Cisco reveals new initative for mobile markets
Networking giant unveils new Collaboration in Motion initiative, designed to integrate different products and services for mobile workers.
Mobile workers today still face challenges in bouncing from wired to wireless to cellular workspaces. Cisco believes it may have a solution.
The networking giant on Tuesday announced a new initiative called Collaboration in Motion, designed to help workers on the go by integrating different services for the mobile market.
Collaboration in Motion will bring together a variety of products from Cisco's network portfolio. The mix includes Cisco's WebEx virtual meeting tool, its Unified Communications platform, the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, and Cisco Advanced Services for technical support. The company hopes the new project will bridge the gap between the wired, wireless, and cellular worlds, allowing mobile employees to work more seamlessly.
With Collaboration in Motion, Cisco says its strategy is to focus on new tools and technologies in several key areas. As part of its Workspace Experience, the company will develop network applications and software for the growing number of portable mobile devices. Cisco recently unveiled an iPhone-based version of its WebEx Meeting Center application.
For its Wireless Network platform, the company is developing more wireless network controllers and other products that use 802.11n technology. Though 802.11n has yet to be approved as a standard, many companies have been ramping up products to support it for the future.
In its professional services segment, Cisco says it will help customers migrate from older wireless networks to 802.11n and evaluate their voice and video services for optimum wireless performance.
Cisco's new Developer Network will assist its third-party developers deliver products designed for the Cisco Unified Wireless Network.
"Evolving modern businesses are comprised of workspaces that are rarely physically connected, and critical business information is collected and shared with mobile devices such as laptops and smartphones," said Ray Smets, vice president and general manager for the Cisco Wireless Networking Business Unit. "Cisco's approach with Collaboration in Motion harnesses the power of the network to connect the devices to the network, to people, and to systems, to collaborate in a borderless organization."
Cisco has been on the move lately to boost its share of the growing unified communications market, even encroaching on territory usually reserved for companies like Microsoft, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard.