Cisco’s Single Platform and Unified App Make a More Human Approach to Transforming your Workplace

Making the new way of working more human

When we delight employees, we increase engagement and productivity which has a direct effect on our customers.  According to MIT, when we invest in the employee experience, we see a 25% increase in profits and 2 times the customer satisfaction. But employees are demanding new tools to keep up with fast-paced environments and flexible workstyles. Transforming the way employees work can be a tough dilemma; many organizations end up with a stitched together collaboration solution that provides disjointed and dis-engaging experiences for employees.

The Webex unified platform for the modern workplace

Enter Cisco’s Single Unified Platform that provides employees with all the collaboration tools they need with just one, modern, unified application. One single platform that enables innovation at speed and consistency of experience. One modern, unified application for calling, messaging and meeting, and with intelligence and context that makes collaboration more human, friction-free and engaging.

I’m excited to be introducing new capabilities enabled by the unified platform and accelerating workplace transformation:

Think: A single app experience is the hero in any engagement

What is the typical employee experience today? Multiple apps and legacy UX design makes for a disjointed experience and reduces productivity. That’s why we introduced the Webex Teams Unified App, bringing together calling, ​meetings​, messaging, and video device control. Each of these experiences was available at-scale as separate apps, and are now integrated into a single multipurpose app.

Webex Teams took a major step towards unification when we integrated calling registered to UCM (Cisco Unified Call Manager) and Webex Calling. App users can make and receive phone calls with a range of features from basic to a full set. Webex Teams also has device control, enabling users to wirelessly connect to Cisco collaboration room devices, control the device, and share their screen.

Now we continue to enhance the game-changing single app experience by providing the same rich meetings experience as in Webex Meetings. Available on an opt-in basis, the meetings experience in Webex Teams now includes host controls and layout options, for example roster management, the ability to host 200 participants, and to see 25 participants at one time.

In addition, we have introduced modularity to the app, aligning with the workstyle needs of users — configurable by IT and managed from Cisco Control Hub. Modules include messaging, calling, meetings, and device control. One, two, three or all four of these modes can be enabled within the unified app.

And IT or a partner can further personalize or customize the app by adding a logo and changing the color palette for a fully immersive brand experience.

Think: Calling is fundamental to business

Enter Cisco Webex Edge for Calling. This new solution allows CUCM and Avaya and third-party PBXs to connect to Webex Calling allowing transparent site-to-site dial plans and global least cost routing, saving on PSTN and networking expenses. New cloud services and traditional telephone services like auto-attendant and voice mail can be centralized, reducing capital investments and significantly simplifying management with Webex Control Hub.

Also, today enterprises can now choose bundled PSTN purchased directly from Service Providers or BYOC (bring your own carrier) with a local gateway allowing them to retain in-place contracts. And we’ve expanded our PSTN BYOC with direct Service Provider connection to the Webex Calling cloud. For customers that prefer the CUCM experience, there is a new Cisco UCM Cloud that supports all UCM devices and features but with all the advantages of a cloud solution.

Think: Intelligent devices for every workspace and workstyle

Leveraging devices in workplace transformation goes beyond simply placing them into conference rooms and hoping that they’ll be used. It’s about connecting devices in different spaces, supporting different workstyles, and enabling smarter meetings.

With the help of our customers, we’ve reimagined video experiences from large to small, and introduced headsets that enable productivity without background disruption:

1. Cisco Headset 730: Built with smart sensor controls and AI voice technology, this headset can be personalized through our intelligent mobile app.

2. Webex Desk Pro: The ultimate desk-based collaboration device creating an instant office with the most advanced capabilities of Webex on an interactive, touch redirect 4K display.

3. Webex Room Panorama: With a smaller footprint and adaptable design, the next generation immersive video solution cuts the executive boardroom in half and adds 5,000 miles with rich cognitive capabilities.

We’re introducing a Hardware as a Service (HaaS) offering. Cisco offers industry leading collaboration tools with a more affordable payment plan and a better user experience with an end-to-end solution and advanced features from the Webex platform. We’re bringing to the marketplace Hardware as a Service to make it easier to refresh to the latest phones, desktop devices and room devices – on-premises or in the cloud. With HaaS, customers can get a phone for $5/month or a Webex room kit mini for $75/month. This provides customers the opportunity to refresh and keep up with innovation every 3 years.

