一方面极力拉拢与合作伙伴的关系，另一方面又非常明确地向竞争对手宣战，尽管面临全球经济放缓的考验，思科却表现出前所未有的自信。
##CONTINUE##
“我们目前的任务不是生存，而是如何抓住目前的机遇实现扩张。”在日前召开的思科2009年合作伙伴峰会上，思科全球渠道高级副总裁Keith Goodwin作出了这样一个令业界吃惊的宣言。
思科表示，将对其渠道体系作出重大调整，以帮助合作伙伴更好地应对充满挑战的经济环境，并为即将到来的经济复苏做好准备；与此同时，思科更加明确了与微软和惠普之间的竞争关系，“我们将与惠普竞争。”思科全球CEO钱伯斯明确表示。
渠道变阵
在这次合作伙伴峰会上，思科公布了其全新的渠道激励计划“Navigate to Accelerate”。绝大部分产品都是通过渠道合作伙伴销售，这是思科销售模式的重要特点。思科通过对合作伙伴的分级管理和有侧重的激励，完成对产品销售的调控。
一位来自中国的思科合作伙伴对CBN记者解释说，从渠道合作伙伴的角度来看，这次的激励计划主要有三方面的亮点。
首先，思科将在全球信贷紧缩的情况下，为合作伙伴提供更多资金支持。其中包括将渠道融资期限由之前的60天进一步延长到90天，这一计划的发展重点是亚太地区和欧洲。
“在现金流短缺的情况下，资金支持变得非常重要。”上述渠道伙伴表示。据思科介绍，自从2008年10月以来，通过思科的信贷支持，合作伙伴将销售额新增了20亿美元，而思科还打算将融资计划扩大到140个国家和地区，这是其他IT厂商的两倍。
其次，思科将为合作伙伴提供更高的返点，思科管理服务全球副总裁Jeff Spagnola在接受CBN记者专访时表示，为了鼓励合作伙伴更多参与思科管理服务的销售，思科将为合作伙伴提供最高达48%的返点。
当Keith Goodwin宣布，将在其VIP(Value Incentive Program)渠道价值激励计划中加入路由器和交换机等更多基础架构产品时，全场近千名渠道商对此抱以热烈掌声。
VIP价值激励计划是思科在2003年开始推出的，开始主要包括各种先进技术产品，而思科的基础架构产品，比如路由器和交换机等被渠道认为“最好卖”的产品并不在其中，到目前为止，思科已经通过VIP返点的方式为其合作伙伴提供了25亿美元的奖励。而这次对VIP的调整，意味着合作伙伴将获得更多的优惠和支持。
向竞争对手开战
自从思科在今年年初推出自己的服务器产品，业界评论就指出，思科将与传统合作伙伴惠普、IBM等展开竞争，不过思科一直回避这个说法，而在这次的合作伙伴大会上，钱伯斯非常明确地指出，“我们将与惠普竞争。”
除了惠普之外，微软也位列思科提及的竞争对手名单，双方的主要竞争领域在包括统一通信在内的数据中心业务。从传统上来说，思科的竞争对手只局限于北电、阿朗、3Com等企业。
管理服务和数据中心业务对思科而言，是相对较新的两个领域，也是思科在这次渠道伙伴峰会上强调的重点业务，被思科认为能给合作伙伴带来更多利润。至此，思科的产品线进一步从底层的路由器等硬件产品拓展到中层的应用以及高层的服务和解决方案等整个系列。
据思科亚太区总裁陈仕炜介绍，目前亚太区是思科在全球增长最快的一个市场，而就国家来划分，中国是思科增长最快的发展中国家。目前，亚太区在思科全球的份额是10%～11%，而陈仕炜的计划是在3～5年内，将这个数字提高到20%。
为了达到这个目标，思科已经实现了相当一部分产品在中国的研发和生产，实际上，在新一轮的经济复苏中，中国政府出台的经济刺激计划是所有亚太国家中力度最大的，这被思科认为是最重要的发展机遇，“思科在中国已经做得相当不错，但我们相信我们还能做得更好。”思科亚太区渠道总监Mike Allen表示。
-----------------------------
文章出处：第一财经日报
作者：马晓芳
Showing posts with label Cisco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cisco. Show all posts
Cisco to leverage 30 focus areas to drive future growth n
Starting with six focus areas in 2003, which it had identified to drive future growth and revenue streams, Cisco has now expnded the number five fold to 30. The common theme underpinning all these is the explosion of data traffic over wired and wireless IP networks.
##CONTINUE##
According to Cisco CEO John Chambers, the company is planning to move at a previously un-attempted speed across these areas.
The company's core business of IP infrastructure mainly routers is expected to remain at the heart of its business, however the company is gearing up for what it calls the zetabyte era that will be driven by the movement of massive amounts and data and multimedia traffic. It is therefore working on the original six directions including wireless, optical, home networking, storage network, IP telephony and security.
The company's wireless activities have focused on consolidation of its market lead in consumer and enterprise Wi-Fi; selling IP core networks to 3G, 4G and converged carriers, initiatives into mobile broadband infrastructure through metro network and WiMAX projects. Also on the cards is a possible shift towards a wider range of wireless IP end user devices, possibly including smartphones.
Cisco has also moved into blade servers and storage. This will support two trends that will serve to ramp up the use of IP networks, the company's lifeblood and also be key to mobile and converged operators.
These include cloud services that store users' data and applications on huge central servers, possibly run by operators and accessed securely over the internet and the emergence of machine-to-machine and 'smart-grid' applications over IP and broadband-class connections rather than the conventional low speed, low power M2M systems.
Public utilities in the US are increasingly pushing for smart grids sparking a bigger interest in M2M potential as a way to bring about greater efficiency in many industries and introduce a new revenue stream for carriers over whose wireless networks all that data could travel.
According to Chambers the smart grid could be a bigger market than the internet which is already dominated by Cisco and could be worth $100 billion in the medium term.
The company outlined its strategy for the electricity grid for the US this week. The company plans to cover routers to grid substation and home energy controllers as utilities look towards IP-based upgrades with capabilities such as smart metering. According to the company's estimates the communications part of that build-up alone would be worth $20 billion a year over the next five years.
This is just one aspect of the new initiative at Cisco. The company is looking at every thing from video surveillance to home media systems to digital to cloud services - just about everything that rides an IP data pipe and preferably also incorporates one of more Cisco devices.
-----------------------------
BY N/A
Source：domain-b.com
Copyright © 1999-2009 The Information Company Private Limited. All rights reserved.
##CONTINUE##
According to Cisco CEO John Chambers, the company is planning to move at a previously un-attempted speed across these areas.
The company's core business of IP infrastructure mainly routers is expected to remain at the heart of its business, however the company is gearing up for what it calls the zetabyte era that will be driven by the movement of massive amounts and data and multimedia traffic. It is therefore working on the original six directions including wireless, optical, home networking, storage network, IP telephony and security.
The company's wireless activities have focused on consolidation of its market lead in consumer and enterprise Wi-Fi; selling IP core networks to 3G, 4G and converged carriers, initiatives into mobile broadband infrastructure through metro network and WiMAX projects. Also on the cards is a possible shift towards a wider range of wireless IP end user devices, possibly including smartphones.
Cisco has also moved into blade servers and storage. This will support two trends that will serve to ramp up the use of IP networks, the company's lifeblood and also be key to mobile and converged operators.
These include cloud services that store users' data and applications on huge central servers, possibly run by operators and accessed securely over the internet and the emergence of machine-to-machine and 'smart-grid' applications over IP and broadband-class connections rather than the conventional low speed, low power M2M systems.
Public utilities in the US are increasingly pushing for smart grids sparking a bigger interest in M2M potential as a way to bring about greater efficiency in many industries and introduce a new revenue stream for carriers over whose wireless networks all that data could travel.
According to Chambers the smart grid could be a bigger market than the internet which is already dominated by Cisco and could be worth $100 billion in the medium term.
The company outlined its strategy for the electricity grid for the US this week. The company plans to cover routers to grid substation and home energy controllers as utilities look towards IP-based upgrades with capabilities such as smart metering. According to the company's estimates the communications part of that build-up alone would be worth $20 billion a year over the next five years.
This is just one aspect of the new initiative at Cisco. The company is looking at every thing from video surveillance to home media systems to digital to cloud services - just about everything that rides an IP data pipe and preferably also incorporates one of more Cisco devices.
-----------------------------
BY N/A
Source：domain-b.com
Copyright © 1999-2009 The Information Company Private Limited. All rights reserved.
