The Lippis Report

By Yankee Group

IP communications not only helps small- and mid-size businesses (SMBs) grow their business by providing easy-to-access customer intelligence, but it also reduces the cost of operations by helping businesses uncover critical data and act upon it. This is the biggest priority for SMBs over the next year, according to Yankee Group’s Anywhere Enterprise—SMB: 2009 U.S. Transforming Infrastructure and Transforming Applications Survey. Even in difficult economic climates, SMBs recognize the value that a deeper understanding of their customers and interactions between employees and customers can provide. It is all about how actionable customer intelligence can create a positive change for their business. Consequently, when SMBs are asked to name the biggest priority for their organization over the next year, the top three responses are: operational efficiencies, more customer focus and automating business processes, in that order. These priorities demand a new way of doing business, a new way to interact with customers and a new foundation.

Find out how by downloading this white paper

By Sagemcom

In today’s highly competitive and dynamic global business world, communication speed is critical to success as organizations must cost-efficiently process contracts, invoices, purchase orders, and other legally binding, mission-critical documents. Indeed, this is where the fundamental business value of fax is clear with its well-established wide ranging benefits including low costs, format insensitivity, ubiquity and global standardization as well as transport velocity, security, and general robustness. Any downtime associated with efficient fax communications can potentially adversely impact employee productivity, revenue, customer service, compliance processes, and even corporate reputation. In fact, according to Gartner, “the kinds of documents sent over fax servers are, if anything, even more mission-critical than ever”. This highlights the need for IT/network administrators, architects and business leaders to better understand the tradeoffs associated with different fax survivability solutions.

Find out how by downloading this white paper

By Voltaire

Applying the scalability, effciency, and fabric virtualization capabilities of InfniBand to Converged  Enhanced Ethernet (CEE).

These trends have signifcant impact on the fabric architecture of the data center. Fabrics must now support larger-scale Layer 2 (L2) networks since server virtualization and mobility, new storage protocols, and low latency messaging must reside on the same L2 domain. The new data center infrustracture must also be set to overcome the management complexity and address virtualization from the ground up.

IT leaders are not comfortable with mobile computing security. And they do have a lot to be concerned about as securing a plethora of different devices accessing both corporate and SaaS applications from a vast array of locations and network access methods is a challenge. Traditional VPN methods are too cumbersome for users and don’t factor the huge growth in SaaS application use. A new model for securing remote and mobile access is needed and Cisco has delivered one. Cisco just launched AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client that offers a simple use model for mobile workers that leverages Cisco’s ASA, IronPort Web Security Appliance, ScanSafe, and SIO to wrap a corporate perimeter around its mobile workforce. Kevin Kennedy, Product Marketing Manager at Cisco Systems discusses a new approach to securing mobile computing.

By 3Com/H3C/TippingPoint

The same general benefits that enterprises derive from server and application virtualization—more efficient resource utilization, driving down deployment and management costs, and reducing network complexity— can also be realized through virtual networks. Additionally, network security components such as Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPSs) and firewalls can provide more sophisticated policy enforcement in the network fabric. Most enterprises have by now at least started to take advantage of data center virtualization to drive down the cost of application deployment and more efficiently use server resources. While the first step of virtualization usually happens in the application server, enterprises should also be thinking about ways to reduce hardware costs and management complexity by taking advantage of the same virtualization concepts in the design of their data center and campus networks.

Find out how by downloading this white paper.

By IDC

This IDC Flash examines Avaya’s January 19, 2010, announcement of the road map for integration of Nortel into the Avaya portfolio of products and services. Avaya’s customers, and more especially those from Nortel Enterprise Solutions, have been anxiously — and in some cases fearfully — awaiting Avaya’s integration plans of the Nortel assets it purchased. To customers’ delight, Avaya has quickly laid out a comprehensive investment protection plan for legacy Nortel customers that ensures six years of support following any end-of-sale product. Its road map is consistent and clearly defined for each of its four business units (Unified Communications [UC], Contact Center, SME, and Data) as well as its services organization. The swiftness of completing these tasks, while necessary, is commendable and demonstrates to the market that Avaya’s “Protect, Extend, Grow” strategy is not a bait and switch tactic. The three-pronged approach is open standards driven and strives to allow customers on any legacy equipment — Nortel or otherwise — to evolve at their own pace.