Finally, we’re also announcing today, our new Webex Edge for Devices, bringing cloud experiences to on-premises registered devices. In keeping with our “cloud first, not cloud only” commitment, our single platform provides an option for more scalable management and analytics for on-premises video room devices. This allows the enterprise to keep media local and connect to the Webex cloud to extend more cloud services and innovations.

Think: Frictionless collaboration in multivendor environments

Recently Cisco and Microsoft announced a partnership that enables Cisco’s Webex video devices to connect to the Microsoft Teams meeting services in multiple ways. Customers will benefit from a reliable interop solution using their existing Cisco video conferencing devices to seamlessly join a Microsoft Teams meeting, or using Cisco Webex Meetings to join a Microsoft Teams Room. The solutions are expected to GA in early 2020.

Webex is the connective tissue throughout your workday

Finally, here is a way to think about the Webex single platform and one unified app. This is not stitching apps together — we are natively integrating them onto a single platform. This creates connective tissue across meetings, messaging, calling, and devices, and the business processes that employees use throughout their day. Employees receive rich seamless collaboration that delights and engages.

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Cisco introduces new Catalyst 1000 Series of Switches

Catalyst Quality for Small Deployments

When your business is growing, you need your network to enable that growth, not stand in the way of it. So, it’s important to have a network that you know you can rely on. This is why we designed the Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series switches – providing flexibility, simplicity, and security for deployments of up to 250 users.

Flexible, so you can allocate resources intelligently

Small businesses are known for agility, so your network requirements may change over time. The great news is, the Catalyst 1000 switches fit a host of use cases, whether you’re adding connectivity for an increase in staff or bringing online a host of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

For example, Catalyst 1000 provides both flexibility and redundancy to your network with horizontal stacking. This is helpful in the age of pay as you go, which allows stacking over Small Form Factor (SFP) and Enhanced SFP (SFP+) front-panel ports. This way, you can keep adding switches to the network as needed. Up to eight switches can be part of a single stack, all functioning as a single switch with unified management/control plane and distributed control plane.

The compact, fanless design of the Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series means it does not need to be placed in a wiring closet, but instead can sit in an open-plan office, day spa, or classroom without disturbing the environment.

The series also offers a greater PoE budget, which means you can run more devices per port. Plus, Perpetual PoE ensures that the connected devices retain power in the event of a switch reboot.

Simple, so you can do more, easier and faster

Not all businesses have the luxury of experienced, dedicated IT professionals to keep their networks running. Even if they do, it’s likely that each IT person has to wear multiple hats. For this reason, we have built in several features that help save on network management time.

One of these features is an on-box intuitive WebUI, called Cisco Configuration Professional (CCP). CCP provides you with a wizard for day-0 setup, day-N provisioning, image upgrades, troubleshooting, diagnostics, system monitoring, and a client view.

Smart Managed models in the series are only managed through the WebUI, while the fixed managed switches offer complete access to the command-line interface (CLI) for those network administrators who prefer greater control over their management.

Other time-saving features include the ability to connect via a Bluetooth dongle, and automatic switch recovery. You can access the user interface through Bluetooth connectivity by pairing the switch to a computer – helpful when the switch is tucked away somewhere hard to reach. With automatic switch recovery, you can configure automatic recovery on the switch to recover from the error-disabled state after the specified period of time.

To demonstrate how easy it is to use, we asked a customer why they recommend the Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series switches over any other competitor’s switches or even pro/consumer options.

“Adding users, access points, and changing port types and VLAN settings can all be accomplished in minutes. The user interface is designed for people with minimal technical knowledge – and the device pretty much configures itself.”

—John House, Senior IT Network Administrator for Transpo Systems

Secure and reliable, so you can grow with confidence

Even smaller networks must serve multiple functions, and the Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series switches make it easy to meet competing demands with expanded support for VLANs. Larger-scale access control tables enable network administrators to segment traffic for greater security and control. The series runs classic Cisco IOS, one of the most hardened networking operating systems ever released. Advanced security features like 802.1x authentication and IPv6 First Hop Security provide additional protection.