思科成WiMAX领头羊
WiMAX论坛全球市场总监王学军表示，WiMAX技术已经在全球139个国家和地区部署了472张网络，其中50%以上为商用网；而思科最有潜力成为这一行业的领头羊。
##CONTINUE##
WiMAX：人均月流量10G
王学军透露，在运营商层面，目前采用WiMAX技术者有七成为新兴运营商。
2008年底，俄罗斯第一家移动WiMAX运营商Yota开始测试WiMAX技术，并且引入了全球第一款WiMAX/GSM双模手机——宏达电T8290。
王学军透露，这款手机1000多美元，价格上不是很有吸引力；而且Yota自身没有GSM网络，WiMAX主要用作数据上网业务。目前，Yota已经拥有6万用户，WiMAX上网不限流量，人均月流量达到了10G。
英特尔：投入依旧坚定
王学军表示，华为、中兴正在WiMAX加强投入，已经名列全球前五大WiMAX供应商，其他三家是阿尔卡特朗讯、摩托罗拉和三星。但他没有透露这五大厂商的具体排名。
而领军者英特尔虽然投资Clearwire产生了账面亏损，但是对WiMAX态度依然积极、坚定。今年4月，在旧金山的一次活动上，诺基亚高管对WiMAX发表看低言论，还引发了英特尔的强烈不满。王学军笑称，媒体对诺基亚的报道多有断章取义。
日本、美国均为运营商定制市场，运营商控制终端的销售，而WiMAX正在改变这一格局。曾有一位手机厂商的朋友向王学军开玩笑：“在中国我有6亿潜在用户，而在美国只有4个（指Verizon、AT&T、Sprint、T-Mobile四大移动运营商）。”
王学军表示，WiMAX意味着更多的低成本电脑，他非常看好上网本这一市场，美国Clearwire和日本UQ已经在WiMAX运营中采用零售的商业模式，用户在电子商店就可以自行买到WiMAX数据上网卡。
思科最有潜力成为领头羊
2007年10月，思科以3.3亿美元收购WiMAX硬件厂商Navini后，开始明确涉足WiMAX市场。Navini虽然名不见经传，但在无线宽带领域技术实力雄厚；其创始人之一徐广涵，现为北京信威首席科学家，McWiLL技术为其另一作品。
2008年6月，思科、英特尔、三星电子、Sprint Nextel、Clearwire、和阿尔卡特朗讯等六巨头宣布联手建立WiMAX开放专利联盟(Open Patent Alliance,OPA)，承诺将取得WiMAX相关专利，再授权给其他网络设备或PC厂商。这是全球头号网络设备制造商思科在WiMAX领域的第二次出手。
今年5月，Clearwire宣布，选择思科作为其4G WiMAX网络的供应商。王学军表示，思科最有潜力成为WiMAX领头羊，思科最专长的是IP、路由器市场，它来自于互联网，而WiMAX就是一项互联网技术。
思科最近宣布，将为俄罗斯Scartel、格鲁吉亚MagtiCom、哈萨克斯坦AsiaBell等运营商提供移动WiMAX的基础设施。尽管这些订单的金额并未公布，它们在思科395亿美元的销售收入中并不突出，但是思科正在跻身这一市场主流供应商行列。
-----------------------------
文章出处：C114
作者：N/A
##CONTINUE##
WiMAX：人均月流量10G
王学军透露，在运营商层面，目前采用WiMAX技术者有七成为新兴运营商。
2008年底，俄罗斯第一家移动WiMAX运营商Yota开始测试WiMAX技术，并且引入了全球第一款WiMAX/GSM双模手机——宏达电T8290。
王学军透露，这款手机1000多美元，价格上不是很有吸引力；而且Yota自身没有GSM网络，WiMAX主要用作数据上网业务。目前，Yota已经拥有6万用户，WiMAX上网不限流量，人均月流量达到了10G。
英特尔：投入依旧坚定
王学军表示，华为、中兴正在WiMAX加强投入，已经名列全球前五大WiMAX供应商，其他三家是阿尔卡特朗讯、摩托罗拉和三星。但他没有透露这五大厂商的具体排名。
而领军者英特尔虽然投资Clearwire产生了账面亏损，但是对WiMAX态度依然积极、坚定。今年4月，在旧金山的一次活动上，诺基亚高管对WiMAX发表看低言论，还引发了英特尔的强烈不满。王学军笑称，媒体对诺基亚的报道多有断章取义。
日本、美国均为运营商定制市场，运营商控制终端的销售，而WiMAX正在改变这一格局。曾有一位手机厂商的朋友向王学军开玩笑：“在中国我有6亿潜在用户，而在美国只有4个（指Verizon、AT&T、Sprint、T-Mobile四大移动运营商）。”
王学军表示，WiMAX意味着更多的低成本电脑，他非常看好上网本这一市场，美国Clearwire和日本UQ已经在WiMAX运营中采用零售的商业模式，用户在电子商店就可以自行买到WiMAX数据上网卡。
思科最有潜力成为领头羊
2007年10月，思科以3.3亿美元收购WiMAX硬件厂商Navini后，开始明确涉足WiMAX市场。Navini虽然名不见经传，但在无线宽带领域技术实力雄厚；其创始人之一徐广涵，现为北京信威首席科学家，McWiLL技术为其另一作品。
2008年6月，思科、英特尔、三星电子、Sprint Nextel、Clearwire、和阿尔卡特朗讯等六巨头宣布联手建立WiMAX开放专利联盟(Open Patent Alliance,OPA)，承诺将取得WiMAX相关专利，再授权给其他网络设备或PC厂商。这是全球头号网络设备制造商思科在WiMAX领域的第二次出手。
今年5月，Clearwire宣布，选择思科作为其4G WiMAX网络的供应商。王学军表示，思科最有潜力成为WiMAX领头羊，思科最专长的是IP、路由器市场，它来自于互联网，而WiMAX就是一项互联网技术。
思科最近宣布，将为俄罗斯Scartel、格鲁吉亚MagtiCom、哈萨克斯坦AsiaBell等运营商提供移动WiMAX的基础设施。尽管这些订单的金额并未公布，它们在思科395亿美元的销售收入中并不突出，但是思科正在跻身这一市场主流供应商行列。
-----------------------------
文章出处：C114
作者：N/A
Even Cisco Isn't Too Big to Lose
Free software may sound like a joke if you're used to making big money from writing important programs. But it's no laughing matter -- and the open-source movement just got the last laugh against one of the biggest names in technology.
##CONTINUE##
Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) has been selling its Linksys brand of consumer networking product for years, allegedly without following proper protocol for the GNU/Linux (henceforth known as Linux, with apologies to Richard Stallman) software inside them. Specifically, Cisco should have provided source code for the Linux-based portions of their software, under the terms of the open-source GPL and Lesser GPL licenses.
BY Anders Bylund
Source：The Motley Fool
© 1995 - 2009 The Motley Fool. All rights reserved.
##CONTINUE##
Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) has been selling its Linksys brand of consumer networking product for years, allegedly without following proper protocol for the GNU/Linux (henceforth known as Linux, with apologies to Richard Stallman) software inside them. Specifically, Cisco should have provided source code for the Linux-based portions of their software, under the terms of the open-source GPL and Lesser GPL licenses.
Years of bantering turned into a brief courtroom kerfuffle, and now Cisco has settled the matter with the Free Software Foundation (FSF). A new director to oversee free software concerns at Linksys will have to touch base with the FSF on a regular basis, making sure that everything is on the up-and-up. Cisco will give an undisclosed sum of money to the FSF for its legal troubles, and the Foundation has dismissed the lawsuit.
This is a show of strength for the open-source community in general, and the GPL licensing model in particular. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) butted heads with the same license a year ago -- and acquiesced. As a result of that scuffle I can download full source code for my FiOS router now, or replace the unit's software with community-developed versions.
Victories like these should make other companies sit up and take notice. It's becoming clear that American courts seem to respect the terms of the GPL, and that it's not OK to ship out Linux-based products without the proper documentation. That's potentially good news for companies like SourceForge, which helps users and businesses track and share their code -- and licenses.
On the flipside, Wind River Systems (Nasdaq: WIND) is another winner, because it can simply provide embedded Linux software for gadgets like the network routers in question here, with proper disclosures from the software provider. When these licenses are battle-tested in court and stand up to challenges by well-funded opponents like Verizon and Cisco, it's another signal that open-source software development is built on solid ground.
The Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) model of proprietary development worked out great for the Redmond goliath, Adobe Systems (Nasdaq: ADBE), and many others. However, a large part of the future software market may belong to open development and selling professional support, in the Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) mold, versus proprietary software licenses. We just heard another shot in that worldwide battle. And I think the rebels are winning.
-----------------------------BY Anders Bylund
Source：The Motley Fool
© 1995 - 2009 The Motley Fool. All rights reserved.
Cisco Settles Lawsuit With Free Software Foundation
Cisco Systems will appoint a director to ensure that its Linksys products comply with the terms of free software licenses, and in return the Free Software Foundation will dismiss its lawsuit against the networking giant, the parties said on Wednesday.
##CONTINUE##
Cisco will also make an undisclosed contribution to the foundation and has agreed to notify Linksys users of their rights under applicable licenses. The new director will report periodically to the foundation regarding Cisco's compliance efforts.
BY Nancy Gohring
Source：PCWorld
© 1998-2009, PC World Communications, Inc.
##CONTINUE##
Cisco will also make an undisclosed contribution to the foundation and has agreed to notify Linksys users of their rights under applicable licenses. The new director will report periodically to the foundation regarding Cisco's compliance efforts.
The settlement deal appears to end a process that began in 2003 when the FSF started looking into complaints that users of the Linksys WRT54G wireless router were not receiving all the source code, based on Linux, that they were entitled to under the terms that Cisco had licensed the software. Since then, the foundation says it discovered similar transgressions and tried to work with Cisco to ensure the proper disclosures.
But late last year the foundation gave up, complaining that Cisco was unwilling to take the necessary steps towards compliance, and the FSF filed a copyright infringement lawsuit suit against Cisco.
It was the first time the FSF had gone to court over a license violation, Brett Smith, FSF compliance engineer, wrote in a blog post Wednesday. He stressed that the group would prefer not to take companies to court.
"We're not out to wreck businesses or make lots of money. We just want compliance. And any company selling free software shouldn't have any problem providing that," he wrote.
Cisco has been in trouble before for failing to comply with open source licenses. In 2007, it came under fire for compliance issue in one of its IP phones.
Companies like Cisco may not intentionally share open source code improperly. It may be that they have not implemented the sometimes complicated and costly internal processes to track and share code properly.
The Free Software Foundation said it will continue to monitor Cisco's compliance with open source licenses in Linksys products.
-----------------------------BY Nancy Gohring
Source：PCWorld
© 1998-2009, PC World Communications, Inc.
思科东征 与惠普在中国展开激战
面对2009年严峻的经济形势，包括中国在内的新兴市场成为思科等IT巨头们度过危机的重要战略市场。此次思科与中国三家企业签署框架协议，有分析师表示：这对寻求将服务器、存储和网络产品打包出售的大型供应商来说，将会是一个重大的战役，意味着与惠普在中国展开新一轮的激战。
##CONTINUE##
2009年5月8日思科公司宣布，在由中国商务部部长陈德铭和副部长马秀红率领的中国机电贸易投资合作促进团访问美国期间，思科公司积极参与了中美双方一系列重要的经贸合作活动，并分别与中国电信、中国移动和中国建设银行等中国著名企业签署了在2009年合作的重要框架协议。根据该框架协议，思科将与这三家企业在数据产品及服务领域继续开展友好合作，为其提供业界领先的数据网络设备及服务。
“这次经济危机的情况和2001年不一样，但是经济的回暖是今年年底还是明年年初，谁也说不准，不管怎么样，我们(对中国市场投入160亿美元)的承诺是不会变的，而且还会加速。” 4月17日，在清华大学“思科绿色科技联合实验室”的成立仪式上，思科公司董事会主席兼CEO约翰•钱伯斯如是说。
距钱伯斯今年访华后，短短十天之内，思科即与中国三家企业签署柜架协议，让人们着实感觉到了思科对中国市场特有的重视。而实际上，2008年，中国市场已经成为思科增长最快的一个市场。
“新兴市场国家拥有世界上大多数的人口、大部分的消费和大部分的增长。包括中国和印度在内的新兴市场已经占到思科总收入的20%，在不久的将来，这个比例很有可能会增长到40%。” 钱伯斯说。
5月6日，钱伯斯在接受媒体采访时表示，惠普是其主要竞争对手。下月思科将推出包含服务器和数据中心用网络设备的联合计算系统（Unified Computing System），提升对惠普的压力。而钱伯斯看好中国在内新兴市场的理论，同时也被其竞争对手所认可。
日前，据彭博社报道，有分析师认为，随着思科进入服务器市场，惠普可能会通过收购网络设备公司进行反击。考夫曼兄弟公司的分析师肖•吴（Shaw Wu）表示，惠普的收购目标包括 NetApp公司、Brocade通讯系统公司和Juniper Networks公司等。肖•吴认为，思科进入服务器领域基本上宣告了战争的开始；惠普有一个相当不错的网络业务部门ProCurve，公司CEO马克•赫德可通过收购加强该部门，而发展该部门也是应该的。
据悉，网络市场的蓬勃生机让惠普ProCurve网络业务部看到了中国市场的希望。早在2003年8月1日，惠普ProCurve网络业务部正式进军中国，并宣布方正世纪为其中国总代理。
惠普ProCurve网络业务全球销售和运营总经理Mark Thompson说：“惠普ProCurve网络正在成为惠普公司四大传统业务之外的第五大业务，我们对不断成长的中国市场极为重视，愿意把最好的网络产品带给中国客户，帮助他们建立有实力和有竞争力的网络架构，给他们提供更多的选择。惠普ProCurve网络是全球第三大网络产品供应商。在澳大利亚和美国，我们已经成为第二大网络产品提供商。惠普ProCurve网络产品具有卓越的工程设计、真正的终身担保服务，而且由于产品使用开放的标准，可以确保在任何环境中使用。”
此次思科与中国三家企业签署框架协议，有分析师表示：这对寻求将服务器、存储和网络产品打包出售的大型供应商来说，将会是一个重大的战役。与此同时，也意味着思科将与惠普在中国展开新一轮的激战。
-----------------------------
文章出处：IT商业新闻网
作者：绿柳
##CONTINUE##
2009年5月8日思科公司宣布，在由中国商务部部长陈德铭和副部长马秀红率领的中国机电贸易投资合作促进团访问美国期间，思科公司积极参与了中美双方一系列重要的经贸合作活动，并分别与中国电信、中国移动和中国建设银行等中国著名企业签署了在2009年合作的重要框架协议。根据该框架协议，思科将与这三家企业在数据产品及服务领域继续开展友好合作，为其提供业界领先的数据网络设备及服务。
“这次经济危机的情况和2001年不一样，但是经济的回暖是今年年底还是明年年初，谁也说不准，不管怎么样，我们(对中国市场投入160亿美元)的承诺是不会变的，而且还会加速。” 4月17日，在清华大学“思科绿色科技联合实验室”的成立仪式上，思科公司董事会主席兼CEO约翰•钱伯斯如是说。
距钱伯斯今年访华后，短短十天之内，思科即与中国三家企业签署柜架协议，让人们着实感觉到了思科对中国市场特有的重视。而实际上，2008年，中国市场已经成为思科增长最快的一个市场。
“新兴市场国家拥有世界上大多数的人口、大部分的消费和大部分的增长。包括中国和印度在内的新兴市场已经占到思科总收入的20%，在不久的将来，这个比例很有可能会增长到40%。” 钱伯斯说。
5月6日，钱伯斯在接受媒体采访时表示，惠普是其主要竞争对手。下月思科将推出包含服务器和数据中心用网络设备的联合计算系统（Unified Computing System），提升对惠普的压力。而钱伯斯看好中国在内新兴市场的理论，同时也被其竞争对手所认可。
日前，据彭博社报道，有分析师认为，随着思科进入服务器市场，惠普可能会通过收购网络设备公司进行反击。考夫曼兄弟公司的分析师肖•吴（Shaw Wu）表示，惠普的收购目标包括 NetApp公司、Brocade通讯系统公司和Juniper Networks公司等。肖•吴认为，思科进入服务器领域基本上宣告了战争的开始；惠普有一个相当不错的网络业务部门ProCurve，公司CEO马克•赫德可通过收购加强该部门，而发展该部门也是应该的。
据悉，网络市场的蓬勃生机让惠普ProCurve网络业务部看到了中国市场的希望。早在2003年8月1日，惠普ProCurve网络业务部正式进军中国，并宣布方正世纪为其中国总代理。
惠普ProCurve网络业务全球销售和运营总经理Mark Thompson说：“惠普ProCurve网络正在成为惠普公司四大传统业务之外的第五大业务，我们对不断成长的中国市场极为重视，愿意把最好的网络产品带给中国客户，帮助他们建立有实力和有竞争力的网络架构，给他们提供更多的选择。惠普ProCurve网络是全球第三大网络产品供应商。在澳大利亚和美国，我们已经成为第二大网络产品提供商。惠普ProCurve网络产品具有卓越的工程设计、真正的终身担保服务，而且由于产品使用开放的标准，可以确保在任何环境中使用。”
此次思科与中国三家企业签署框架协议，有分析师表示：这对寻求将服务器、存储和网络产品打包出售的大型供应商来说，将会是一个重大的战役。与此同时，也意味着思科将与惠普在中国展开新一轮的激战。
-----------------------------
文章出处：IT商业新闻网
作者：绿柳
Swedish hacker indicted for Cisco attack
A 21 year old Swedish hacker has been indicted for attacks on Cisco that saw the networking giant’s source code stolen.
##CONTINUE##
Philip Gabriel Pettersson, aka "Stakkato," is accused of breaking into Cosco’s servers between May 12, and May 13, 2004 and stealing the source code for its Internetwork operating system (IOS). He was 16 at the time of the attacks.
He then posted 2.5MB of the 800MB IOS on an IRC channel to prove he had successfully completed the hack according to reports. It is not known if he used the software to find further vulnerabilities in Cisco’s products.
"Cisco reported that it did not believe that any customer information, partner information or financial systems were affected," according to the indictment
Petterson is also charged with breaking into Nasa’s servers in May and October 2004, in particular the Ames research centre. It is not known if anything was stolen in that attack.
Two years ago Petterson ran foul of the Swedish authorities and was fined $25,000 for breaking into the networks of three local universities.
However, he is unlikely to be troubled by the current indictments since Sweden does not allow extradition of its citizens. The Department of Justice has said it will work with the Swedish authorities on the case.
-----------------------------
BY Iain Thomson in San Francisco
Source：vnunet.com
© Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, is a company registered in England and Wales with company registration number 04038503.
##CONTINUE##
Philip Gabriel Pettersson, aka "Stakkato," is accused of breaking into Cosco’s servers between May 12, and May 13, 2004 and stealing the source code for its Internetwork operating system (IOS). He was 16 at the time of the attacks.
He then posted 2.5MB of the 800MB IOS on an IRC channel to prove he had successfully completed the hack according to reports. It is not known if he used the software to find further vulnerabilities in Cisco’s products.
"Cisco reported that it did not believe that any customer information, partner information or financial systems were affected," according to the indictment
Petterson is also charged with breaking into Nasa’s servers in May and October 2004, in particular the Ames research centre. It is not known if anything was stolen in that attack.
Two years ago Petterson ran foul of the Swedish authorities and was fined $25,000 for breaking into the networks of three local universities.
However, he is unlikely to be troubled by the current indictments since Sweden does not allow extradition of its citizens. The Department of Justice has said it will work with the Swedish authorities on the case.
-----------------------------
BY Iain Thomson in San Francisco
Source：vnunet.com
© Incisive Media Ltd. 2009 Incisive Media Limited, Haymarket House, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, is a company registered in England and Wales with company registration number 04038503.
Software's Big Four: Cisco, IBM, Oracle, Microsoft
Enterprise software is coming down to four big choices: Cisco Systems or IBM or Oracle or Microsoft.
##CONTINUE##
Hewlett-Packard? HP is doing very well in hardware, but it lacks the overarching software strategy that fuels these other four.
BY Matt Asay
Source：cnet
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
©2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.
##CONTINUE##
Hewlett-Packard? HP is doing very well in hardware, but it lacks the overarching software strategy that fuels these other four.
Even as the industry consolidates into these big ecosystem vendors, it's becoming ripe for a new kind of hegemonic, all-out war.
It's a fun time to be in the industry. For one thing, it's fascinating to watch (and, in some cases, assist) each of the Big Four to use open source as a strategic club with which to pummel their neighbors. Open source, thy name is capitalism.
But open source is just one part of it. The bigger part is conflicting product-level competition. Microsoft dominates the desktop and uses it as a "home base" from which to compete in other markets. Cisco spreads the power of the network into a wide variety of complementary businesses. Oracle uses the database as the center of the enterprise-computing universe, but surrounds it with a host of exceptional software.
And IBM? Well, IBM enriches its massive software business with integrated hardware and services that no one has yet been able to match.
Each, of course, is starting to infiltrate the others' safety zone with new initiatives. IBM, as announced on Monday, is pairing up with Brocade to go after Cisco's core networking market. Cisco, for its part, is stepping on just about everybody's toes with collaboration initiatives that veer toward Microsoft's SharePoint, even while it adds a server line to compete with IBM.
Oracle announced the acquisition of Sun Microsystems to help give it a leg up on IBM and Microsoft through Java, Sun's hardware lines, and MySQL. Microsoft, for its part, is expanding into everyone else's markets with the ubiquitous SharePoint.
This is only the beginning. The question is, "The beginning of what?" In some ways, this dramatic industry consolidation reduces customer choice. But in other ways, it enhances it.
Given the centrality of software to this enterprise cage match, it also begs the question, "When will SAP join the fray?" Last week, I spent time at the Open Forum Europe conference, where I repeatedly heard the question raised, "When will Europe produce a dominant software company?"
SAP's strength in enterprise resource planning, or ERP, software could serve as a nice complement to one of the Big Four's product lines--or as a beachhead for the assembly and deployment of an additional, independent software ecosystem.
Red Hat could do the same, fostering an open-source ecosystem to rival that of the Big Four, mostly proprietary software vendors. While the company has shown little ambition beyond infrastructure software, there are hints of a growing interest to sell (and build?) solutions. Red Hat's recent channel expansion through Synnex suggests that it may be toe-dipping its way toward a larger vision of being the hub of the open-source "wheel."
Given this waxing and waning of competition in enterprise software, I suppose that the real question is, "On which ecosystem are you betting your business?" Enterprise IT is a study in heterogeneity, but for how long?
-----------------------------BY Matt Asay
Source：cnet
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
©2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.
Cisco offering computing cloud protection
Cisco on Tuesday unveiled tools to harden computer network defenses of businesses that use software applications as services on the Internet.
##CONTINUE##
The California firm that specializes in switches and routers announced its expanded offerings at a major RSA computer security conference where hot topics include staying safe "in the cloud."
Using applications hosted online -- akin to renting instead of owning software -- is a growing trend referred to as "cloud computing" or "software-as-a-service."
As data and transactions are increasingly shifted online and mobile devices are relied on to access the Internet, attention is being focused to thwarting hackers or cyber-crooks intent on capitalizing on vulnerabilities.
"In today's changing world, businesses require a security strategy that accounts for the physical, virtual, mobile and global aspects of their business," said Cisco security technology unit general manager Tom Gillis.
"Security needs to capture the latest threat intelligence to mitigate shifting threats."
Cisco said that its Security Cloud Services bolster online defenses by providing Internet filters and merging capabilities of business computer networks and software.
Cisco bills its new-generation IPS Sensor Software as a potent defense against malicious attacks.
"In today's networked world, threats are rapidly growing in number and sophistication," said Dustin Cornelius, a computer systems analyst at a public utility firm in the Southern United States.
"With the new offerings announced today, we are glad to see Cisco adapt its security solutions to address the evolving threats and help protect our business."
-----------------------------
BY N/A
Source：AFP
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
##CONTINUE##
The California firm that specializes in switches and routers announced its expanded offerings at a major RSA computer security conference where hot topics include staying safe "in the cloud."
Using applications hosted online -- akin to renting instead of owning software -- is a growing trend referred to as "cloud computing" or "software-as-a-service."
As data and transactions are increasingly shifted online and mobile devices are relied on to access the Internet, attention is being focused to thwarting hackers or cyber-crooks intent on capitalizing on vulnerabilities.
"In today's changing world, businesses require a security strategy that accounts for the physical, virtual, mobile and global aspects of their business," said Cisco security technology unit general manager Tom Gillis.
"Security needs to capture the latest threat intelligence to mitigate shifting threats."
Cisco said that its Security Cloud Services bolster online defenses by providing Internet filters and merging capabilities of business computer networks and software.
Cisco bills its new-generation IPS Sensor Software as a potent defense against malicious attacks.
"In today's networked world, threats are rapidly growing in number and sophistication," said Dustin Cornelius, a computer systems analyst at a public utility firm in the Southern United States.
"With the new offerings announced today, we are glad to see Cisco adapt its security solutions to address the evolving threats and help protect our business."
-----------------------------
BY N/A
Source：AFP
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
Cisco Pushes Green Technology In China
Cisco and China's Tsinghua University have jointly set up a laboratory for green technology.
##CONTINUE##
The laboratory, which is jointly led by Cisco and the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University, will focus on developing network-based smart urbanization technology and solutions in support of China's strategy for the green development of the economy, energy saving, and emission reduction.
John Chambers, the chairman of the board and CEO of Cisco Systems, says that Cisco's innovation plan and the establishment of this green technology laboratory show the company's long-time commitment to China and its high level of confidence in the Chinese market.
As part of its commitment to China, Cisco has also announced that it will set up a supply chain school with Fudan University to push forward the development of the country's logistics industry with world class education.
Considering the strategic position of China to its global operation and the company's promise to investing USD16 billion to China in the coming years, Cisco has launched a coordinating innovation mechanism which aims to stimulate local innovation via capital, technology, flow management, resource incubation, and leadership training.
