As we rebuild the economic standing of our individual organizations.  We seek to find ways to cut back on cost while increasing productivity and ease of use. However, understanding where to start can be quite daunting and time-consuming. None the less, the needs our organisations face, persist and the problems compound. You find yourself sitting in your comfy leather chair, asking your self day in and day out what do I need to do? What are the risk that I need to take if I find the so-called solution….Financial implications and Impact? These questions are highly applicable to your day-to-day data flow concerns.

However I would like to add that it is important to look towards the future with a new certainty, embracing the possibility of changing the way we connect for one. As all business functions, their need is  to communicate their internal functions, in order to bring their service or product to their intended consumer. In order to do this successfully;  there must a clear blood stream( Your network), that functions beyond par, allowing it to deliver the Oxygen ( Communicated thoughts/Network Activity) to the system, creating an athletic capacity that makes the company flexible and strong enough to communicate the game plane at time demanding speeds, without set back. Right?

Cisco has that new Networking approach. But, don’t just take my word for it. See for yourself: Cisco borderless NetWork Home.

Connect anyone, anywhere, using any device, to any resource, securely, reliably, and seamlessly.

Cisco’s Borderless Network architecture uses the power of the network to:

• Deliver a media experience that enhances productivity
• Streamline operations to increase flexibility, resiliency, and security

With the newly launched Borderless Access solutions, Cisco delivers powerful systems capabilities that allow you to increase business innovation with video, mobility, and security.

Do your research and let me know what you think.

On Wednesday  July 7th, 2010 ; Vikram Ramesh Sr. Solutions Marketing Manager at Riverbed Technology will be speaking alongside Laura Shay, Director of Group Product Marketing of Polycom, to present Enterprise Video capabilities utilizing Riverbed’s Steelhead technology.

Time 11:00 am PST/ 2:00 p.m EST

Do not miss this Webinar!

Register Now

Via Invite :

Video streaming is a perfect solution for executive and corporate communications, trainings, event webcasts and sharing knowledge across the organization. But the cost of creation and distribution, and bandwidth-challenged networks, are often too much for organizations to afford and manage.

Join Riverbed® expert Vikram Ramesh and Polycom Director Laura Shay as they discuss how Polycom and Riverbed have joined to create a complete video communications solution that reduces enterprise WAN video traffic by as much as 98 percent. Attend this seminar and learn how to:
•    Deliver live and on-demand video to a global community
•    Reduce WAN video bandwidth consumption and
hardware costs
•    Effectively address security and governance mandates

A loud roar from the crowd below, erupts. The cheers, the shouts or excitement, the enthusiasm is thick. The expectations for this is nothing short of high.

So where do we go from here?

Latency!  What is Latency? It is that nightmare that will keep your company from moving at an efficient speed. It sneaks up on your organization while it is sleeping, with its ‘Eyes Wide Shut’.  Sorry Mr. Cruise.  It is the last thing you want your end users to deal with, but they do, and they cry and complain, and those who are not so savvy as the others, do not realize it happening, but they are even more unproductive. Because things are just that slow.  It is much like driving on the LA Freeway during rush hour as apposed to doing so at night when things are lest congested. F5 is more like that night drive, a smooth and stress reduced cruise.

I have been hearing much about Wan Optimization as of late and I must say I am beginning to hear many great things about it. However there are many naysayers out there. If you happen to be one of them. Take the time of to learn more about it before shooting it down. F5 offers a bevy of solutions, and WAN optimization just happens to be one of them.

Here are some excerpts taken directly from F5 website off the WAN optimization page:

Sitting on my couch last night getting my fix of ’24’, I had the utmost honor of seeing Tele-presence in action. It was awesome. In the middle of a crisis, multiple parties were able to connect in a meeting in real-time, across a vast body of land, as if they were right in the room with one another.

If you are not too familiar with telepresence, the time is now. If you are maintaining  a global company with a vast network of employees that need real, down to the minute access to all required parties in critical matters. Tele presence is the solution.   If communication has been interrupted by delays, or business needs to be done faster. Telepresence is the key.

Here is a brief pointer taken from the Cisco site:

To thrive in today’s economy, you have to collaborate with colleagues, partners, and customers around the globe at a moment’s notice. At the same time, you need to conduct your business to enhance the quality of your relationships.

In the past, building and maintaining those critical business relationships meant expensive face-to-face engagement and productivity challenges, as well as mention time spent away from home and family.

Cisco TelePresence creates a live, face-to-face communication experience over the network that empowers you to collaborate like never before. Cisco TelePresence helps people meet, share content, create high-quality video recordings and events, consult with experts and deliver powerful personalized services, all using the power of the network for an immersive in-person experience.

With Cisco TelePresence:

• Scheduling is easy-no IT support required
• Launching a meeting is as simple as making a phone call.
• People appear lifelike and life-size
• In-room controls are intuitive
• Collaboration applications are plug and play
• Participants can meet in many rooms at once-up to 48 locations in one meeting
• Users can meet, record high-quality video, or participate in impactful special events
• Users can easily bring in collaboration applications like WebEx
• Existing SD or HD videoconferencing systems can be easily integrated.

Now it’s easier than ever to see facial expressions for those crucial business discussions and negotiations across the “virtual table.”

Source

UPDATE : It has been brought to my attention with further research that 24 has been utilizing (Tele)presence for some time now. Since I am a new band wagon fan(proud of it), I am a bit behind. However that does not take away from what I tried to get across.

Here are some clips of (Tele)presence in action

I am not talking IT today. I prefer to just talk about our realities.

 We have heard promises from Washington. Those promises will take time, if implemented, to bring about the change, that some of us voted for. However, I am not talking politics today.

As it stands today you must work with the resources that you have. But are you really doing so? There are many resources, and I have had the pleasure of being one.  As time goes on, I see the value that I have added, not by being the one that knows it all, or the one that sold you on the great ideas of virtualization or Data Deduplication,  but the one that goes and find the answer to the problem. Your Problem! As a team we are here and as such we will play to score the points needed to drive us all home. The end result is; things work, and you can  go home and rest at night knowing that all is right with your work

Initiatives  not materializing?  Is ‘every no preventing  you from working toward  your goal, blocking new ideas that will bring new fruit?  

The rain is coming down, the earth is being watered, but if there is not a seed to obsorb the value of of its liquid life the land will remain bare.  When all who has allowed the risk, in planting seed in a desolate, dry climate will have a chance, they  will be the ones that step into the new era of business.

By now I hope you are aware that I am speaking about Information Tech, and the lack of understanding its value. A value that is on a much larger scale, it should be weighed properly and what it can do should be highly considered. Focusing on both the hard cost and the soft cost.

Thinking must change.  Allowing us to shape  a new destiny for our companies. No solution was ever met by ignoring the problem.

What are you doing to captain a ship? Are you allowing it to slowly sink?  Have you questioned yourself instead of those above? Are you asking yourself more than I am asking of you?

Stop pulling your hair out.