When a business is running in high gear, you need to be confident that your networking gear is going to keep running as well. Reliability has been built into the Catalyst 1000 series. When the only space you have to place the switch is in an unventilated closet, the extended operating temperature range is a boon. And with Perpetual PoE, your endpoints will continue to have power even if the switch must be rebooted.

Upgrade from the Catalyst 2960-L switch series

The Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series is the upgrade for the Catalyst 2960-L series. Compared to the C2960-L, the C1000 series has improved hardware reliability, more advanced software options, and provides expanded support for VLANs.

All in all, the Catalyst 1000 series offers cost-effective connectivity that is ideal for a variety of network needs:

◈ Branch offices with conventionally wired workspaces with PC, IP phones, Wireless Access Points, Cash Registers and printers, etc.

◈ Building infrastructure networks to connect physical security, sensors and control systems; and any application requiring Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and a low total cost of ownership.

The Catalyst 1000 series switches are also backed by our enhanced limited lifetime hardware warranty. This provides next-business-day delivery of replacement hardware where available and 90 days of 8×5 Cisco Technical Assistance Center.

Flexible, simple and secure, the Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series switches deliver enterprise-grade quality sized for small deployments.

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Get Quality Preparation with Cisco 210-451: CCNA Cloud (CLDFND) Sample Question

• Exam Name: Understanding Cisco Cloud Fundamentals
• Exam Number: 210-451 CLDFND
• Exam Price: $300 USD
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Number of Questions: 55-65
• Passing Score: Variable (750-850 / 1000 Approx.)
• Recommended Training:
• Understanding Cisco Cloud Fundamentals (CLDFND)
• Understanding Cisco Cloud Fundamentals (CLDFND) E-Learning
• Exam Registration: PEARSON VUE
• Sample Questions: Cisco 210-451 Sample Questions
• Practice Exam: Cisco Certified Network Associate Cloud Practice Test

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The Awesome Power of Webex Collaboration Combinations

Universal Combinations Guaranteed to Make Your Day Great

What is the best part of your morning? We used to hear commercials like Folgers coffee say, “It’s Folgers in your cup”.  I think they were on to something big because millions of people around the world have a love affair with coffee and start their day off with coffee and their favorite pairing, from doughnuts, warm baked breads, muffins, scones, croissants and more, people love a great combo. I myself love an extra hot chai tea latte, and a vanilla Tahini bar.

Essential Workplace Combinations to Help You Thrive

At Cisco Webex we believe our collaboration technology paired with your device of choice, brings you many essential combinations to thrive in your professional daily lives. Here are my favorite Webex combinations, that enable me to have a productive workday, every day:

#1 Productive Start

As I start my morning, it is important for me to review my plan for the day and that starts with me checking my Webex Teams application on my mobile device for messages from my team, look to see if I’ve missed any urgent calls and to review meetings upcoming for the day and respond as appropriate. As a corporate executive and global leader, the combination I use most often and essential to my daily routine is with my mobile device and Webex Teams application. I have meetings at varied times of the day, including my commute to and from work, and need to collaborate and connect with my team, anytime anywhere. I love that Webex enhances my daily work routine, simply, and with the velocity I need on the go.

#2 Intuitive Experiences

My second favorite combination might surprise you, it’s not the obvious like chocolate covered strawberries and champagne, which admittedly I do love too, but it’s the intuitive experiences, ease of use and the power of the outcomes my team and I achieve during the day, enabled by AI in Webex Meetings and our Devices. Here are a few magical examples that happen effortlessly when we join AI to our Webex Meetings and Devices.

#3 Join Meetings Seamlessly

When I arrive into the office daily, I’m usually finishing up a call from my mobile office; I walk into my physical office and my Webex Teams Board device, comes alive and has “Hello Aruna” pop up on screen. The invisible proximity pairing technology from my mobile device to my Webex Teams enabled devices, allow my profile to connect, so I can use, my device of choice for the next meeting, whether it’s a one-to-one, with my team or one-to-many, I love the convenience and simplicity of Webex connecting me to others and just working.

