As someone who always recommends a short video in any partner or customer presentation to bring it to life. Here is the latest viral video from Cisco that was posted on YouTube over the weekend.
I’ve heard that Cisco have hired a couple of Marketing folks from the Microsoft Office365 team and it looks like they have got straight into action with this this video; highlighting a few of Cisco’s strengths against their old employers. Thankfully its not the usual Cisco technical spin; its a video aimed at getting Managers and Directors thinking about the strategic agenda of their business.
I tweeted this video earlier today, but I wanted to blog about it too.
Orange Business Services & Cisco have created ‘Business Together as a Service’; a Unified Communications & Collaboration service in the cloud. What I like about this offering is that to me, this is a true cloud service. Leading UC and Collaboration solutions available across multiple operating systems and devices, on demand and secure. What I also like, is that it’s an individual service for individual companies, not a one size fits all public cloud offering.
Have a look and let me know what you think?
Will Apple be hurting? A little bit, but it’s really RIM, Microsoft and the other Android tablets that are in for a tough time. Amazon seem to have created a lovely device and new web browser aimed at the mass market. There is plenty of people that want an iPad but don’t want to pay the premium for a Tablet. We all saw what happened when HP did a firesale on their Touchpads, the price point was just right for the mass market.
There are also plenty of people out there that love their Kindle’s and prefer the smaller form factor. I’m a new Kindle user. I read 4 books on holiday last week and loved the device. When my iPhone blew up I even tried out the Kindle browser. It wasn’t great, but it looks like Amazon have invested a lot of R&D to build their new Silk browser. It looks very slick and uses Amazon’s EC2 cloud to really optimize the user experience.
But the key to Amazon’s success is going to be content. Their vast amount of books, magazines and music means that the Kindle is certain to be a must have device. Portable, slick, easy and powerful when on the Internet. I have been trying to think what sort of people will buy one? To be honest at that price I think its pretty much aimed at everyone. In today’s consumer market, it’s the content that is king. Amazon has that in bucket loads, and all on a device less than $200.
As you all know, I’m a sucker for a cool infographic. And I couldnt resist this one from BestVendor , as its also really interesting to see the different tools and applications that Startups and Small Businesses use across the company and not just Office365 or Google Apps.
As I end my 1st month in my new job at Cisco, I have to say I’m really impressed with the forward thinking of the company. There has been a few negative articles in the media about Cisco’s mixed strategy, and then there was the decision to can the Flip camera. But at the heart of the Cisco is a desire to get people collaborating anywhere, anytime and more importantly on any device. As the Consumerisation of IT gathers speed, Cisco’s Collaboration solutions work on multiple platforms including Windows, Apple, Android and Blackberry giving a similar user experience across them all. I strongly believe that this is the true meaning of Cloud Computing; similar to the post I made several months ago about Amazon and its Kindle. Its not about locking people to a device or operating system, its about choice and letting people use whatever means they want to be more efficient. Cisco do this, but there aren’t many other software vendors that can claim that.
Next week I’m off to the Galway Innovation Centre with a group of Partners to see the latest and greatest Cisco solutions in action; I’ll report back next week.
Well it would be, however this billboard has been placed a mere 5miles from VMware World Headquarters in Palo Alto. Its also on the route that most VMware employees take to work!
For someone who has worked at Microsoft for over 5years now this sort of feisty advertising is a sight for sore eyes. Over the time that I’ve been here, its been frowned apon internally if we create a campaign that competes directly with another software vendor. However “Cloud Computing” seems to be the game changer!
Next step for Microsoft? Hopefully a focus on Social Marketing and viral
Many of you will be just as impressed with the above advert for Kindle. I thought it was an excellent advertisement from Amazon detailing exactly how many devices / platforms they now support. Then I got thinking, surely this is the goal for all software vendors working in the Cloud. Don’t get hung up on whether the devices are PCs or Mac’s; Androids or iPhones; make your service consumable on as many platforms as possible to make life easier for the user.
I’d like to see Microsoft start thinking like this and perhaps create iPhone apps for Windows Live, allow me to sync information between Microsoft and non-Microsoft devices. As our new adverts on TV state, “to the cloud”; it would be nice if there was a richer experience across multiplatform to change some people’s perceptions of the organisation.
I love Twitter! To be fair it’s the only way I would have seen the 2010 Gartner Hype Cycle over the weekend; I needed a distraction from Strictly Come Dancing and the X Factor!
Working for Microsoft I find these types of Reports really interesting; especially as a large focus of my role is now around Cloud Computing.
What interested me the most in the report was how Gartner had rightly separated Cloud into Public, Private and Platform rather than bundle them together as they did in 2009. As Software Vendors jostle for position in the Cloud, clear lines are being drawn around which model is best; SaaS, IaaS or PaaS. To be honest, they all have their place.
My own personal view is that SaaS model like Google and Microsoft Online Services work well in the Small to Mid-Market space. Enterprise customers really want their own Private Cloud or Dynamic Datacenter. This is probably why Gartner have plotted Private Cloud at the up and coming area of the Hype Cycle; Larger Businesses want the flexibility of the cloud but also want to keep control of their own data. My thoughts are that IT Departments in the future will become a business within a business offering IT Services to departments on a utility style basis. Of course this model requires initial investment to Optimise the Infrastructure first….although I’ve been preaching about Businesses doing that for about 10years now. Is the hype right this time?
This nice infograph from Column Five Media gives a easy to understand view of where the world of IT is heading. My role with Microsoft is now almost 80% focused on the Cloud, be it the Public Cloud with Microsoft Online Services and Windows Azure, or the Private Cloud with Dyanmic Datacenter and Virtualisation. Microsoft dont seem to pushing the top of this list of top vendors but this infograph is a little old now and probably doesnt take into account the latest announcements made at WPC.
The latest Microsoft Cloud Service was released to Beta at MMS2010 in Las Vegas yesterday. “Windows Intune delivers cloud-based management and security capabilities that can be administered through a single Web-based console. Windows Intune enables IT to manage PCs from virtually anywhere.” For further details including how to get the Beta please click here
Social Computing Business Development Manager at Cisco. Exiled Scot, ex-London Scottish rugby player. Loves fitness, social media, surf, snow, whisky. I have my moments.