Download IDC’s take on the Avaya roadmaps here.

3com offers a global support network for its customers that are staffed around the world. Their hallmark is flexibility in engagement arrangement and customization of support needs. Vendor transition and product support are two key aspects offered by 3Com so that risk of vendor transition is transferred to 3Com and not the customer. Service and support is needed more now then ever as data center and enterprise network design and deployments have become complex thanks to a plethora of new technologies and options. I discuss the Importance of service and support in enterprise networking with Imran Khan Vice President of Global Services at 3Com. Enjoy, Nick

There has been huge interest in Borderless Networks since Lippis Report 134. The following are links to Cisco’s site which cover Borderless Networks and its ISR G2 announcement. There is content here from other industry analysts and of course from Cisco as well.

Borderless Networks Experience – The World is Your Workspace
See business innovation in action as Cisco customers and executives discuss how Borderless Networks enables greater productivity, collaboration and efficiency.

Borderless Networks Experience

Borderless Networks

Building Tomorrow’s Borderless Business
Enable a new borderless workspace experience at remote offices with Cisco Integrated Services Router Generation 2

Integrated Services Routers

We decided to re-run this podcast interview with Ron Sege in light of HP’s intent to acquire 3Com.
Ron Sege, President and Chief Operating Officer of 3Com discusses its worldwide strategy, value proposition and how it plans to gain share and compete in the large enterprise market. 3Com has an entirely refreshed product line that spans switching, routing, security, wireless and unified communications and has been tested in large enterprise customers. 3Com is differentiating this product with cost advantage, total cost of ownership and services. Ron explains how 3Com survived the crash and is positioned to lead in the recovery as IT leaders’ buying patterns have shifted. It’s a fascinating discussion, enjoy. Nick

By Nick Lippis

A new era in Enterprise IT is emerging. It’s an era born out of systemic business efficiency planning prompted by the efforts of business leaders to reduce corporate spending as revenues declined during the market crash of 2008. To reduce operational spend, get closer to customers, automate new streamlined business processes and position their firms for the current economic recovery, IT leaders are reviewing IT solutions, particularly data center consolidation, virtualization, cloud computing and branch offices. In this white paper we describe the macro trends taking shape in business and explore how these trends are creating a new era in branch office IT fueled by cost reduction and improved customer experience. We review next generation branch office IT attributes and best practices to leverage their value.

This short Lippis Vidcast is on Cisco’s Borderless Networks architecture and its ISR G2 launch.

By IDC

Virtualization and UC application migration onto the datacenter are happening side by side and create an interesting and challenging dilemma. Virtualization today is primarily being applied to traditional server-based applications with flexible minimum response times, low utilization rates, and low input/output requirements. The requirements are quite the opposite for real-time communications where application delay is not permitted. A disadvantage of virtualization has been that application efficiencies can be lost as the virtual machine accesses the hardware indirectly. This IDC white paper addresses the question: Can virtualization support real-time communications?

Find the answer by downloading this white paper.

As businesses grow across borders, a new era in branch office IT is emerging, born out of systemic business efficiency planning prompted by the efforts of business leaders to reduce corporate spending as revenues declined during the market crash of 2008. To assist business and IT leaders in reducing operational spend, get closer to customers, automate new streamlined business processes and position their firms for the current economic recovery, Cisco has launched the second generation of Integrated Services Routers (ISR G2), their flagship branch office solution for Borderless Networks. Shashi Kiran, Senior Manager Network Systems and Security of Cisco Systems discusses macro business trends and explores how these trends are creating a new era in enterprise networks.