#4 Knowing What Matters Most is Now Enabled by AI

Being an executive my meetings are typically back to back and depending on the nature of the call or who I’m meeting with, I love the prompt by my Webex Assistant on my Webex Teams board that says “Hello Aruna, you have a call in five minutes, would you like to join?”, I simply answer “Yes.” and boom I’m in the meeting.

Even more surreal in the meeting is Facial Recognition, I can now see the name tags underneath the faces of the people I’m meeting with. How many times do we join a meeting and think, “Hmm who is that person in the blue shirt?”. Now with virtual tags, I know who is in the meeting and can address them by name when we converse.

#5 People Insights, the X-Factor in Webex Meetings

Another AI feature within Webex Teams I love is People Insights which adds an X-Factor to my meetings. Now before, during, or after a meeting, I can go one step further and hover over a name of a person and view a detailed profile with public information, such as their name, title, education, company and more will pop up, to help me connect on a more human and personalized level.

#6 AI Improving the Meetings Experience Through Voice Transcription

My final favorite AI combination is with Webex Meetings and Voice Transcription. During my meetings, my team and I rarely have time to take fast and furious notes to capture all that is going on, take action items and jot down key insights, but meetings just got better because Webex AI now has voice transcription! As a video meeting is taking place, we have a virtual assistant not only transcribing in real time, but can also transcribe in other languages, can take action items and can share out the meeting notes promptly after the call. I hope you are just as excited as we are for this added innovation.

The Awesome Power of Combinations

The way Webex + my mobile device, + offices devices, or + my life, just works, is an incredibly and invaluable collaboration tool, that helps me optimize my day in a magical way, like Rainbows and Unicorns.

When you think of the power of technology combined with the daily rhythm of our lives, we experience so much value no matter where we are in the world. To our British friends the magical relation might be Rugby and a Pint…

…or Tea and Scones.

To our Aussie friends the magical relation may be Meat Pie and Sauce…

…or Board Shorts and Thongs.

More than Design Thinking

These combinations bring a smile to our face, put a joy in our heart, and bring us so much happiness… There is an awesome and unexplainable thing that takes place when two or more people gather with their talents to create and ideate, where thoughts flow and dreams are realized; that’s the power of collaboration and we believe the best collaborations happen on Webex.

Our Brand Campaign The best collaborations happen on Webex

We are very excited to bring to market our new brand campaign, which will be launched in three geographies: US, UK and Australia. Just like coffee and doughnuts makes our mornings and how champagne and strawberries make our twilight hour… Webex, enables the best collaborations to happen when people come together, anywhere, anytime, on any device around the world.

 

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Time to Get Ahead of the Wi-Fi 6 Upgrade Curve

Sometimes technical innovations strike like lightning. In a flash, shiny new tech arrives and is instantly put in the hands of millions of people. Other times innovations seem like the ocean tide. You can see the slow change coming as the waters incrementally rise, but you’re never quite sure at what point high tide arrives and you’re ready to jump in to ride the next wave.

Each generation of Wi-Fi arrives like the tide, slowly building up, not arriving all at once, but unstoppable nevertheless. Cisco has been preparing for Wi-Fi 6 for some time now. The standard is finalized. 802.11ax (aka Wi-Fi 6) certification of radios, access points, and controllers is underway. Manufacturers are busy incorporating Wi-Fi 6 chipsets into their new products.

Wi-Fi 6 Devices are Populating Enterprise Carpeted Spaces Today

Just a few generations of networking ago it was still common to have Ethernet cables in every office to connect desktop behemoths to the corporate network. As desktop PCs evolved into lightweight laptops, wireless connectivity quickly followed as the network of choice to take advantage of increasing mobility. The “app generation” came next with the BYOD wave of wireless smart phones and tablets that invaded the corporate network.

As mobility became a top priority, Wi-Fi took off in carpeted corporate spaces. Access points for Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) and Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac wave 1 and 2) sprouted from ceilings in every floor, conference room, and common area. In retrospect the move to wireless connectivity happened very quickly in terms of IT refresh cycles driven by a more mobile workforce requiring access to SaaS applications and IP streaming collaboration services, anytime, anywhere.

