THE CABLE PIPELINE

Cisco’s mantra continues to be about networking and collaboration, and that is what it continues to offer consumers and busy executives with an array of products.  

Cisco Cius

Starting with the newly introduced Cisco Cius at the Cisco live conference in Las Vegas, it promises to take business collaboration to the next level with its HD quality video and wireless desk-top integration. From collaborating at the office or from a remote location the Cius makes it possible to keep you in touch with what is important in your business.

Features include Cisco network centric:

• Unified Communications
• Quad Collaboration Platform 

Tools include:

• Webex Collaboration Cloud
• Cisco Telepresence
  • Real-time collaboration
• Cisco Quad Collaboration
  • integrating business apps with social networking tools, with VoIP, instant messaging, video, and calendars
• Forward and Rear facing cameras
  • Forward for HD Video 720p
  • Rear for 640×480 video and still image captures
• Cloud Apps
• Docking

It does not matter where you are when collaboration takes place because the Cius brings you front and center with real time business integration.

Cisco Valet

With consumers in mind, the Cisco Valet is a simple but yet ingenious wireless router for the home priced at $99.00, and makes connecting the whole home Wi-Fi experience a fast and easy task, which historically could be somewhat of nightmare. The Valet soothes consumers into “easily connecting your family’s computer, games and devices to the internet”.

Features:

• Get Connected 
  • Create a wireless hotspot in your home and quickly connect your laptops, desktops, game consoles, and mobile devices to the Internet. Treat your family to an Internet experience that simplifies your life.
• You’re the Boss
  • Parental controls allow you to limit your kids’ time online, block specific sites and/or certain times of the day. Customize the settings on each computer for a safer Internet experience.
• Set Up in Minutes
  • Simply insert Valet’s included Easy Setup Key to launch Cisco Connect software, breeze through the simple screens, and you’re wireless.
• Instant Guess Access
  • Give friends and visitors password access to the Internet but not your private information.

Cisco Flip

With its announcement on March 19, 2009, Cisco purchases Pure Digital Technologies, Inc, maker of the Flip, while increasing its brand in consumer technologies.  Ned Hooper, senior vice president of Cisco’s Corporate Development and Consumer Groups communicated that, “The acquisition of Pure Digital is key to Cisco’s strategy to expand our momentum in the media-enabled home and to capture the consumer market transition to visual networking.” The Flip allowed consumers to instantly capture, edit and share video with family, friends and colleagues then organize, edit and immediately share with YouTube, MySpace and other networking sites.

Fast forward to April 13, 2010, Cisco announces the launch of the All-New Flip SlideHD which can capture events and replay them immediately to friends or family. Consumers will be allowed to shoot four hours of HD video while storing twelve hours on the SlideHD, and it travels with you when needed sharing video with anyone, anywhere. 

Specifications:

• Color: White/Silver and Personalized
• Recording Time: Up to four hours
• Storage Time: Up to 12 Hours
• Memory: 16GB
• Screen: 3-inch wide transflective touch screen
• Video Resolution: High Definition; 1280×720 (30fps)
• Video Format: H.264, MP4
• Battery: Internal Li-ion rechargeable
• Battery Life: Up to two hours
• TV Output: HDMI Widescreen
• Zoom: 2x digital
• Audio: Stereo speakers, headset jack

The Flip SlideHD is priced at $279.99 at major retailers, online retailers and at the Flip Store.

Cisco Flip MinoPRO camcorder

First in a series of the enterprise-class Cisco Prosumer Video solution camcorder products, The Flip MinoPRO enhances business process and improves collaboration by allowing the capture of video content for secure editing and sharing. 

Benefits:

• Added dynamic component to messages:

• Record earnings calls, company announcements, and product demos to improve delivery of communications within and outside of organizations.

• Improved information delivery and retention:

• Use video capture to share best practices, sales techniques, and complex processes and designs to increase collaboration.

• Reduced global barriers and travel costs:

• Provide video training instead of spending the time and money to travel.

• Ease of use:

• Spend more time producing relevant content with the easy-to-use Cisco Flip MinoPRO camcorder. 

Cisco continues to raise the bar in both consumer and business collaboration with its video integration and communications processes through the web, making and it both easy and affordable for next generation technology to serve customer needs.  

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Have you ever incurred an incident where your child has become lost and needed help? How many times has this issue crossed every parents mind as they wait for sons or daughters to come home or receive a phone call to hear; I’m okay?

Amdocs has just this scenario in mind when creating CRM solutions which marry broadband, mobile, GPS, and IPTV technologies which interface in giving real time convergence for service providers in solving real life problems.

