All About Cisco

Cisco Can Now Dial the iPhone

mediastealth — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 02:53:29 +0000

It’s about time. I expected Cisco Systems and Apple to announce some sort of iPhone applications partnership earlier this year, when Cisco sued Apple over the iPhone name. But a deal never occurred. Steve Jobs was hesitating to open up the iPhone to third-party developers, Cisco CEO John Chambers mentioned during a partner event in May. Now, all that has changed. Cisco–and its software partners–finally have the ability to write iPhone applications. Here’s why.

Until now, iPhone has been perceived mainly as a consumer device. I never quite agreed with this public perception — especially since corporate executives with deep pockets were embracing the iPhone with open arms (and open wallets).

By mid-2007, Cisco insiders told me they didn’t expect a partnership with Apple to occur. Instead, they hinted, Cisco would make sure unified applications reached the iPhone through Apple’s Web browser. That’s a nice start. But we all know browsers have their limits.

Fast forward to this week, and we finally have some good news. Apple has announced plans for an iPhone software developer kit (SDK). I’ve got one word for the strategy: Sweeeeeet. When the kit arrives in February 2008, Cisco and its unified communication partners will finally have the ability to write apps that integrate tightly with the iPhone.

A lot of people hoped Mac desktops, servers and notebooks would bring Apple back into the enterprise. I’m a Mac user myself, so I tend to notice all of the new MacBooks business users are carrying.

But the iPhone is Apple’s real ticket into business. And integration with Cisco’s unified architecture can only help the iPhone’s momentum in business.

Cisco’s First Rival In 13 Years

mediastealth — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:52:32 +0000

For the first time since 1994, Cisco Systems faces a truly fierce rival on its own turf. Today marks the official debut of Microsoft’s unified communications products. And while Microsoft’s 1.0 releases have rarely lived up to their hype, Cisco can’t afford to rest on its laurels. In my mind, Microsoft is the first hungry, powerful company to take on Cisco since SynOptics and WellFleet merged to form Bay Networks in 1994.

Sure, Cisco ultimately crushed Bay Networks. Plenty of additional competitors have struggled to topple Cisco in the past decade. Pretenders to the networking throne have included 3Com, Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Juniper and Nortel Networks. Yes, all of those companies have achieved limited success in various markets. But Cisco has been the king of the hill since I started covering networking in 1992.

Now along comes Microsoft. Admittedly, the software giant isn’t on my favorites list. I applauded Windows NT Server in the 1990s. And I welcomed Microsoft’s earlier alternatives to Unix, NetWare, Oracle, Lotus, WordPerfect … and the list goes on. But somewhere after the release of Windows NT 4.0 in 1996, I lost faith in Microsoft’s enterprise products.

Still, Microsoft’s greatest strength is one of Cisco’s core weaknesses. Nobody recruits software developers more aggressively — and more effectively — than Microsoft. That means Microsoft’s unified communications platforms will gradually gain ISV support that few rivals can hope to match.

Cisco isn’t standing still, though. The company in September launched an online network that allows ISVs to work more closely with unified communications partners. The idea is to get network integrators focused on applications.

Dell, Nortel and Microsoft: Ganging Up On Cisco?

mediastealth — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:47:11 +0000

Surround and conquer. Microsoft used that strategy to topple Unix in the 1990s, and nearly rallied the database applications market against Oracle in more recent years. Next up, Microsoft is taking the same approach in the unified communications space vs. Cisco Systems. Pals Dell and Nortel Networks are more than happy to back the strategy.

A flurry of recent events could potentially change the unified communications landscape. Dell has agreed to resell and support Nortel’s unified communications product lineup. And Nortel continues to evangelize/back Microsoft’s new unified communications platform.

Wonderful. But it’s hard for me to bet against Cisco in this market. I keep looking at the WebEx acquisition, and can’t help but expect Cisco to make additional acquisitions that further the company’s unified communications offerings.

Cisco Prepping Mobile Device Initiative

mediastealth — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:39:47 +0000

Keep a close eye on Cisco during Interop in New York the week of October 22. I expect the company to announce enhanced unified communications support for smart phones like the Treo at the event. My sources have indicated that the announcement will not feature any major surprises involving Apple and the iPhone. While Cisco has found some ways to integrate with the iPhone through Apple’s Web browser, the two companies haven’t made any formal announcements about iPhone/unified communications integration.

Unified Communications Meets Small Businesses

mediastealth — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:48:20 +0000

I usually yawn when a research report lands in my inbox. Tech industry researchers, after all, mostly want to tell you a market is about to boom — but you’ll need to pay up to get the exclusive data. Still, AMI Partners did catch my eye with a new report on Unified Communications in the SMB market. Here’s a quick overview.