Now, Wi-Fi 6 devices are already appearing in people’s hands as progressive companies like Apple and Samsung lead with their next generation of phones. New laptops and tablets shipping today are incorporating Wi-Fi 6 as the new default, bringing the ability to run applications that require low latency and fast downloads—and uploads!—to enhance mobile computing. While Wi-Fi 6 devices will readily attach to older -ac or -n access points, the device owners will not notice any change in performance, resulting in a disappointing experience.

Collaboration Applications Benefit from Lower Latency, Guaranteed Throughput

In the enterprise, collaboration applications are becoming a must-have platform to tie together the workforce in traditional carpeted spaces, campus meeting areas, and remote and mobile offices. The importance of keeping everyone on the same page as well as providing immediate connections from field to office is making high-definition video and audio streaming a critical capability that depends on quality wireless access anytime, anywhere.

For a satisfactory collaboration experience, the network needs to provide appropriate bandwidth to handle the up and down stream video transmission with low latency for multiple connections for each meeting. Latency management is specifically addressed in Wi-Fi 6 in a couple of ways. Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) enables clients and APs to split the available spatial streams among multiple client devices for both up and down transmissions. Combined with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), an RF modulation technique, Wi-Fi 6 enables multiple clients to simultaneously receive data during the same transmit opportunity.

These enhancements to Wi-Fi 6 enable better Quality of Experience (QoE) for collaboration platforms. As the use of video conferencing increases in an effort to decrease costly—and carbon-footprint heavy—travel, Wi-Fi 6 is ready to take on the extra load.

Customer Experience Depends on Quality of Wireless Service

Upgrading to Wi-Fi 6 is particularly important for organizations with customer-facing applications that depend on public wireless access. Hospitality and retail enterprises want to interface with guests and customers via their mobile device of choice. In a hotel, for example, guests expect the same connectivity performance that they have in their corporate or home network. Superior network performance is a checkbox for repeat business, poor network performance results in a black mark.

In retail, customers want to use their mobile apps to find deals, send photos and videos of merchandise to friends, and use mobile payments. Deep inside a mall with weak LTE coverage, an overloaded Wi-Fi results in customer frustration and lost sales. For expansive indoor spaces, Wi-Fi 6 provides peerless coverage and roaming, fast onboarding, and the capacity to handle hundreds of connections simultaneously.

In the education environment, students visiting prospective campuses will immediately notice if the Wi-Fi coverage meets their expectations for performance. Students expect a flawless wireless experience in lecture halls—where everyone has laptops and mobile devices operating all at once—and demand that classwork files and videos can be instantly downloaded and streamed. In high-density environments like these, Wi-Fi 6 excels at meeting the demand for fast onboarding, stable connectivity, and low latency. Even in an environment with mixed Wi-Fi 5 and 6-capable devices, everyone benefits from the more efficient use of existing bandwidth if the access points are Wi-Fi 6 capable.

In these cases, the Wi-Fi 6 tide is in and it’s time to get your network up to date to keep up with customer, guest, and student expectations and take advantage of the latest innovation in wireless connectivity. To make wireless communications even more seamless, Cisco is in the process of rolling out OpenRoaming, which will make onboarding to wireless networks, that are part of the OpenRoaming Federation, automatic. It will also create a bridge between Wi-Fi and 5G networks to make the transition between the two transparent to the device. I will discuss this more in a future blog post.

Smart Buildings and Connected IoT Will Flourish with Wi-Fi 6

Buildings are becoming smarter to increase energy efficiency while adapting the spaces to people and organizational needs. From motion-sensing lights and HVAC systems that adjust office spaces automatically, to built-in conferencing systems and smart whiteboards, IoT devices are permeating office, factory, retail, and healthcare spaces. The cost of adding smart IoT to existing spaces is reduced when many devices can communicate wirelessly instead of threading cables in every nook and cranny.