In November 2007, Cisco announced that it would invest USD16 billion in the Chinese market in the next few years for innovation and sustainable development.
-----------------------------
BY N/A
Source：China TechNews
Copyright 1999-2009 ChinaTechNews.com. All Rights Reserved.
##CONTINUE##
The laboratory, which is jointly led by Cisco and the Department of Electronic Engineering at Tsinghua University, will focus on developing network-based smart urbanization technology and solutions in support of China's strategy for the green development of the economy, energy saving, and emission reduction.
John Chambers, the chairman of the board and CEO of Cisco Systems, says that Cisco's innovation plan and the establishment of this green technology laboratory show the company's long-time commitment to China and its high level of confidence in the Chinese market.
As part of its commitment to China, Cisco has also announced that it will set up a supply chain school with Fudan University to push forward the development of the country's logistics industry with world class education.
Considering the strategic position of China to its global operation and the company's promise to investing USD16 billion to China in the coming years, Cisco has launched a coordinating innovation mechanism which aims to stimulate local innovation via capital, technology, flow management, resource incubation, and leadership training.
In November 2007, Cisco announced that it would invest USD16 billion in the Chinese market in the next few years for innovation and sustainable development.
-----------------------------
BY N/A
Source：China TechNews
Copyright 1999-2009 ChinaTechNews.com. All Rights Reserved.
思科钱伯斯：逆势投资有信心 借机杀入服务器市场
“我非常希望成为一个中国人”。4月17日下午，第八次访华的思科公司董事会主席兼CEO约翰•钱伯斯，在清华大学了出席了“绿色科技联合实验室”揭牌仪式。钱伯斯在活动现场以幽默、煽情的语言，不仅让在场人员领略了“全球最佳CEO”的风采，更解开了此前人们对于“全球互联网设备供应商老大”——思科公司一系列新动向的种种疑问。
##CONTINUE##
逆势投资中国 160亿承诺不变
2007年11月1日，钱伯斯来华并承诺将在未来3-5年在中国投资160亿美元。去年4月16日，钱伯斯访华再次确认“160亿投资”。而就在本次活动现场，钱伯斯也一再强调“无论经济形势何时回暖，我们的计划不变，我们的承诺不变！”。
众所周知，自去年以来，金融危机肆虐全球，各IT大佬们都缩减开支、减少投资，过“紧日子”，有业内人士对此次思科在金融危机下逆市投资160亿美元，并不看好。就此问题，钱伯斯表示，“1993年，2001年、2003年，这几个年份是思科在成长历史中经历过的一些挑战时期。但每一次我们都抓住了机会。在危机之后，我们的市场份额增加了、实力增长了、市值也提高了。”钱伯斯还举了个鲜活的例子，在1998年亚洲金融危机时，其它公司都在减少投资，而思科却增加了投资，等经济一好转，思科跃居为世界第一大公司。
据悉，2000年3月24日，美国纳斯达克股票交易所传来一则最新消息：当天收盘时，思科系统公司股票市值一举超过微软公司，成为世界第一大公司。此消息一发布，即引起多家媒体争相报道，称之为几乎是一夜之间抢了比尔•盖茨微软公司的“头把交椅”。
钱伯斯说，“首先要实际，不要谴责经济大环境的影响，要考虑如何发生变化。接下来我们要为经济回暖做准备。你要知道自己的目标是什么，要跟自己的客户保持很好的关系，要跟他们接近。”
当说到160亿的投资计划的愿景和战略时，钱伯斯说，“实际上已经预测到五年、七年之后是什么结果。我们有很宽泛的目标、雄心勃勃的计划，正如今天说的10亿美元的承诺，这是对国家、公司和企业的社会责任感，我们不仅要达到这个目标，而且在任何情况下我们都会这样做。”
钱伯斯表示对中国非常有信心，他说，“中国的经济会比其他一些国家更好。我们不光要看今后的发展方向，同时要加速达到这个目标。”
思科借市场转型机遇 进军服务器市场
日前，思科高调宣布推出其统一计算系统战略，正式进军服务器市场，并与惠普、戴尔及其他厂商展开硬碰硬的对抗。
多年来，思科主导转接器和路由器等网络设备市场，年度营收400亿美元，毛利更高达65%。包括惠普、IBM和戴尔等主要硬件商，与该公司长年维持良好、互利的关系，产品很少有重合。
有分析认为，作为全球最大的网络设备商，思科舍弃老本行冒险进入服务器市场，与IBM惠普展开正面交锋，无异于使其陷入四面楚歌的境地。当记者问及钱伯斯是如何看待与IBM这种竞争与合作的关系时，钱伯斯说，“将这个问题分成三部分：最重要的一点是我们需要抓住市场转型的机会，如技术中心、家庭、网络与处理器、存储器相联，应用与虚拟化的演变等。我们在高科技行业、网络领域里首屈一指，而架构服务器是英特尔在做，我们加入存储，将新一代的系统整合。在系统集成上，我们与HP、IBM合作、竞争两者关系并存。”
思科无意收购Sun 与EMC是盟友
据国外媒体报道，思科CEO约翰•钱伯斯日前在首尔出席发布会时表示，思科不太可能收购Sun。钱伯斯称：“思科在收购方面的动作很快。如果我们想进入某一领域，早就展开了行动。”
钱伯斯这一说法表明思科对于Sun没有太大兴趣。而当现场记者问及思科未来是否会收购EMC时，钱伯斯表示，“EMC是我们非常好的合作伙伴。”他说，“首先，思科是善于收购的，我们一共收购了135家公司。实际上90%的行业并购都不是非常成功，但是思科非常擅长并购。在并购过程中，可以看到高清晰的摄像机，直接跟电脑相联进行播放，软件的自动下载，电子邮件的阅读，可能从工具、网真的角度，实际上改变了思科履行的承诺，降低差旅费用，这也是网真出现的原因之一。我们利用网真，召开了200多个虚拟客户会议，减少了很多差旅费用。因此IT和视频工具也是未来的一个发展方向。我们用7天的时间，32亿美元收购了WebEX，与Web2.0相整合。”
据悉，思科25年的历史收购了135家公司，包括近日以1.05亿美元收购Tidal，今年3月份以5.9亿美元收购Pure Digital。
情系地震灾区 钱伯斯希望成为中国人
“等你好起来的时候，你决定说话的时候，你教我中文”。钱伯斯在演讲中细数了近一年半以来他三次访华的经历，以及在中国投资的落实情况。并且，他还详细描述了自己去年亲赴四川地震灾区的见闻。
钱伯斯说，“我看到一个小女孩，我跟她交谈，她听我说，她母亲说自从地震后她从来没有跟别人说过话，她也听我说，我说等你好起来的时候，你决定说话的时候，你教我中文，她看我了一下然后说再见，她母亲就哭了。从大屏幕上展示的图片看，这几个孩子大概都是5岁，我把一个孩子抱起来，他的妈妈叫他别玩我的鼻子，因为我的鼻子像他的玩具一样，然后他又开始揪我的胡子，对于这几个孩子，以后我们会不断跟踪他们的情况，就是做正确的事情，要改变（灾难）事件。我觉得是这样的，一步一步的走。
我想让大家记住，我们要保证还有梦想的能力，事实上我刚才说的两个小孩，我经常在美国通过思科的网真系统跟他们虚拟见面，在大学里面通过协同做创新，做人家没有做过的事情，在这里谈绿色，绿色其实代表着整个社会、公民的成功。”
当有现场学生问及钱伯斯未来是否会在中国安家时，他表示，“我会在中国花更多的时间，在过去的18个月中4次来到中国。我在25年以前第一次来到中国，我会把网真系统搬到中国来，我们可以经常进行沟通。比如说你们是早上时间、美国是晚上时间、意大利是另外一个时区，我们一起通过网真系统交流，还可以通过网真系统和法国的客户、员工进行交流。正像刚才谈到的，我非常希望成为一个中国人。”
约翰•钱伯斯个人简介：
约翰•钱伯斯是思科董事会主席兼首席执行官。自1991年加入思科到1995年1月担任首席执行官，他帮助公司从一个7000万美元的企业发展到年收入12亿美元。现在，在钱伯斯的带领下思科年收入提升至约400亿美元。2006年11月，他被任命为公司董事会主席兼首席执行官。
凭借卓越的领导能力，钱伯斯在过去的13年担任思科领导者并获得众多奖项，其中包括《时代》杂志“世界100位最有影响力人士”，《巴隆》的“全球最佳CEO”，《20/20》的“美国最佳老板”，《商业周刊》的“全球25大执行官”之一，《首席执行官》杂志的“年度执行官”，美国国务院的“企业卓越奖”，以及《投资者关系》杂志三次颁发的“首席执行官最佳投资者关系奖”。在他任职CEO期间，思科7次获得 《财富》“最受尊敬的美国企业”，6次获得《商业周刊》“50大表现最佳企业”，《福布斯》“世界领先公司”，并在美国、中国、德国、法国、印度、英国、澳大利亚、新加坡以及其他一些国家获得“十大工作场所”。
钱伯斯在全球范围内积极参与企业社会责任活动。近期，他建立一个政府-企业合作伙伴联盟，来帮助受2008年5月地震影响的中国四川地区重建医疗及教育系统。钱伯斯还联合赞助了“约旦教育计划”。在该计划中，思科同约旦国王阿卜杜拉二世陛下和世界经济论坛结成伙伴关系并共同开展工作。另外，在2006年下半年，钱伯斯和美国商界领导代表团共同发起领导“黎巴嫩合作伙伴”组织，帮助为黎巴嫩的持续重建工作提供急需的资源。钱伯斯还在21世纪学校计划等其它重大教育活动中发挥了带头作用，以改进受卡特里娜飓风影响的沿岸地区孩子的教育状况，并赋予他们更多的机会。
钱伯斯曾先后为两任美国总统服务：他是乔治•布什总统国家基础设施顾问委员会（NIAC）的副主席，负责提供行业经验和指导，以保护美国重要的基础设施。他曾在布什总统的过渡团队、教育委员会中担任职位，之前是比尔•克林顿总统贸易政策委员会的成员。
钱伯斯于1991年加盟思科，担任全球销售与运营资深副总裁。在加盟思科前，他在王安实验室工作8年 (1982-1990)，在IBM工作6年 (1976-1982)。他拥有西弗吉尼亚大学的法学学士学位（1974年）和商业学士学位（1971年）。钱伯斯之后获得了印地安那大学金融与管理专业的MBA学位（1975年）。他已婚，两个孩子已经成年。
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文章出处：IT商业新闻网
作者：李慧芳
##CONTINUE##
逆势投资中国 160亿承诺不变
2007年11月1日，钱伯斯来华并承诺将在未来3-5年在中国投资160亿美元。去年4月16日，钱伯斯访华再次确认“160亿投资”。而就在本次活动现场，钱伯斯也一再强调“无论经济形势何时回暖，我们的计划不变，我们的承诺不变！”。
众所周知，自去年以来，金融危机肆虐全球，各IT大佬们都缩减开支、减少投资，过“紧日子”，有业内人士对此次思科在金融危机下逆市投资160亿美元，并不看好。就此问题，钱伯斯表示，“1993年，2001年、2003年，这几个年份是思科在成长历史中经历过的一些挑战时期。但每一次我们都抓住了机会。在危机之后，我们的市场份额增加了、实力增长了、市值也提高了。”钱伯斯还举了个鲜活的例子，在1998年亚洲金融危机时，其它公司都在减少投资，而思科却增加了投资，等经济一好转，思科跃居为世界第一大公司。
据悉，2000年3月24日，美国纳斯达克股票交易所传来一则最新消息：当天收盘时，思科系统公司股票市值一举超过微软公司，成为世界第一大公司。此消息一发布，即引起多家媒体争相报道，称之为几乎是一夜之间抢了比尔•盖茨微软公司的“头把交椅”。
钱伯斯说，“首先要实际，不要谴责经济大环境的影响，要考虑如何发生变化。接下来我们要为经济回暖做准备。你要知道自己的目标是什么，要跟自己的客户保持很好的关系，要跟他们接近。”
当说到160亿的投资计划的愿景和战略时，钱伯斯说，“实际上已经预测到五年、七年之后是什么结果。我们有很宽泛的目标、雄心勃勃的计划，正如今天说的10亿美元的承诺，这是对国家、公司和企业的社会责任感，我们不仅要达到这个目标，而且在任何情况下我们都会这样做。”
钱伯斯表示对中国非常有信心，他说，“中国的经济会比其他一些国家更好。我们不光要看今后的发展方向，同时要加速达到这个目标。”
思科借市场转型机遇 进军服务器市场
日前，思科高调宣布推出其统一计算系统战略，正式进军服务器市场，并与惠普、戴尔及其他厂商展开硬碰硬的对抗。
多年来，思科主导转接器和路由器等网络设备市场，年度营收400亿美元，毛利更高达65%。包括惠普、IBM和戴尔等主要硬件商，与该公司长年维持良好、互利的关系，产品很少有重合。
有分析认为，作为全球最大的网络设备商，思科舍弃老本行冒险进入服务器市场，与IBM惠普展开正面交锋，无异于使其陷入四面楚歌的境地。当记者问及钱伯斯是如何看待与IBM这种竞争与合作的关系时，钱伯斯说，“将这个问题分成三部分：最重要的一点是我们需要抓住市场转型的机会，如技术中心、家庭、网络与处理器、存储器相联，应用与虚拟化的演变等。我们在高科技行业、网络领域里首屈一指，而架构服务器是英特尔在做，我们加入存储，将新一代的系统整合。在系统集成上，我们与HP、IBM合作、竞争两者关系并存。”
思科无意收购Sun 与EMC是盟友
据国外媒体报道，思科CEO约翰•钱伯斯日前在首尔出席发布会时表示，思科不太可能收购Sun。钱伯斯称：“思科在收购方面的动作很快。如果我们想进入某一领域，早就展开了行动。”
钱伯斯这一说法表明思科对于Sun没有太大兴趣。而当现场记者问及思科未来是否会收购EMC时，钱伯斯表示，“EMC是我们非常好的合作伙伴。”他说，“首先，思科是善于收购的，我们一共收购了135家公司。实际上90%的行业并购都不是非常成功，但是思科非常擅长并购。在并购过程中，可以看到高清晰的摄像机，直接跟电脑相联进行播放，软件的自动下载，电子邮件的阅读，可能从工具、网真的角度，实际上改变了思科履行的承诺，降低差旅费用，这也是网真出现的原因之一。我们利用网真，召开了200多个虚拟客户会议，减少了很多差旅费用。因此IT和视频工具也是未来的一个发展方向。我们用7天的时间，32亿美元收购了WebEX，与Web2.0相整合。”
