According to Cisco Systems Inc., 65 percent of all Cisco traffic is made up of video data. That’s a lot of bandwidth.
“That trend continues,” explains Inbar Lasser-Raab, senior director of marketing, Borderless Networks in an interview with ChannelPro-SMB. “People want access to the network, to the Web, and they want it on their laptops, their mobile devices.”
But when it comes to bandwidth-eaters, like video, should IT directors cut it out of circulation?
“Video takes up bandwidth,” Lasser-Raab concedes, but she argues, “Again, people want access to information from any place.”
She quips, “Take yourself. You are even interviewing me right now from who knows where.” Indeed, this author was conducting his interview of Lasser-Raab from within a Toyota Corolla via cell phone and laptop during a lunch break outside the office.
“You see,” she explained, “‘Borderless Access’–it means accessing data anytime from anywhere in a secure, productive way.”
All this came as the team at Cisco announced to ChannelPro-SMB that it has given its fixed-switching Borderless Access portfolio a “complete refresh” in order to capture the SMB market.
Secure, Borderless Access (with Wiggle Room)
Cisco vice president of worldwide channels, Borderless Networks, Wenceslao Lada piggy-backed on his colleague’s statements.
He added, “We can facilitate data, prioritize it, and protect security and bandwidth in real time. With Medianet, businesses can reserve bandwidth for teleconferences, and other video during that time will suffer, but the meeting will be clear.”
The real news, Lada says, is that now all these management features can be made available to SMBs. “A lot of the [ChannelPro-SMB] audience may be the businesses that don’t want to spend so much on something. They may say, ‘Now, I don’t need this, and it costs so much.’ So, now, we can offer plans for less, with also the ability to on as they grow and broaden. They can take what they will use and add other parts as they grow.”
According to Cisco, the company has updated its Borderless Access line of secure wireless communications, energy management, and optimized video delivery products and services. As part of Borderless Networks infrastructure, the company has also released new fixed-switching product lines: the Cisco Catalyst 3560/3750-X Series and 2960-S Series. Together, these upgrades provide SMBs with entry-level pricing options, flexible price-package options, and limited lifetime warranties–all aimed at incentivizing SMBs to literally buy into the Borderless Network infrastructure.