saying thanks and sharing stories of themselves and their loved ones. Since then, even more people have courageously spoken about personal struggles in company blog posts and the Cisco Beat.

This response has awakened us to an issue that wasn’t being addressed. Consider the statistics: about one in five U.S. adults lives with a mental health condition. Yet many people are still uncomfortable talking about these issues. Cisco is breaking the silence. We want everyone to know that it’s okay to not be okay. By decreasing the stigma and broadening the resources we offer, we hope to encourage people to get the help they need.  And change the conversation about mental health across our industry.

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Bridging the divide: Getting IT and OT to work together for industrial IoT

Industrial IoT has the potential to transform business processes in manufacturing, oil and gas, utilities, and more. However, organizations must first overcome numerous challenges, one of which is bridging the divide between IT and operational technology (OT). Having the right people involved and working together toward an IoT initiative is critical for achieving a seamless, secure and successful end-to-end design.

We often hear customers describe what it is they want out of an IoT deployment: a dashboard with buttons that allows them to see data or analytics of that data to understand what is happening in the operating environment. It’s obvious they have a clear vision of the outcome they want, but they don’t know how to get there. And they can’t — at least, not by themselves.  One of the biggest reasons why IoT projects fail is because line of business expectations aren’t managed correctly, or because IT and OT didn’t work together to validate if a solution is feasible with current technology and skill sets.

The IoT tech stack is complex and fragmented. Organizations have to pick the right sensors, select the machines to be connected, choose a connectivity method, and then build the networking, application, and business intelligence layers (often incorporating cloud and multiple applications) on top. To further complicate matters, companies are looking to connect many different (often legacy) machines that have never before been connected. Different protocols must be parsed and cleaned up so that technologies further up the stack can ingest and understand the data.

No single department is capable of navigating all the different technical options and making the best decisions for a seamless, secure IoT deployment. While OT may be able to choose sensors and machines to connect, and IT may be able to build the remainder of the tech stack, these decisions can’t be made in silos. The digitalization of machine data creates a technical convergence, and both sides must work together to make IoT work. IoT is a team sport.

When the right people come together to solve a business problem with IoT, it becomes much easier to build a successful solution. Four primary groups or individuals include:

The line of business:

Representatives from lines of business can articulate the business need. These people are experts in higher level business strategy, sales, marketing, how to go to market, etc. For the line of business, IoT is a means to an end to achieve a business objective. These people can envision the dashboard and contribute to process and organizational design. While they may or may not own the budget, the line of business defines and creates the demand for a business improvement.

IT department:

The IT department is responsible for the enterprise IT infrastructure. The department’s main concerns are security, scalability, and manageability. They work in a fast, dynamic environment. IT is always under pressure to get things done—and to do more with less. When it comes to an IoT deployment, the IT department is concerned with the tech stack from the network out to the edge.

OT department:

The OT department is generally responsible for the equipment on the shop floor. They are concerned about quality, uptime and maintenance of machinery that is typically two to three decades old. Often times, the machines produce data that doesn’t go anywhere. There’s a human/machine interface where operator receives data and makes decisions. The OT department plays a key role in connecting machinery on the shop floor for an IoT deployment.

Procurement:

Procurement is responsible for finding products and services at the best cost. Sometimes this means breaking up solutions and buying components piecemeal. It’s best to bring procurement on board sooner than later so that they understand that the broad spectrum of components in an IoT deployment come from one ecosystem of integration. If a solution is broken up into bits and pieces, none of the solution providers will feel motivated to deliver the best possible service.

Even with these parties at the decision-making table, there are likely to be gray areas. Organizations often have to experiment or partner with a provider for technology that they don’t have the skills to work with internally. Of course, it’s important to get the right skills at the right time for the right cost.

At Cisco, we work hard to pull together the key technologies and partners required to deliver seamless, secure solutions that span the manufacturing floor to the cloud. Our partner ecosystem consists of large systems integrators, service providers, OT partners, distributors, and a variety of others. We span and bring together both the IT and OT worlds to create harmony and cohesion across our customer’s organization, our Cisco partner ecosystem and through the solution itself via Cisco Validated designs to ensure a successful IoT initiative.

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Opportunities For Lifelong Learning with CCDP 300-320 ARCH Certification Exam

Cisco Certified Design Professional (CCDP) 300-320 ARCH Certification

Cisco Designing Network Service Architectures (ARCH) exam 300-320 is an assessment exam associated with the Cisco Certified Design Professional certification. CCDP certification exam tests a candidate's knowledge of the latest development in network design and technologies, including L2 and L3 infrastructures for the enterprise, WAN technologies, data center integration, network security, and network services.