据悉，思科25年的历史收购了135家公司，包括近日以1.05亿美元收购Tidal，今年3月份以5.9亿美元收购Pure Digital。
情系地震灾区 钱伯斯希望成为中国人
“等你好起来的时候，你决定说话的时候，你教我中文”。钱伯斯在演讲中细数了近一年半以来他三次访华的经历，以及在中国投资的落实情况。并且，他还详细描述了自己去年亲赴四川地震灾区的见闻。
钱伯斯说，“我看到一个小女孩，我跟她交谈，她听我说，她母亲说自从地震后她从来没有跟别人说过话，她也听我说，我说等你好起来的时候，你决定说话的时候，你教我中文，她看我了一下然后说再见，她母亲就哭了。从大屏幕上展示的图片看，这几个孩子大概都是5岁，我把一个孩子抱起来，他的妈妈叫他别玩我的鼻子，因为我的鼻子像他的玩具一样，然后他又开始揪我的胡子，对于这几个孩子，以后我们会不断跟踪他们的情况，就是做正确的事情，要改变（灾难）事件。我觉得是这样的，一步一步的走。
我想让大家记住，我们要保证还有梦想的能力，事实上我刚才说的两个小孩，我经常在美国通过思科的网真系统跟他们虚拟见面，在大学里面通过协同做创新，做人家没有做过的事情，在这里谈绿色，绿色其实代表着整个社会、公民的成功。”
当有现场学生问及钱伯斯未来是否会在中国安家时，他表示，“我会在中国花更多的时间，在过去的18个月中4次来到中国。我在25年以前第一次来到中国，我会把网真系统搬到中国来，我们可以经常进行沟通。比如说你们是早上时间、美国是晚上时间、意大利是另外一个时区，我们一起通过网真系统交流，还可以通过网真系统和法国的客户、员工进行交流。正像刚才谈到的，我非常希望成为一个中国人。”
约翰•钱伯斯个人简介：
约翰•钱伯斯是思科董事会主席兼首席执行官。自1991年加入思科到1995年1月担任首席执行官，他帮助公司从一个7000万美元的企业发展到年收入12亿美元。现在，在钱伯斯的带领下思科年收入提升至约400亿美元。2006年11月，他被任命为公司董事会主席兼首席执行官。
凭借卓越的领导能力，钱伯斯在过去的13年担任思科领导者并获得众多奖项，其中包括《时代》杂志“世界100位最有影响力人士”，《巴隆》的“全球最佳CEO”，《20/20》的“美国最佳老板”，《商业周刊》的“全球25大执行官”之一，《首席执行官》杂志的“年度执行官”，美国国务院的“企业卓越奖”，以及《投资者关系》杂志三次颁发的“首席执行官最佳投资者关系奖”。在他任职CEO期间，思科7次获得 《财富》“最受尊敬的美国企业”，6次获得《商业周刊》“50大表现最佳企业”，《福布斯》“世界领先公司”，并在美国、中国、德国、法国、印度、英国、澳大利亚、新加坡以及其他一些国家获得“十大工作场所”。
钱伯斯在全球范围内积极参与企业社会责任活动。近期，他建立一个政府-企业合作伙伴联盟，来帮助受2008年5月地震影响的中国四川地区重建医疗及教育系统。钱伯斯还联合赞助了“约旦教育计划”。在该计划中，思科同约旦国王阿卜杜拉二世陛下和世界经济论坛结成伙伴关系并共同开展工作。另外，在2006年下半年，钱伯斯和美国商界领导代表团共同发起领导“黎巴嫩合作伙伴”组织，帮助为黎巴嫩的持续重建工作提供急需的资源。钱伯斯还在21世纪学校计划等其它重大教育活动中发挥了带头作用，以改进受卡特里娜飓风影响的沿岸地区孩子的教育状况，并赋予他们更多的机会。
钱伯斯曾先后为两任美国总统服务：他是乔治•布什总统国家基础设施顾问委员会（NIAC）的副主席，负责提供行业经验和指导，以保护美国重要的基础设施。他曾在布什总统的过渡团队、教育委员会中担任职位，之前是比尔•克林顿总统贸易政策委员会的成员。
钱伯斯于1991年加盟思科，担任全球销售与运营资深副总裁。在加盟思科前，他在王安实验室工作8年 (1982-1990)，在IBM工作6年 (1976-1982)。他拥有西弗吉尼亚大学的法学学士学位（1974年）和商业学士学位（1971年）。钱伯斯之后获得了印地安那大学金融与管理专业的MBA学位（1975年）。他已婚，两个孩子已经成年。
-----------------------------
文章出处：IT商业新闻网
作者：李慧芳
Cisco to Lay Off More Than Anticipated
Though it runs counter to recent headlines about the company’s aggressive pursuit of new markets in this down economy, analysts reportedly are saying that Cisco Systems Inc. – the world’s largest maker of computer networking equipment – are facing the likelihood of sweeping layoffs.
##CONTINUE##
According to this story by Scott Moritz of The Street.com, a research report from JP Morgan analyst Ehud Gelblum is calling for a 17 to 22 percent year-over-year decline in fourth-quarter revenues from the San Jose, California-based IT bellwether.
##CONTINUE##
According to this story by Scott Moritz of The Street.com, a research report from JP Morgan analyst Ehud Gelblum is calling for a 17 to 22 percent year-over-year decline in fourth-quarter revenues from the San Jose, California-based IT bellwether.
“We believe Cisco could also announce a 10 percent headcount reduction, which we calculate could save $900 million annually,” Gelblum reportedly said.
If true, the rumors would mark the first major concession that Cisco has made to the recession since December, when the company shut down operations for five days to cut costs – the first shut-down in Cisco’s 24-year history.
Cisco had about 66,000 employees at the end of 2008.
When reached by TMCnet, a Cisco spokesperson said the company does not comment on speculation or rumor. The spokesperson also referred TMCnet to on-the-record comments from a fiscal second quarter earnings call.
Those comments include:
“On our fiscal second quarter 2009 earnings call in February we discussed a limited restructuring where we could in the near term see a total reduction of between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs company wide. This does not represent a broad-scale layoff in our workforce.”
As well as:
“This limited restructuring is part of our ongoing, targeted realignment of resources. While Cisco constantly manages its business priorities, resources and overall employee alignment as part of our overall business management process, we are sensitive to the impact these decisions have on employees during this challenging economic environment. We are doing everything possible to minimize the impact on employees affected by the limited restructuring.”
“This limited restructuring is part of our ongoing, targeted realignment of resources. While Cisco constantly manages its business priorities, resources and overall employee alignment as part of our overall business management process, we are sensitive to the impact these decisions have on employees during this challenging economic environment. We are doing everything possible to minimize the impact on employees affected by the limited restructuring.”
To this point, Cisco has shown no signs of slowing down with the economy.
We reported here back in November – back before we knew who the “new” president would be – on Cisco CEO John Chambers’ comments that despite a slight dip in earnings, the world’s largest maker of computer networking gear would invest in emerging technologies and position itself to accelerate out of the slower economy.
About a month ago – in a widely anticipated move that pits Cisco against several erstwhile partners – the company unveiled a new data center architecture that includes compute, network, storage access and virtualization resources in a single rackable system.
The company also spoke to TMCnet last month after announcing its plan to acquire Pure Digital Technologies Inc., creators of Flip Video products, for $590 million.
In the past week, Cisco – which is also expanding its business on the “connected home” front – announced that it’s bolstering its data center strategy with a planned $105 million acquisition of an intelligent application management and automation solutions creator.
Cisco says its acquisition of Tidal Software, Inc. will provide timely, accurate and cost-efficient management and automation of application performance across entire business operations, from the server through the network to the desktop.
Just last week, Moritz reported on rumors that Cisco was eyeing the packet core gear market for mobile phone networks.
According to this story by Moritz, talk spread that Cisco was in trials with Verizon to make equipment that supports higher traffic volumes and sell more Web-based services – which, if you’ve been following Chambers at all in the last six month, likely means video.
If true, Cisco’s move could be devastating for a Tewksbury, Massachusetts-based stock market darling that’s picked up more and more contracts in 3G upgrades and 4G long-term evolution, or “LTE” projects: Starent Networks.
As Moritz notes, Chambers – who himself has “stubbornly” held out hope of a quick turnaround for the economy – may be facing “the unthinkable.”