Scenario

1. Dad is watching TV and sets caller display to (Do Not Disturb) unless a family member calls.
2. Megan his 16 year old daughter calls from her mobile phone, the TV shows she is calling and gives a prompt to pause live TV
3. Dad uses TV remote to answer call and speaks to Megan via the TV conference service
4. Megan says she is lost and can Dad pick her up
5. Dad uses the TV remote to select the “Find Me” application which use the GPS capability of Megan’s mobile phone to show her location of a Google map

Amdocs has successfully integrated B2B solutions for service providers to offer customers what they want, when they want it. And this is just the “tip of the iceberg” with the kind of solutions Amdocs has in store for companies wanting to capture the (Quad-Play), keeping customers from migrating elsewhere to get that encompassing all-in-one service. This is the challenge going forward and Amdocs offers the solution.

Subscriber Data Management

Marrying CM-RM-OSS solutions in a virtual directory employing synchronized and up to date configuration data serving the jNETX, (Communications and Commerce) system Amdocs provides Tru-2Way, EBIF, and Yahoo Widgets with Voice CMS-Calling name server- Set-Top-Box to offer a true in-home communications experience that is TV enabled. It combines third party configurations through Voice Switch-Presence Server-HLM to complete the external communications.

Use of Multi-Platform Recommendation Engine

• Interconnected TV
  • Yahoo Widgets
• STB based DTV
  • Tru2Way EPG
  • EBIIF EPG
• Smart Phone
• PC Web Browser

Value Proposition

By combining subscriber data management and cross-platform personalization, Amdocs establishes the critical infrastructure to build integrated customer experiences while leverage existing investments, and provide consistent recommendations across multiple platforms.

To realize a better recommendation hit ratio, multi-platform usage improves the accuracy of subscriber preferences resulting in a greater number of impulse purchases while improving the accuracy of addressable advertising subscriber data.

Success in the Connected World

It cannot be denied, there is a march to a connected world where both business and consumers will be interacting together with superior technologies and applications that were little more than a dream ten years ago.

Amdocs wants to increase the speed at which these services reach the market by helping service providers to:

• Expand Faster by connecting emerging devices while penetrating new industry verticals
• Drive Experience so customers will live a truly connected life across devices, networks, screens and services
• Run Leaner by building cost-efficient business and technical environments that can bring change quickly to on-board new partners while remaining manageable and controlled

Message

Amdocs is an Open Systems company which is investing the future of the Pay TV industry while innovating to increase the speed of convergence

The point to be made is that service providers will need to upgrade their legacy systems to compete in the (war of the brands) for the total customer experience. Brand names will outstrip incumbents in the race for an increasingly hungry one-stop shop consumer. A continuing consolidation of markets will result in fewer but larger players who are well funded while an increasingly regulatory environment will begin appear.

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Cisco is doing its research in coming up with a contest designed to engage constituents interested in video platforms, and produce a smart video that portrays how video content could integrate with your TV in the future. Titled, “If your TV could do anything, what would you want it to do?” the contest throws down the gauntlet in asking for the best idea of what the future of TV should look like.

Research

Where did the idea come from? While researching the dynamics in the future demand for mobile content, Cisco pulled together statistics in indicating the potential growth in video over a wide array of platforms in the not too distant future. Referencing Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2009-2014, Cisco confirms the prediction in exponential growth in the way video is accessed in the future and maybe how your TV screen will interact with these platforms, where an increasingly mobile market is set to explode in capturing video. This in turn, sets the stage for how video could end up on your TV from many different venues.

From E-911 responders, police, and various security measures for government entities, both mobile and wireless technologies will allow real-time video of actual events taking place from external locations throughout the world. Cisco addresses current applications in helping communities to discover the benefits of such use with, Cisco Outdoor Wireless Solutions for Mobile and Wireless Video Communications and how it can help protect the safety and welfare of communities and their citizens.

Benefits:

• Reduced danger to enforcement personnel
• Safer citizens
• Quicker response to incidents
• Advance information in the field
• Full connectivity on any platform
• Easier installation while saving space and power

Appendix B: The Cisco VNI Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Methodology

Cisco predicts that it will not be the connection which will be the central traffic driver, but the device itself from the likes of smartphones, non-smartphones, laptops/tablets/netbooks, e-readers, digital still cameras, digital video cameras, digital photo frames, in-car entertainment systems, and handheld gaming consoles. It also forecasts the inclusion of the fundamental drivers in mobile data traffic coming from available variables like connection speed, pricing of connections and devices, computational processing power, screen size and resolution, and even device battery life.

TV does not necessarily mean, (TV in the traditional sense)

What does all this mean for consumers and businesses? The TV can be any kind of mobile device capable of capturing video and processing it across multiple platforms. Where will your TV screen be in the next two to three years? How will you view TV from a more traditional aspect? It certainly does not seem to reference the big screen home TV in a historical context, but forecasts the external access to video that can be captured, viewed and then uploaded to your big screen as a caveat. It will be as much a business concept and a personal one. However, do expect and get ready for unprecedented growth in video content applications for the mobile TV screen in the coming years.

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