CCDP (ARCH) exam can verify a candidate's knowledge of the latest and rapid development in network design and technologies, including L2 and L3 infrastructures for the enterprise, WAN technologies, data center integration, network security, and network service. The 300-320 exam will give you the professional pieces of knowledge. If you are mastery of the expert knowledge, you will take up the networking jobs.

Most Popular Jobs For CCDP Certified:

• Network Engineer
• Sr. Network Engineer
• Network Administrator
• Network Architect
• Information Technology (IT) Manager
• Network Security Engineer
• Systems Engineer

It goes without question that the Cisco certifications are among the in-demand Certification across the world. The best thing about Cisco certifications is that they are available across all levels of expertise. Whether you are at the entry-level or an expert in your field, there is always something for everyone from this certification provider. If you ever thought of attaining the highly covetable CCDP certification, then you have an anthill task ahead of you.

To gain CCDP Certification, you need to pass three exams 300-101, 300-115, and 300-320. But should you worry if that's the case? Absolutely not because this guide highlights all the key aspects of the Cisco 300-320 ARCH exam, the third one you need to pass to attain your CCDP Certification of the professional level.

Cisco 300-320 (ARCH) Exam Description:

• Exam Name: Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures
• Exam Number: 300-320 ARCH
• Exam Price: USD 300
• Duration: 75 minutes
• Number of Questions: 60-70
• Passing Score: Variable (750-850 / 1000 Approx.)

The Cisco 300-320 exam Syllabus includes Several concepts, with each having a specific weight in the test. These topics cover advanced addressing and routing solutions for enterprise networks (22%), advanced enterprise campus networks (22%), WANs for enterprise networks (17%), enterprise data center integration (17%), security services (13%) and network services (11%).

Recommended Training:

Cisco recommends a few paths that you need to take to enhance your chances of success in the CCDP exam.

These include:

• Designing Cisco Network Service Architecture (ARCH)
• Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures (ARCH) E-Learning

Preparation Options:

You might have heard a lot about the Cisco 300-320 exam, but one thing remains, proper preparation is the key to success in this exam. Fortunately, multiple resources are readily available online to aid in your exam preparation. The Cisco official website in itself is the ultimate source for this.

Practice Makes You Perfect:

Everyone says practice makes perfect, and who knows, maybe that is all you may need before taking your 300-320 exam. If you are willing to tread this path, then you can practice your skills for this exam using the Cisco hands-on lab environments.

The first in this category is the Cisco Virtual Internet Routing Lab Personal Edition (VIRL PE). Then comes the Cisco Modelling Labs, which can be instrumental in your certification journey by equipping you with the vital hands-on skills related to this exam.

Some Basic Tips:

The highly volatile IT industry has made it necessary for hiring managers to employ individuals with relevant certifications in the related field. This means that your understanding of the area and experience are not enough to help you secure your dream job. Passing the 300-320 exam is not as hard as they have made you believe. Use these tips to pass the CCDP exam at your first attempt and propel your career to the top where the competition is quite favorable.

Pace yourself

This is important! Always keep track of how much time you have and try to use your time wisely. You can always go back to check or improve your answers later!

Surround Yourself with Brilliant People

Not only are you more likely to be perceived as educated and knowledgeable, but you are also more likely to become more creative due to the possibility that you will have more intellectual discussions and be more challenged.

Being around skilled individuals will help increase your intellectual stimulation, help further your knowledge base, and help improve your education.

Write Practice Essays

With practice, it becomes easier to` write under the time constraints imposed by the AP test. It is also necessary to get a good sense of your pacing. You don't want to go on so long on a particular subject that you can not finish. Get an understanding of your limitations so that you know when to wrap things up on your exam.

Familiarize yourself with how many records you are expected to discuss and stick to that number.

Get Yourself Certified

Enroll in an online teaching certification program. Although all tutoring agencies do not specify for teacher certifications, it is better to hold one to prove your competency in a subject. Many universities offer online teacher certification programs, specifically designed to guide teachers through the latest technological tools and online teaching practices.