“The buzz is getting stronger, so it’s anyone’s guess when it’s announced,” another analyst, who asked not to be named, reportedly told Moritz. “But probably not before they report earnings in early May.”
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BY Michael Dinan - TMCnet Editor
Source：TMCnet
Michael Dinan is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To read more of Michael's articles, please visit his columnist page.
Technology Marketing Corp. 1997-2009 Copyright .
-----------------------------
BY Michael Dinan - TMCnet Editor
Source：TMCnet
Michael Dinan is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To read more of Michael's articles, please visit his columnist page.
Technology Marketing Corp. 1997-2009 Copyright .
Potential Acquirers for Sun: Oracle or Cisco?
Could Oracle (ORCL) or Cisco (CSCO) be potential acquirers for Sun Microsystems (JAVA), as talks between it and IBM are fading?
##CONTINUE##
CSCO recently got involved into the computer server business, while ORCL has long been a close partner with Sun-- which specializes in making the kind of servers large companies use to run Oracle database software. With a huge cash pile of $29.5 billion, CSCO is a favorite among pundits looking for alternatives to IBM. Cisco could jumpstart its way into new computer hardware and storage businesses with Sun. Dell (DELL) or HPQ are very unlikely to express an interest in JAVA, since they're both committed to selling so-called industry-standard servers that run on microprocessors made by Intel (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
##CONTINUE##
CSCO recently got involved into the computer server business, while ORCL has long been a close partner with Sun-- which specializes in making the kind of servers large companies use to run Oracle database software. With a huge cash pile of $29.5 billion, CSCO is a favorite among pundits looking for alternatives to IBM. Cisco could jumpstart its way into new computer hardware and storage businesses with Sun. Dell (DELL) or HPQ are very unlikely to express an interest in JAVA, since they're both committed to selling so-called industry-standard servers that run on microprocessors made by Intel (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
IBM originally was talking to Sun about paying $10-$11 per share to buy Sun, but reportedly cut its offer to between $9.10 and $9.40 after due diligence, leading Sun to walk away. Currently at 6.50/share, JAVA must be feeling the pressure of having backed away from a lucrative deal with IBM. Moreover, JAVA's executive board members owe shareholders an explanation as to how their company is worth north of 10/share.
Depending on your level of patience tolerance, purchasing the shares at the current level of 6.50 and writing the May strike 5,6, or 7 may be very rewarding. If you're ultra-conservative, the "deep in the money" May strike 5 calls at 1.97/contract still offer an intrinsic value of .35/share, according to last Friday's close. That isn't an anemic return coupled with nearly 1.95/share downside protection!?
Let's examine May strike 6 and 7 for those who desire to earn more premiums on the their contracts while having less downside protection to their underlying shares. At 6.50 /share, the May strike 6 calls are offered at 1.30 /contract for an intrinsic value of .90/contract. If the underlying shares get "called away" by option expiration (the third week of May), the investor would pocket .90/contract. If the shares remain below the strike price of 6, then the investor will keep the entire 1.30 /contract plus the shares. However, holding JAVA below 6/share provides the perfect bargain opportunity to accumulate additional shares and dollar cost-averaging. If IBM liked the Java at 9.33, wouldn't they be salivating to resume talks at 6 or below.
Similarly, the "out of the money" May strike 7 at nearly .80/contract provides the holder a juicy premium of .80/share as well as an .80 pullback.
-----------------------------
BY Jack Haddad, MD, MBA, CMT
Source：Seeking Alpha
Disclosure: Long JAVA
-----------------------------
BY Jack Haddad, MD, MBA, CMT
Source：Seeking Alpha
Disclosure: Long JAVA
Cisco bares unified computing plan for data centers
Responding to changes in the IT landscape brought about by virtualization, Cisco formally launched its unified computing architecture which it claims will lead the transformation of next-generation data centers.
##CONTINUE##
In a recent telepresence press briefing at Cisco Philippines, Andre Smit, managing director of Cisco's data center sale's group in Asia-Pacific (AP), announced that the company is targeting the data center market, pegged at $US85 billion, with its new unified computing strategy.
"Our unified computing system can meet the market needs by delivering a unique solution that unleashes virtualization," he said, noting that Cisco's strategy is to pursue the opportunities in the data center market which involves hardware, software, services, as well as networking.
Pete Nicholls, business development manager of Cisco data center in AP, reported that about $20 billion of the market opportunity for data centers can be addressed by their unified computing offering.
He explained that unified computing system is designed to unleash the full potential of a data center, and virtualization can help customers reduce total cost of ownership (TCO), increase business agility, and improve energy efficiency.
"On average, 75% of IT budgets in data centers are spent on operating costs due to the high cost of managing the complexity in data centers," Nicholls said. "And unified computing can help increase business agility and improve energy efficiency."
Smit said unified computing provides the solution since what is needed is a "cohesive system" that unites computing, the network, storage access and virtualization into one single system, leading to a simplified management.
"Virtualization is transforming the data center because it delivers significant benefits like server consolidation, increased utilization of data center resources, and it improves availability to support mission critical applications," he said.
However, both executives noted that some business challenges still remain, such as limited scalability, management complexity, and lack of coherent network policies and security. What IT organizations must do, they said, is to weave together the complex network, compute virtualization and management software.
"It's as though a car buyer would have to purchase a car frame from one vendor, an engine from another vendor, wheels and seats and controls from other vendors, then assemble it himself, create a dashboard, and fine tune it for optimal driving," Smit explained.
Dubbed Data Center 3.0 Strategy, Cisco's unified computing, according to Smit, is more than just a product since it is a platform for integration, computing, networking and virtualization.
He said the system shall undergo pilot testing in the next three to six months for evaluation and might be released by end of the year.
The company recently unveiled an ecosystem of partners to stimulate market adoption of unified computing. Some of Cisco's new partners include Accenture, BMC Software, EMC Corp., Intel, Microsoft, and VMware.
-----------------------------
BY Tom S. Noda
Source：The Industry Standard
Copyright © 1997-2009 The Industry Standard. All Rights reserved.
##CONTINUE##
In a recent telepresence press briefing at Cisco Philippines, Andre Smit, managing director of Cisco's data center sale's group in Asia-Pacific (AP), announced that the company is targeting the data center market, pegged at $US85 billion, with its new unified computing strategy.
"Our unified computing system can meet the market needs by delivering a unique solution that unleashes virtualization," he said, noting that Cisco's strategy is to pursue the opportunities in the data center market which involves hardware, software, services, as well as networking.
Pete Nicholls, business development manager of Cisco data center in AP, reported that about $20 billion of the market opportunity for data centers can be addressed by their unified computing offering.
He explained that unified computing system is designed to unleash the full potential of a data center, and virtualization can help customers reduce total cost of ownership (TCO), increase business agility, and improve energy efficiency.
"On average, 75% of IT budgets in data centers are spent on operating costs due to the high cost of managing the complexity in data centers," Nicholls said. "And unified computing can help increase business agility and improve energy efficiency."
Smit said unified computing provides the solution since what is needed is a "cohesive system" that unites computing, the network, storage access and virtualization into one single system, leading to a simplified management.
"Virtualization is transforming the data center because it delivers significant benefits like server consolidation, increased utilization of data center resources, and it improves availability to support mission critical applications," he said.
However, both executives noted that some business challenges still remain, such as limited scalability, management complexity, and lack of coherent network policies and security. What IT organizations must do, they said, is to weave together the complex network, compute virtualization and management software.
"It's as though a car buyer would have to purchase a car frame from one vendor, an engine from another vendor, wheels and seats and controls from other vendors, then assemble it himself, create a dashboard, and fine tune it for optimal driving," Smit explained.
Dubbed Data Center 3.0 Strategy, Cisco's unified computing, according to Smit, is more than just a product since it is a platform for integration, computing, networking and virtualization.
He said the system shall undergo pilot testing in the next three to six months for evaluation and might be released by end of the year.
The company recently unveiled an ecosystem of partners to stimulate market adoption of unified computing. Some of Cisco's new partners include Accenture, BMC Software, EMC Corp., Intel, Microsoft, and VMware.
-----------------------------
BY Tom S. Noda
Source：The Industry Standard
Copyright © 1997-2009 The Industry Standard. All Rights reserved.
Networks vs. servers: The truce has ended
Recent activity by HP and Cisco suggests the truce between networking vendors and server vendors, has ended. See why, and how it could benefit IT.
##CONTINUE##
It all began when Mark Hurd took over as CEO at Hewlett-Packard. Hurd, looking for growth opportunities beyond PCs, servers, and printers, kick-started HP's ProCurve business unit.
ProCurve makes LAN, WAN, and wireless gear for powering networks and has long had a solid product line. However, until Hurd's arrival in 2005, HP wasn't aggressively pushing ProCurve, so it was never more than a blip on the radar of the networking market, which Cisco has thoroughly dominated for the past two decades.
Part of that was due to the fact that Hurd's predecessor, Carly Fiorina, sat on Cisco's board and developed a deep partnership with HP's Silicon Valley neighbor. During Fiorina's tenure, there were even times when HP reps pushed Cisco gear ahead of competitive ProCurve products.
Once Hurd arrived, he quietly put a stop to that, injected resources into ProCurve, and turned into a growth business. Since 2005, ProCurve has consistently been growing faster than the overall networking market and has been nibbling away market share from Cisco.
BY Jason Hiner, Special to ZDNet Asia
Source：ZDNet Asia
Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.
##CONTINUE##
It all began when Mark Hurd took over as CEO at Hewlett-Packard. Hurd, looking for growth opportunities beyond PCs, servers, and printers, kick-started HP's ProCurve business unit.
ProCurve makes LAN, WAN, and wireless gear for powering networks and has long had a solid product line. However, until Hurd's arrival in 2005, HP wasn't aggressively pushing ProCurve, so it was never more than a blip on the radar of the networking market, which Cisco has thoroughly dominated for the past two decades.
Part of that was due to the fact that Hurd's predecessor, Carly Fiorina, sat on Cisco's board and developed a deep partnership with HP's Silicon Valley neighbor. During Fiorina's tenure, there were even times when HP reps pushed Cisco gear ahead of competitive ProCurve products.
Once Hurd arrived, he quietly put a stop to that, injected resources into ProCurve, and turned into a growth business. Since 2005, ProCurve has consistently been growing faster than the overall networking market and has been nibbling away market share from Cisco.
Now, the gloves are off. Cisco has launched a full frontal attack on one of HP's key markets: servers. Up till its announcement, this is one of the worst-kept secrets in the technology business. ZDNet, The New York Times, GigaOm, The Register, Bloomberg, Network World, and lots of other publications have recently written about Cisco's imminent entrance into the server market.
Over the past five years, anyone who has listened to Cisco CEO John Chambers speak or watched the kinds of acquisitions that Cisco has been making--such as Webex, FiveAcross, PostPath, and Jabber--can see that Cisco has ambitions far beyond selling the switches that string together computers on corporate networks and the routers that connect networks and ISPs to the Internet.
At the same time we've watched Cisco expand its marketing beyond technology professionals to the mass market with its Human Network campaign, which has been clearly aimed at making the Cisco brand known to average consumers.
So it certainly shouldn't surprise anyone that Cisco is expanding into an adjacent market--one where it can apply its expertise in hardware and software and use its strong brand recognition among IT professionals to quickly grab market share--at a time when the server market is poised to expand with the growing strength of server-based applications, thin clients, and cloud computing.
That said, Cisco's move, combined with HP's unyielding expansion in networking, is likely to set off a chain of events that will not only pit these two as major rivals but also draw server vendors IBM and Dell into the fray. Dell is already toying with lower-end networking products and IBM could easily acquire its way into the networking market, perhaps by buying the networking division of Nortel (which is currently entrenched in bankruptcy).