According to the report’s findings:

AMI Says: SMBs are evenly divided between the ideas of a best-of-breed solution versus a single integrated strategic solution provider. Clearly, there is room for both, which suggests inter-operability among various solutions as a must-have capability. My Take: Everybody wins? Sounds highly unlikely.
AMI Says: Channel partners need to evolve into business consultants to be able to effectively sell UC solutions. My Take: Um, thanks for stating the obvious. Channel partners have needed to evolve into business consultants for every major technology wave since the mid-1990s.
AMI Says: Low cost/free tools such as Skype are making a strong impact, given the convenience and mobility enhancements inherent in this service – over 350,000 SMBs in the US are using Skype for business communications. My Take: I’m a Skype fanatic who couldn’t agree more.
AMI Says: The biggest hurdle to the success of unified communications has been the lack of an integration platform backed by a significant market leadership vendor to tackle the challenge of linking disparate channels of communications. My Take: AMI Partners is trying to say that Cisco has been too busy focused on the enterprise to dominate the unified SMB market.
AMI Says: Cisco, Microsoft and possibly Google are the leading contenders for an integrated UC platform in the SMB market, but still have a lot of work ahead of them. My Take: Sounds like AMI is planning a sequel. Everybody put aside a few bucks for next year’s report.

Kidding aside, AMI Partners has been good to me in recent years. The company does deliver some fresh perspective rather than the tired old predictions about PC and operating system sales. Looking ahead, I am willing to bet that Asterisk, the open source IP telephony platform, lands in next year’s report.

Don’t Pay that Dividend, Cisco

mediastealth — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:24:21 +0000

Cisco CEO John Chambers says the company eventually intends to pay a dividend. When? Nobody knows for sure. Chambers has always been the king of setting Wall Street’s expectations. Lately he’s very bullish about the unified communications opportunities heading Cisco’s way. Frankly, it would be hard to imagine Cisco paying a dividend in the near future. From where I sit, Cisco would be far wiser to acquire a bunch of small software companies that build out the networking giant’s unified communications strategy. Do what you do best, John: Acquire companies. Skip the dividend.

Cisco, Microsoft Resume Unified Communications Battle

mediastealth — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 18:23:04 +0000

Ali vs. Frazier. Yankees vs. Red Sox (well, not this year…). Cisco vs. Microsoft. There’s nothing like a showdown between two titans who love to brawl. By now, you know Cisco and Microsoft have high hopes for the unified communications market. In fact, Microsoft will finally launch its unified products next week. But Cisco won’t be standing still.

First, let’s review some of the quick facts. Microsoft is expected to launch Office Communications Server 2007 and Office Communicator at an event in San Francisco on October 16. And while Microsoft is most cozy with Nortel Networks in the unified market, you can bet that the software giant and Cisco will find some sort of way to at least acknowledge that they are working to ensure interoperability across their products.

Wonderful. Everybody take a bow. Interoperability is a worthy cause. But Cisco certainly won’t stand still while Microsoft promotes Office Communications Server. Watch for the networking giant to make several strategic moves in the weeks ahead, including:

1. WebEx Partnerships: Cisco intends to leverage numerous partnerships that its WebEx business has in place. Also, watch for Cisco to strengthen its unified relationships with BEA Systems, Business Objects and SugarCRM, among other possibilities.

2. Metrios: Cisco snapped up this software company in June 2006. Watch for the networking giant to more aggressively promote Metrios technology as a means to write and deliver unified communications applications.

3. Mobile: Keep a close eye on Interop New York (October 22-26, New York). There’s a high probability that Cisco will announce advancements involving unified mobile applications. Imagine smart phones accessing a range of unified applications. It’s going to happen, folks. And you can expect to hear more at Interop.

Despite the fierce competition between Microsoft and Cisco, I have been impressed with both companies’ statements lately. Neither company is taking cheap shots at rivals in the market. This looks to be a clean — though aggressive — fight between two titans.

All Cisco, All the Time

mediastealth — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:38:04 +0000

I’ve been kicking around the concept for this blog for about six months. It seems like the universe is filled with bloggers who focus on Microsoft, Google and other big tech companies. But for some reason, Cisco is largely overlooked by business bloggers. Sure, there are some great in-depth blogs about Cisco technologies. And certainly, there are financial bloggers who cover Cisco’s stock. But there really hasn’t been anyone who has covered the business of Cisco.

That officially changes. Today.