The Benefits of Achieving CCDP Certification

• Around the world, several enterprises and businesses are extensively making use of Cisco products, such as Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures solutions. 
• Therefore, Cisco Certified professionals are in high demand today. If you possess sound knowledge and proven technical skills in Cisco and related fields, you should go for CCDP Certification to enhance your job profile and advance your career prospects to great heights. 
• There are three major job roles related to Cisco 300-320 certification.
• The role of a CCDP Administrator is crucial in any organization. 
• Some of the distinguishing features expected of a Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures include good communication, excellent technical knowledge, and proven expertise in the real world scenario in addition to a thorough understanding of 300-320 theory and a sound working knowledge with experience in the Cisco technologies.
• 300-320 exam is CCDP certification exclusively designed to endorse the foundation skills needed for both Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures administration and application development. 
• The principal objective of CCDP certification is to measure a professional's ability to do his job as a team member with either administrators or application developers. 
• Designing Cisco Network Service Architectures certification is considered as the first step towards getting the more advanced Cisco certification.

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Wi-Fi 6E: The evolution of next generation wireless access

Wi-Fi 6 just arrived, bringing better speed and more capacity to wireless networks. And soon it’s going to get even better, thanks to the FCC opening up of all-new 6 GHz frequencies for Wi-Fi 6. The name of this extension to the standard: Wi-Fi 6E.

When the new 1.2 GHz of spectrum (500 MHz in the EU) starts getting built into devices later this year, it will unleash new potentials for networks, and help them meet the growing demand for high-performance connectivity.

The Need for More Unlicenced Spectrum

Moving from one Wi-Fi generation to the next – currently in the sixth generation – all wireless devices share the crowded 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. They are constantly competing for bandwidth. The limited spectrum and channels in those bands cause significant issues for users. There are very few non-overlapping 80 MHz or 160 MHz (in 5 GHz band) channels to prevent interference caused by devices on overlapping channels. In fact, it’s almost impractical to enable these wide band channels in dense environments such as venues with hundreds of access points. Besides, the 20 MHz and 40 MHz channels are not wide enough to support high data throughput for bandwidth-intensive applications.

These problems have been exacerbated by the proliferation of wirelessly connected IoT devices and data growth. For example, Wi-Fi and mobile devices will account for more than 75 percent of all Internet traffic by 2022.

We need more unlicensed spectrum to deliver on the Wi-Fi brand promise, and that’s what the new 6 GHz frequencies will deliver.

The Promise of Wi-Fi 6E

To keep unlicensed Wi-Fi devices running in the 6 GHz band from interfering with incumbent users of the band such as microwaves links, the FCC is proposing some technical restrictions. These rules divide the overall spectrum into 4 separate bands with their own boundaries. For example, a Wi-Fi device could only operate indoors at low power in order to ensure unlicensed services can coexist safely with existing incumbents. (Figure 1)

Figure 1 – 6 GHz Wi-Fi Channels

Wi-Fi 6E brings the following improvements and enables important use cases:

1. More spectrum

An additional 1.2 GHz spectrum, twice the size of the current Wi-Fi bandwidth, offers more non-overlapping channels i.e. 59 additional 20 MHz channels  And only Wi-Fi 6 devices are allowed in this new spectrum. No legacy (Wi-Fi 5 or earlier) devices will have access to it. Wi-Fi 6 not only gets the additional bandwidth of Wi-Fi 6E, it uses that bandwidth more efficiently, which makes this new spectrum great for solving capacity problems in large public venues, such as concert venues or sports stadiums. This not only enables better user experience but opens the gateway for quality live streaming connections.

2. Higher throughputs

As envisioned, Wi-Fi 6E makes available large contiguous blocks of spectrum. With 14 additional 80 MHz and 7 additional 160 MHz wide channels, it allows for high-throughput and concurrent data transmission. This enhances applications that require high bandwidth such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) and real-time immersive gaming on Wi-Fi 6 devices. It will further the current Wi-Fi 6 capabilities for the next generation of learning where every student in a classroom or in a school can use a VR headset for their education at the same time.

3. Lower latency

The high frequency spectrum of Wi-Fi 6E opens up entirely new horizons for ultra-low latency and emerging data-intensive applications and services, such as telehealth. Wi-Fi 6E is able to provide reliable and consistent low-latency connectivity for critical applications that can’t afford data delays. This allows, for example, patients to connect virtually with doctors and get real-time diagnostics on their high-quality 3D CAT exam or MRI.

All in all, Wi-Fi 6E expands the horizon of user connectivity, opens opportunities for emerging use cases, and enables enterprises to push boundaries with innovations. Cisco is actively partnering with the regulatory agencies working on Wi-Fi expansion. We will keep you updated as regulators finalize the operational requirements. Watch for product announcements from Cisco that will seize upon this new spectrum.