Cisco has previously had strong partnerships with HP, IBM, and Dell, which led to a tacit truce in which the server vendors stuck to servers and Cisco kept its focus squarely on the network. All bets are off now.
Naturally, Cisco is downplaying the significance of its entrance into servers. Cisco CTO Padmasree Warrior told The New York Times, "We see this not as a new market, but a market transition. Any time there is a major transition occurring, there will be large companies that have to compete in some areas."
However, Brent Bracelin, an analyst for Pacific Crest Securities, thinks Cisco's entrance in the server market will be a major development. "This will be the most important and most talked-about product of the year. There will be massive competitive reactions from both IBM and HP, and we expect this will lead to a new wave of industry consolidation."
The real end-game: Utility computing
The end of the servers-networking truce was inevitable as servers became more utilitarian and networking gear got faster and smarter. Ultimately, the two are powered by similar hardware and software platforms. And since Cisco and Hewlett-Packard are public companies that need to grow every year in order to keep shareholders happy, that means expanding into new markets.
Nevertheless, if you were to look at Cisco's move into servers and simply think, "Okay, Cisco wants to jump into a new market so that it can tap another revenue stream," you'd be missing the forest by staring at the trees. Both Cisco's ambitions and the forces transforming the data center are much larger than that.
What Cisco will likely announce this spring will be blade servers powered by virtualization. In a rare statement on the subject, Cisco recently told Bloomberg, "Right now, we have virtualized local area networks, virtualized storage and virtualized servers. The challenge is integrating the management of those systems so they all work seamlessly. We think the network is the logical place to solve that challenge."
So what Cisco is talking about is a common hardware platform with networking, servers, and storage all abstracted into a virtualized layer of software that can work together flawlessly, be managed centrally, and easily failed over to redundant systems or locations for fault tolerance and disaster recovery.
There's another term for this: Utility computing. It's the idea that server systems will no longer need to be managed as a set of boxes, but instead as a pool of virtualized resources. These resources can be scaled up or scaled down as needed and will be used mainly by large service providers. Then companies and IT departments can simply buy the capacity that they need from the service providers instead of having to build out for maximum capacity and then allowing a lot of extra capacity to go unused most of the time.
"Our vision is, 'how do we virtualize the entire data center?'" said Cisco's Padmasree Warrior. "It is not about a single product. We will have a series of products that enable us to make that transition."
Like others, Cisco sees the potential to save a lot of money and energy use for lots of companies by implementing utility computing. There's also the potential to make a lot of money because computing power is moving away from PCs and toward servers. Applications and storage are migrating to "the cloud" (powered by the data center), while low-cost netbooks and other Intel Atom-powered machines are expected to dominate PC sales in the years ahead. That will make PC profit margins razor thin while driving up the demand for high-powered servers (with much better profit margins).
Cisco knows that utility computing represents a huge market opportunity and believes that it has the expertise to be a leader in that market. Plus, it doesn't want to relegated to doing just the network plumbing to connect systems within data centers and across the Internet. But HP, IBM, and Dell have their eyes on the same data center prize. They all know that utility computing will power both the Web-based apps of cloud computing and tomorrow's adaptive enterprise data center. That's why we should fully expect to see a battle royal among the big four starting this year.
-----------------------------BY Jason Hiner, Special to ZDNet Asia
Source：ZDNet Asia
Copyright © 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.
Next Opponent for Cisco: Apple?
Cisco Systems has shown it isn’t afraid to compete with heavyweights like Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard. Its $590 million acquisition Thursday of Pure Digital Technologies, which makes the popular Flip camcorder, is the latest sign that Cisco may be on a collision course with another tech giant: Apple.
##CONTINUE##
With the addition of Pure Digital, Cisco now has several consumer products that target the living room: home networking systems it acquired from Linksys; cable boxes it got from Scientific-Atlanta; a wireless audio system that Cisco developed internally; and now Pure Digital’s Flip camcorder and related video software. Cisco has also said that it hopes to extend its high-end video conferencing technology into the home.
It isn’t a big leap to see Cisco developing a home-media hub that cobbles these pieces together—some sort of device that allows people to upload and watch videos and listen to music throughout their homes. In fact, it looks like a next logical step.
Apple has a similar device called Apple TV, which can direct music to a home audio system and videos to a television. It works with Apple’s iTunes store, naturally.
In an interview Thursday, Ned Hooper, Cisco’s senior vice president of corporate development and head of the company’s consumer group, said the consumer experience is increasingly about video and the sharing of information and that Cisco would continue to invest heavily in those areas. He declined to discuss future products or acquisition targets.
One other point of the Pure Digital acquisition that hints at Cisco’s broader ambitions: Jonathan Kaplan, Pure Digital’s CEO, will become the general manager of Cisco’s consumer division. Hooper said that one of the reasons Cisco was willing to pay so much for Pure Digital is because the company demonstrated with the Flip camcorder that it can recognize the need for a product and time it well–in this case introducing a cheap, small video camera just as sites like YouTube were exploding. This fits well with the focus on “market transitions” that Cisco execs talk about incessantly.
Kaplan strikes some people as a visionary who can help Cisco compete with Apple–not only with product timing but by making them easy to use and great looking. “He has the merchant’s touch and the designer’s aesthetic which is a very rare combination,” says Michael Moritz, a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital and an early investor in Pure Digital. He adds that Cisco bought a “team of gifted people capable of designing spectacular consumer products.”
Sounds like the sort of people one would need to in order to take on Apple.
-----------------------------
BY Ben Worthen
Source：THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Copyright ©2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
##CONTINUE##
With the addition of Pure Digital, Cisco now has several consumer products that target the living room: home networking systems it acquired from Linksys; cable boxes it got from Scientific-Atlanta; a wireless audio system that Cisco developed internally; and now Pure Digital’s Flip camcorder and related video software. Cisco has also said that it hopes to extend its high-end video conferencing technology into the home.
It isn’t a big leap to see Cisco developing a home-media hub that cobbles these pieces together—some sort of device that allows people to upload and watch videos and listen to music throughout their homes. In fact, it looks like a next logical step.
Apple has a similar device called Apple TV, which can direct music to a home audio system and videos to a television. It works with Apple’s iTunes store, naturally.
In an interview Thursday, Ned Hooper, Cisco’s senior vice president of corporate development and head of the company’s consumer group, said the consumer experience is increasingly about video and the sharing of information and that Cisco would continue to invest heavily in those areas. He declined to discuss future products or acquisition targets.
One other point of the Pure Digital acquisition that hints at Cisco’s broader ambitions: Jonathan Kaplan, Pure Digital’s CEO, will become the general manager of Cisco’s consumer division. Hooper said that one of the reasons Cisco was willing to pay so much for Pure Digital is because the company demonstrated with the Flip camcorder that it can recognize the need for a product and time it well–in this case introducing a cheap, small video camera just as sites like YouTube were exploding. This fits well with the focus on “market transitions” that Cisco execs talk about incessantly.
Kaplan strikes some people as a visionary who can help Cisco compete with Apple–not only with product timing but by making them easy to use and great looking. “He has the merchant’s touch and the designer’s aesthetic which is a very rare combination,” says Michael Moritz, a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital and an early investor in Pure Digital. He adds that Cisco bought a “team of gifted people capable of designing spectacular consumer products.”
Sounds like the sort of people one would need to in order to take on Apple.
-----------------------------
BY Ben Worthen
Source：THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Copyright ©2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
思科收购Pure Digital：六年消费电子梦
思科周四宣布收购数码摄像机制造商Pure Digital，拟加强该公司在消费电子市场的影响力，以使思科成为大众熟知的品牌。
##CONTINUE##
思科作为网络设备生产商已经有20多年的时间，该公司每年100亿美元营收中绝大部分仍来源于向大型企业出售路由器、转换机以及互联网服务，但思科进军消费电子市场已经有6年时间。
不过，仍可能有很多消费者不知道思科是什么或者思科是做什么的。
思科高管表示，他们的使命是让思科成为大众熟知的品牌。思科不仅在打造品牌方面做出了很大努力，还向消费市场推出了一些新产品。
思科周四宣布，以5.9亿美元收购数码摄像机制造商Pure Digital。后者主要生产Flip Video系列数码摄像机。这已经不是思科首次在消费电子市场进行收购活动。
2003年，思科通过收购家庭网络设备制造商Linksys进军消费电子市场。2005年，思科收购机顶盒生产商Scientific Atlanta，同年还收购了丹麦一家小公司Kiss Technologies。思科还将Kiss Technologies的技术融入到新产品中。
思科企业发展和消费者集团高级副总裁纳德·霍普尔(Ned Hooper)表示，思科的新媒体整合器(Media Hub)中就使用了Kiss Technologies的技术。
目前，思科在消费电子市场的主要产品有：Linksys路由器、无线家庭音响(Wireless Home Audio)、媒体整合器、以及新收购来的Flip Video摄像机。
-----------------------------
文章出处：新浪科技
作者：宁弦
##CONTINUE##
思科作为网络设备生产商已经有20多年的时间，该公司每年100亿美元营收中绝大部分仍来源于向大型企业出售路由器、转换机以及互联网服务，但思科进军消费电子市场已经有6年时间。
不过，仍可能有很多消费者不知道思科是什么或者思科是做什么的。
思科高管表示，他们的使命是让思科成为大众熟知的品牌。思科不仅在打造品牌方面做出了很大努力，还向消费市场推出了一些新产品。
思科周四宣布，以5.9亿美元收购数码摄像机制造商Pure Digital。后者主要生产Flip Video系列数码摄像机。这已经不是思科首次在消费电子市场进行收购活动。
2003年，思科通过收购家庭网络设备制造商Linksys进军消费电子市场。2005年，思科收购机顶盒生产商Scientific Atlanta，同年还收购了丹麦一家小公司Kiss Technologies。思科还将Kiss Technologies的技术融入到新产品中。
思科企业发展和消费者集团高级副总裁纳德·霍普尔(Ned Hooper)表示，思科的新媒体整合器(Media Hub)中就使用了Kiss Technologies的技术。
目前，思科在消费电子市场的主要产品有：Linksys路由器、无线家庭音响(Wireless Home Audio)、媒体整合器、以及新收购来的Flip Video摄像机。
-----------------------------
文章出处：新浪科技
作者：宁弦
Cisco Unified Computing - the details
There's so much, and so little, in Cisco's announcement of its “unified computing” strategy that it's hard to know where to start.
##CONTINUE##
However, regardless of what's eventually delivered, it's a very important strategy, so it's well worth understanding what's going on.
The importance of the strategy can be seen in two ways: either because it really does change the data centre, or because it works well as a blocking maneuver to stall the big names of blade servers – the HPs, Dells and IBMs of the world.
##CONTINUE##
However, regardless of what's eventually delivered, it's a very important strategy, so it's well worth understanding what's going on.
The importance of the strategy can be seen in two ways: either because it really does change the data centre, or because it works well as a blocking maneuver to stall the big names of blade servers – the HPs, Dells and IBMs of the world.
So what's in the announcement?
The Cisco Unified Computing Architecture comprises both hardware and software components.
On the hardware side, there are:
- Network adapters – These will be offered in three flavours, but details are scant apart from the obvious, that they will support 10 Gbps Ethernet and can be replaced when new flavours of Ethernet arrive.
- Blade servers – Will be based on Intel's upcoming Xeon Nehalem processors. They will be offered in two sizes sitting horizontally in the blade server chassis.