While the goal is to create a smart environment, many of the individual IoT devices are actually fairly simple, with limited local processing, security settings, and battery power. The wireless network, therefore, must provide security, management tools for visibility into device identities, and granular segmentation to control traffic flows as well as access permissions. The smart building requires an intelligent network to manage and safeguard all the components.

Fortunately, core technology built into Wi-Fi 6 addresses many of the challenges of connecting and managing smart buildings—and ultimately smart cities. With a multitude of sensors, cameras, and all vying for bandwidth, Wi-Fi 6 access points reduce interference using BSS Coloring, which enables devices to identify the closest AP by “color” and tune out all other transmissions from nearby APs and devices. The Target Wake Time capability enables devices to conserve battery power by coordinating sleep cycles with the local AP, so instead of connecting many times a minute, they can be set to wake and transmit less frequently and still maintain a connection when needed. Reduced latency is also an important requirement for IoT applications. Wi-Fi 6 reduces latency and jitter using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), which enables many low-bandwidth streams to transmit in parallel.

Monitoring network performance, identifying device types, and securing wired and wireless devices is the function of Cisco Intent-based Networking components Cisco DNA Center, Identity Services Engine, SD-Access, and Assurance. These services running on top of Wi-Fi 6 capabilities create an intelligent wireless fabric to make the smart building a holistic collaboration of sensors, devices, access points, and controllers that are all securely managed from a central portal.

It Really is Time to Take Advantage of Wi-Fi 6

Whether your organization is expanding physically with new buildings, adding employees, moving to more cloud services, or wanting to interface more directly with customers through mobile apps, upgrading to Wi-Fi 6-based infrastructure will immediately provide many benefits and prepare for future growth. Cisco Wi-Fi 6 APs and Controllers will provide not only faster data transfers, but lower latency for much more responsive applications, as well as better performance in high-density environments—all areas that are improved from previous generations of Wi-Fi. Don’t get behind the curve, the time to start your upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 is now.

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Our World in Transition and Our Future Demands

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and for me, it’s a time to reflect on where we’ve been and how far we’ve come, study the trends and challenges we face today, and look ahead to the next generation of opportunities facing not only the security community, but society at large.

In my more than 30 years in the security industry, it’s been interesting to see how technology has evolved and changed the world. Security started off as a ‘systems’ conversation. Now, technology touches everyone’s lives, and as a result, cybersecurity affects us all – individuals, businesses, cities, countries, our global community.

From Use to Reliance

During our lifetimes, we’ve shifted from using technology to, in very subtle ways, becoming reliant on it. Whether we realize it or not, these subtleties have made us dependent on technology. The notion of ‘always on’ access to data is highly disruptive to us when we don’t have it. Take maps for example: using a printed map is foreign to us today, and when the maps on our devices don’t work, we’re lost, literally.

When technology is unavailable, in many respects we feel ‘out of the loop’ and behind in knowing what’s going on. There’s a lagging indicator that says, ‘Now that we have access to current information, we always expect this level of connectivity – we depend on it.’ That reliance makes securing the data and the systems that deliver it to us that much more vital.

A Confluence of Change – All in Three Years

Since 2017, three major transitions have occurred that illustrate how complicated cybersecurity has become for us all globally. These transitions have caused security professionals to feel the pressure and scrutiny from a number of organizations that have upped their games. They’re having to catch up to a confluence of changes, all occurring at the same time:

1. Technology

Prior to 2017, IT predominantly built and ran an organization’s technology infrastructure, spending on security and hoping it works, relying on best-of-breed products, and managing it all reactively.

We all needed cybersecurity, but how could we net the best results – the greatest level of efficacy – from the solutions we purchased? Exactly how much value are we getting when spending on a solution? Is it all integrated as a best strategy or are we simply buying technology from the leading brand name or best advertised?

Today, leading IT teams build, buy and run security, use a ‘best-of-integrated’ architecture approach and emphasize visibility, controls, measures and proactive approaches to security that drive efficacy and value.

2. Laws, Regulations, and Customer Requirements

This transition shows the increasing influence that laws, regulations and customer requirements have on a technology or service provider to its clients, and in turn, to their customers, citizens, colleagues, families and friends.