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Doubling down on Cisco Customer Experience with our partners!

As we start a new year, I am reminded of the journey many of us have been on with our partners as we have spent 2019 working hard on Cisco’s Customer Experience portfolio.   We have filled our partners full of information, new terminology, new technology and plenty of “Lingo Bingo” (aka the unofficial game of tech terms thrown out during a conference or event) throughout the year!

Nonetheless the timing and impact of all of this transformation around lifecycle is critical for our partners, so that they can align and react to how we at Cisco are evolving our business NOW and doing so in a way that is “together” with our partner especially as we consider this lifecycle & digital transformation journey we are all on. It’s clear, there is no model at Cisco without our partners!

When I joined this role to lead CX Partner Go-To-Market within the Global Partner Organization at Cisco after years under my belt working on Consumer and Content Industries,  I was just like so many partners, completely LOST six month’s ago! I was looking for someone to give me the “cliff notes” on the strategy, and how it impacted our partners. So, as one might imagine this topic was one that was top of mind for a lot of our partners during last months Cisco Partner Summit. Simply put the CX lifecycle strategy with our partners can be broken down into three areas of focus:

Monetize

◉ First, as a partner take a look at your business model and how you monetize your products and services. What do you offer today, and what will you offer in the future? How do you adapt your business model to meet changing customer expectations and stay profitable along the way? Alignment with the lifecycle improves customer intimacy and increases renewals and customer investment in professional and managed services. That’s why we’re focusing on it.

◉ Our CX Success Portfolio is extensible and provides opportunities for you to differentiate your business and engage with customers throughout their journey including our premium offers like Solution Support, BCS 3.0 or our new Operate Offers. As a Cisco partner you’ll get access to insights using API’s and CX Partner portal, that enable you to identify new extensible service opportunities that address customer needs.   You can strengthen customer relationships and expand your services business.

◉ Not only can you differentiate your business with lifecycle services, but you can demonstrate your expertise with the Cisco CX Business Specialization. We launched the new CX Specialization designed with one goal in mind: to help you develop or enhance your customer success practice with the right people, tools, processes, and infrastructure to best support your customers throughout the lifecycle.

Operate

◉ As you operationalize your CX transformation, Cisco is here to help. We’re creating a renewals and roles blueprint to help you identify key points of customer interaction, the resources needed for customers success, and how Cisco and your organization will work together to meet customer needs.

◉ We’re building new customer and partner portals with API’s that will provide access to actionable insights and provide opportunities to differentiate and scale through digitization.

◉ We’re also developing new ways for partners to participate in the delivery of Cisco CX services (Expert Resources such as Ask the Experts and Accelerators and Trusted Support or both). The new service delivery options provide opportunities for eligible partners to engage with customers at multiple touchpoints throughout the customer lifecycle in using their Cisco investments. Delivering these services helps you to differentiate your business and uncover even more opportunities to deliver your own services to help your customers move the lifecycle and accelerate time to value.

Organize

◉ Customer Success won’t work unless you have the right organization with endorsement from the very top including the CEO and the senior leadership team and throughout the entire organization where customer success is at the forefront of the business and core tenant of the business strategy.

◉ We’ll provide you with helpful insights to incorporate customer success in your organization’s culture.

◉ Cisco has launched role-based trainings and certifications to provide your teams with the skills needed to deliver the Customer Experience and support accelerated growth

You see, together with our partners we have a great opportunity and these three focus areas shared last month continue to ring true as our partners join us on this amazing experience.

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Scaling Application Security with ITD

Ready to scale your enterprise beyond limits?  How about slashing a whole layer of datacenter infrastructure, saving piles of cash in the process?  Or perhaps you’re interested in simplifying your enterprise while adding features, or trying to speed things up without spending money.  Sound too good to be true?  Well, thanks to a new technology from Cisco, you can have your cake and eat it, too.

Cisco Intelligent Traffic Director (ITD) is poised to disrupt data center load balancing. Combined with best-in-class products, such as Imperva SecureSphere, organizations can deploy and manage massively scalable applications securely with unprecedented ease and cost effectiveness.

What is ITD?

Cisco recently released a new feature, Intelligent Traffic Director (ITD) for the Nexus 7k switches that promises to be a disrupting force in the world of load balancing.  There has been an exponential growth in data traffic in the recent years leading to a growth in the deployment of network service appliances in enterprise, datacenter and cloud environments. To address the corresponding business needs, network switch and router architecture has evolved to support multi-terabit capacity. However, service appliance capacity remained limited to few gigabits, an order of magnitude far below switch capacity.