- The blade server chassis – Like all blade server chassis, it will provide power and connectivity to all the blades it houses.
- A “fabric interconnect” – The switching fabric at the centre of the system, comprising low-latency 10 Gbps Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet switches handling I/O in the system.
- A “fabric extender” – The extender provides up to four 10 Gbps connections from the blade servers to the fabric interconnect.
This is topped off with software from VMWare and BMC and an embedded manager from Cisco, and services from Accenture (which might give you a hint that Cisco's target is, at this stage, strictly the kind of enterprise that can afford to buy services from Accenture).
In the Beginning
OK, so what was all that about?
Actually, Cisco is entering a market that grew not from the server business, but from a failed market of the mid-1990s. At that time, while Cisco itself was strictly a vendor of routers, a number of LAN switch vendors tried to put the server platform and LAN switch together in a single chassis.
There were various reasons that the first attempts at this sort of integration failed: the server platforms of the day needed too much real estate in the chassis, for example. Another reason was that switch vendors found themselves unable to devote the necessary resources to PC platform development to keep up with the performance offered by PC specialists.
But most importantly, users had already become accustomed to fierce competition between Intel-based platform vendors. They were unwilling to commit to a single server vendor, sacrificing price competition as well as development speed.
The seeds of this idea, in other words, were planted in the 1990s, but have only begun to take root in light of the long, slow march of the blade server market.
Blade servers started as a means to consolidate physical assets: it's more efficient to run more devices from fewer power supplies; it's easier to share storage between servers if the severs and their storage are communicating over a single bus; and servers take up less space if they're all in a single rackable unit.
The next step, and one which has been pursued over recent years by a host of vendors, has been in making the management of blades smarter. This allows tricks like:
- Load-sharing – Improving application performance by spreading processing across several platforms;
- Virtualisation – Starting and stopping multiple instances of operating systems to better utilise the server platform.
Blade servers – including Cisco's announcement – still don't return to the old idea of an environment in which the switch and servers are integrated. There's no longer any need, as we'll discuss later.
Getting this to hang together depends on the management environment. Here, Cisco faces a considerable integration task. Its own long development managing the world of communications needs to be complemented with tools and techniques to manage the server environments.
Here's where the two highest-profile partners in the Cisco Unified Computing System come in – BMC Software, and VMWare.
BMC Software's contributions are through its BladeLogic service automation environment and its Atrium Configuration Management Database. These have been integrated into the Cisco UCS Manager.
The BladeLogic environment is, itself, a broad-based management environment covering operations, application releases, configuration automation, and Atrium, a process automation manager for IT administrators.
The aim, according to BMC, is to automate actions such as provisioning and configuration of both applications and their underlying resources through a single management console.
Virtualisation comes from the agreement with VMWare; its software will be the centerpiece of Cisco's blades' ability to support multiple virtual machines. VMWare says each Cisco UCS will “be able to support thousands of virtual machines”.
VMWare also stated that its V-Link will help provide “granular network visibility at the virtual machine level”. In other words, VN-Link will allow different virtual machines in the Cisco blades to be presented to the outside network as if each were a discrete machine.
Finally, the Cisco UCS will integrate VMWare's vCenter management products, for managing virtual network policies and resources.
There's no longer any need to try and integrate all of this with a LAN switch, however, because the biggest bottleneck of the 1990s is no longer a problem. When Ethernet was just reaching from 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps, the thin pipe that connected servers to the network as a whole was a serious problem. Putting the servers inside the switch meant the two environments could share a single backplane, and in those days, backplane speeds were much faster than LAN speeds.
Now, with 10 Gbps links, the blade platform and the network switch have plenty of room to communicate with each other.
The Challenges
Cisco's most immediate problem is that of avoiding the “blade” label. It wants to do this partly because some of the occupants of the blade market are long-time Cisco partners (such as Dell and HP).
But blade is what the Cisco UCS is all about, albeit with Cisco brains at the top of the communications application environment.
And that raises another problem: does Cisco have the credibility in this market to take on the heavyweights who not only launched the segment, but have several years head-start over Cisco in development?
The centerpiece of any blade computing environment is an Intel-based platform. It may be a higher-powered platform than is offered to mere mortals; it may have extra communications smarts to support the load-share and virtualisation functions that people expect from blade environments. It may have more memory, faster processing, and the ability to access bigger drives. But it remains an Intel-based server.
However, while analysts have been quick to dismiss Cisco's credentials in this market, there is something to consider.
At its inception, Cisco positioned itself as doing something nobody had done before: creating a specialist device out of general-purpose hardware. Before Cisco, routing was performed by the computers that were connected to the Internet; the host that terminated links from other computers also routed packets. Cisco saw an opportunity to dedicate more mundane machinery to the task.
So against the nay-sayers, it must be said that Cisco does have experience in working with general-purpose server platforms to run its software – and it has experience in building its chosen hardware into very high-powered systems.
It may have trouble convincing customers to either replace existing blade environments, or add another vendor into whatever their existing blade environments might be; but only time will tell whether that alone is enough to keep customers from deploying the Cisco UCS in greenfields environments.
Paradoxically, success from Cisco may be enough to change the blade server market in an unexpected way.
There is, at the moment, insufficient openness in the blade market. Vendors have paid lip service to open specifications, but they rely on proprietary and incompatible system components (such as backplanes) to lock customers up as far as possible.
Should the market see an overwhelming threat from Cisco, it's feasible that they might return to the standards bodies and get some movement on otherwise-stalled specifications.
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BY Richard Chirgwin
Source：SearchNetworking
© 2009 TechTarget ANZ. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the TechTarget ANZ Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
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BY Richard Chirgwin
Source：SearchNetworking
© 2009 TechTarget ANZ. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the TechTarget ANZ Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Beware IBM! Cisco Could Buy Sun Microsystems
Chances are that Cisco, another cash-rich technology giant, could well swoop in before IBM makes up its mind and buy Sun Microsystems.
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Sun 's share value shot through the roof earlier today, gaining nearly 79 percent and finishing at $8.89 after the Wall Street Journal leaked the news of a possible quick takeover.
However, an informal, non-scientific straw poll carried out by Gigaom.com showed that Cisco emerged as the top contender in the race to buy Sun Microsystems. Unlike Yahoo and Microsoft, the company behind Java is a relatively cheaper target that either IBM, HP, Dell or Cisco could acquire.
According to Om Malik, a potential Cisco purchase of Sun Microsystems would give the freshly promoted pipe-layer a full panoply of hardware and software solutions that could help Cisco in its vision of unified and cloud computing.
Sun Microsystems would get Cisco universally recognised brands like Java, MySQL, Open Office or Solaris plus the necessary expertise and know-how to tackle big projects. Cisco, which has around $30 billion in its cash pot, may also bring back some of the best talents in the field including a number of ex-employees.
Furthermore, as Lawrence Walsh from EWeek rightly points out, IBM and Sun Microsystems would have a number of overlapping divisions and the deal would certainly be scrutinised by the antitrust committee. The deal would also harm many of IBM's existing partnerships with NetAPP, Symantec or TIvoli.
Cisco wouldn't certainly draw the same level of scrutiny as the hardware manufacturer market share in areas where Sun Microsystems operates is non existent.
Wouldn't it be ironic if Apple could come in and buy Sun Microsystems as well. Apple's impact on the corporate, back-end market is negligible. But don't underestimate them. They do sit tight on a huge cash pot and could potentially take on IBM and Cisco.
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BY Desire Athow
Source：itproportal
Désiré Athow is the Content Editor of ITProPortal.com and has been writing technology articles for nearly a decade. You can follow him on Twitter.
© This site and all its content is the copyright of Net Communities and respective partners where appropriate.
##CONTINUE##
Sun 's share value shot through the roof earlier today, gaining nearly 79 percent and finishing at $8.89 after the Wall Street Journal leaked the news of a possible quick takeover.
However, an informal, non-scientific straw poll carried out by Gigaom.com showed that Cisco emerged as the top contender in the race to buy Sun Microsystems. Unlike Yahoo and Microsoft, the company behind Java is a relatively cheaper target that either IBM, HP, Dell or Cisco could acquire.
According to Om Malik, a potential Cisco purchase of Sun Microsystems would give the freshly promoted pipe-layer a full panoply of hardware and software solutions that could help Cisco in its vision of unified and cloud computing.
Sun Microsystems would get Cisco universally recognised brands like Java, MySQL, Open Office or Solaris plus the necessary expertise and know-how to tackle big projects. Cisco, which has around $30 billion in its cash pot, may also bring back some of the best talents in the field including a number of ex-employees.
Furthermore, as Lawrence Walsh from EWeek rightly points out, IBM and Sun Microsystems would have a number of overlapping divisions and the deal would certainly be scrutinised by the antitrust committee. The deal would also harm many of IBM's existing partnerships with NetAPP, Symantec or TIvoli.
Cisco wouldn't certainly draw the same level of scrutiny as the hardware manufacturer market share in areas where Sun Microsystems operates is non existent.
Wouldn't it be ironic if Apple could come in and buy Sun Microsystems as well. Apple's impact on the corporate, back-end market is negligible. But don't underestimate them. They do sit tight on a huge cash pot and could potentially take on IBM and Cisco.
-----------------------------
BY Desire Athow
Source：itproportal
Désiré Athow is the Content Editor of ITProPortal.com and has been writing technology articles for nearly a decade. You can follow him on Twitter.
© This site and all its content is the copyright of Net Communities and respective partners where appropriate.
Cisco Invades Server Market
Cisco on Monday said it plans to integrate network devices, servers, and storage utilities into a unified, next-generation data center.
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The move creates a turf war within the data center and threatens to devalue established server brands from IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell, according to analysts.
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BY Cassimir Medford
Source：RED HERRING
RedHerring © 2009
##CONTINUE##
The move creates a turf war within the data center and threatens to devalue established server brands from IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell, according to analysts.
So far three sets of devices–servers, networks, and storage–have operated as separate but connected functions in the modern data center with Cisco the leader of the networking market. Data center behemoth IBM, not to mention HP and Dell, has long led the server market, while EMC and IBM have ruled the storage market.
Cisco, which in the past has worked closely with server makers such as HP, will now market its own servers and its own software to manage all three unified elements of the data center.
“This move by Cisco will give pause to the major server vendors that have been treating the data center as their private playground,” said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT Research.
The emergence of cloud computing–corporate computing where the hardware and software does not reside at the user's premises–is changing the the data center arena.
The rise of social networks, virtualization, and VoIP have all played a role in taking some of the cachet away from server names from IBM and HP.
Cisco's move to integrate the network elements–the servers, and storage–into a unified whole managed from a single point is a logical next step, according to Mr. King.
“Over the long haul this could affect large enterprises seeking to deploy clouds on their own or other companies that deliver cloud-based services,” he said.
Cisco has been dropping hints in the past few months that it planned to enter the server market. (IBM Gears for War with Cisco and Cisco Aims at Microsoft, IBM Turf) The company acquired more than a dozen software application companies in the last couple of years–among them a couple of leading players in the cloud computing market. So its entry into the server market was not a complete shock. (Nortel Challenges Cisco on Network Changes)
“Cisco wants to be viewed as a software-based company and not just a box company, so this move deeper into the data center is not a surprise,” said Brownlee Thomas, an analyst with Forrester Research.
Cisco is likely to go after its best customers first, according to Ms. Thomas, because they know Cisco well and are more likely to trust their data centers to Cisco.
“IBM and HP may not have much to worry about initially because they are well established, but smaller server firms that position themselves as alternatives to HP and IBM should worry,” she said.
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BY Cassimir Medford
Source：RED HERRING
RedHerring © 2009
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