The formalization of laws and regulations – from the EU-NIS Directive to GDPR to the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework to the California Consumer Privacy Act, to name a few – have driven greater scrutiny and reform. It’s accelerated substantially in a short period of time, from ‘do-it-yourself’ disharmonious regulations and rule, to a set of country, inter-country and international use standards.

Now corporate and government leaders across the international community are being held accountable. This transition from varying self-rule and self-regulation to accountability, breach reporting and disclosure highlights the implications of mishandling data and privacy through significant fines and executive firings.

In many respects, it’s been a long time coming. What’s interesting is that now that it’s here, it’s caught many off-guard – and it’s by no means slowing down.

3. Internal Oversight

When I started in InfoSec, security was mainly an engineering or computer science discipline. The security team was often avoided so that they couldn’t suppress innovation because of security concerns. The business was self-governing with inconsistent levels of oversight.

Today, internal reporting to and oversight by executive leadership, the CEO, the board of directors and shareholders are becoming standard practice to ensure proper governance. In part, it is a response to the regulatory landscape and the need for higher levels of accountability and oversight from within. It’s also based on the criticality of technology moving from something we use to something we rely on to deliver a service.

All three of these transitions came to the fore in a very short period of time to know how to effectively react, govern and solve for it. By the way, we’re all going through this and determining our own strategies to face the challenges, net the value they deliver, and understand how to be safe and secure in and around it all.

Our Future Demands

Today, there are about 4 billion internet users globally – all told about 10X of what it was in 2000. We’re in a world where everything is being connected and generating data. This will have significant impact on the next few years in particular and even more substantially into the future.

By next year, there will be about 200 billion devices ‘on air,’ which includes cars, telemetry in cities, sensors and a multitude of other connected devices. Two-hundred billion is almost an ephemeral number, but it’s not to be underestimated because the number of vendors creating IoT-connected technology is growing probably 3-4X every year than the prior year. That’s a trend that I don’t see slowing down any time soon.

By 2021, cybercrime is estimated to be a $6 trillion industry – a very profitable industry, though I don’t recommend it as a career choice. It does illustrate the depth and breadth of the challenge – that it’s an international and global issue that we all have to work together to solve because it’s something that we all face.

Raising the Bar for a More Secure Future

Governments and businesses globally are raising the bar to meet the challenge around product assurance, cloud assurance, IoT, lawful intercept, data protection, privacy and the like. Some 30-odd countries are writing or revising their cybersecurity strategies and each can have profound implications on how data is shared and how systems are built.

So, during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, consider what you can do to make the world more safe and secure, and take action. What can you do as individuals? How are you protecting yourself online and helping your business, colleagues, friends and family to do the same? Each individual act, when taken together, can move us all to a more secure future.

We’re not looking for headlines that show ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ We need trend lines that show that what we’re doing collectively is moving us all towards lower risk. As long as the trend line is going in the right direction, we’re doing what we need to do – and we must all do our part.

For governments, companies and individuals alike, Cisco’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month site offers events, activities and educational content, and ways to get involved. The Cisco Trust Center also offers resources to help you with security, data protection and privacy. Both feature links to security reports, videos, threat intelligence, thought leadership and more that will keep you informed.

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How To Get Good Score in Cisco 300-135: CCNP Routing and Switching (TSHOOT) Certification Exam in Short Time

• Exam Name: Troubleshooting and Maintaining Cisco IP Networks
• Exam Number: 300-135 TSHOOT
• Exam Price: $300 USD
• Duration: 120 minutes
• Number of Questions: 15-25
• Passing Score: Variable (750-850 / 1000 Approx.)
• Exam Registration: PEARSON VUE
• Sample Questions: Cisco 300-135 Sample Questions
• Practice Exam: Cisco Certified Network Professional Routing and Switching Practice Test
• Recommended Training:
• Troubleshooting and Maintaining Cisco IP Switched Networks v2.0 (TSHOOT)
• Cisco E-Learning for CCNP TSHOOT v2.0
• Cisco Learning Labs for CCNP TSHOOT v2.0
• CCNA and CCNP Premium Training Package

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