Cisco Intelligent Traffic Director (ITD) is an innovative solution that tries to bridge performance gap between the switch and service appliance(s). It allows customers to deploy service appliance(s) from any vendor with no network or topology changes. With a few simple configuration steps on a Cisco Nexus 7000 / 7700 series switch, customers can create a service appliance cluster and deploy multiple appliance(s) to scale service capacity with ease. The servers or appliance(s) do not have to be directly connected to the Nexus switch.

Application Security

Gartner published a paper called Web Application Firewalls are Worth the Investment for Enterprises in Feb, 2014 that makes the case that “Firewalls and intrusion prevention systems don’t provide sufficient protections for most public-facing websites or internal business-critical and custom Web applications.” Gartner advises enterprises to use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect critical external and internal applications from attacks and threats.

Like other service appliances, a WAF appliance benefits from ITD’s ability to manage large scale traffic loads. Imperva SecureSphere WAF works with ITD, and the combination provides highly scalable application security.

I mention SecureSphere because Imperva was positioned as the only Leader in the Gartner 2014 Magic Quadrant for Web Application Firewalls. Some key capabilities of the SecureSphere WAF are:

◉ Block attacks with laser precision

Accuracy is critical with application security. If you have false positives, you block customers; if you have false negatives, you let the bad guys in.

◉ World-renowned application security research

Security is constantly evolving. To get ahead and stay ahead in the continuous fight against threats, Imperva has a dedicated security research team, the Application Defense Center (ADC), which provides regular signature and policy updates, and up-to-date threat intelligence for Imperva SecureSphere.

◉ Shut down malicious sources and bots

Imperva’s ThreatRadar Reputation Services help detect bad actors using IP reputation feeds of known malicious sources, anonymizing services, phishing URLs, TOR (“The Onion Router”), as well as IP geolocation data.

◉ Stop application DDOS and business logic attacks

Business logic attacks include things like posting comment spam in forums and message boards, scraping web content, and disabling access to your website. All of this can reduce competitive edge, frustrate customers, and damage reputation.

◉ Instantly patch website vulnerabilities

It takes organizations an average of 6 months to patch an application vulnerability once it’s discovered. SecureSphere integrates with vulnerability scanners to virtually patch applications. This allows businesses to stay protected, and fix the vulnerability on their own timeline, thus reducing the window of exposure and the associated costs.

◉ Gain forensics insights with customizable reports

Graphical reports enable organizations to quickly analyze security threats and meet compliance requirements.

◉ Speed up deployment without risk

SecureSphere protects applications without impacting performance and without requiring extensive network changes. It offers flexible inline, non-inline, and proxy deployment options that meet organizations’ diverse requirements. SecureSphere’s Fail-Open capabilities combined with unique, transparent bridge mode saves time and labor with drop-in deployment that requires no changes to existing applications or network devices, and delivers multi-Gigabit throughput while maintaining sub-millisecond latency.

Scaling Application Security

Using ITD in VIP Mode to load balance provides a fast and economical way for organizations to provide highly scalable and available infrastructure.  By leveraging ITD, an enterprise can deploy a single IP address (the VIP), which is then load balanced across many SecureSphere WAFs, with each one protecting the back-end webservers. This is done right from the 7K – There’s no need for an external load balancer in the middle.

Why is this better than other Load Balancers?

By combining Cisco ITD and SecureSphere’s advanced capabilities to monitor and secure HTTP traffic, several key advantages are apparent:

◉ Eliminates the need for external load balancers, freeing up large amounts of budget and resources

◉ You get the advantages of a proxy-type load balancer (1 single VIP represents many webservers), but still get ‘fail-open’ bridges on WAFs

◉ ITD proxies traffic without interfering with the TCP Source IP Address , allowing SecureSphere to leverage the source IP, User and Session details for blocking and alerting.

◉ To work with SecureSphere, ITD requires no modification to HTTP Headers (e.g., X-Forwarded-For), which can break applications and slow down traffic

What does this mean for the future of high performance WAF deployments?

By teaming up the Cisco Nexus 7K with SecureSphere WAFs, organizations can cost effectively deploy scalable, high-availability  WAF farms to handle large amounts of traffic to webservers.  As the web traffic increases, WAFs can be seamlessly added to the pool to scale up with the enterprise. Since every port on the 7K can be used as a load balancer this provides the potential to scale up to multi-terabits of throughput to a SecureSphere WAF cluster.

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