In Latin Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate all of our students and alums from these communities who have joined ours, through Cisco Networking Academy’s IT skills-to-jobs program. Debbie Gomez is… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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In Latin Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate all of our students and alums from these communities who have joined ours, through Cisco Networking Academy’s IT skills-to-jobs program. Debbie Gomez is one super-inspired individual who is sharing her passion for technology in her communities. As Founder of Networking Academy’s Women Rock-IT Program, I take great pleasure in sharing the impact of this program with people like Debbie and the onflow impact they have in their communities.

When “born and bred” Texan, Debbie Gomez, went from being a full-time mother of three children to being a student at Collin County Community College, you could be forgiven for thinking it was an opportunity to slow down a little.  

Apparently, that’s not in Debbie’s DNA—getting involved and helping people is. Even as a school student, Debbie spent summers in Mexico learning Spanish from the local children and teaching them English in return. It shouldn’t be a surprise that when she enrolled in college, she would go all-in. 

IT was Debbie’s first choice 

IT was Debbie’s first choice, because she had seen news stories about the demand for cybersecurity experts. “I’m not looking for a job, I’m looking for a career,” she says. “When I enrolled at Collin College I started as a cybersecurity major, but after taking some NetAcad classes I realized that I’m really fond of the blinking lights—the routers and the switches—so much so that I changed my major to computer networking.” 

Debbie (right) meets Laura Quintana, VP & General Manager Cisco Networking Academy (left)

Meeting more women in IT 

“I attended Women Rock-IT in my first semester, I met a lot of women in the industry, and one thing I really loved is that they get to travel and work. I want to be able to have that opportunity,” she says. 

Another big part of the attraction to networking—and the Academy Program—was the hands-on experience on offer.  

Cybersecurity at Collin 

“Cybersecurity at Collin is more theoretical, and I was looking for more technical,” she says. “When I was able to play around with the switches, how to patch cables, all of that got my attention…and there’s a lot of security involved in computer networking as well, it’s almost like the gatekeeper, so that’s what I really enjoyed.” 

Debbie says she’s not alone in switching from the four-year Cybersecurity Bachelor’s Degree course at Collin to the two-year Computer Networking Associate’s Degree, and has even petitioned the college to expand the Bachelor’s program to include computer networking. She’s hoping the college makes the change, even though it would happen after she’s already completed her studies. “It would be my legacy,” she says. 

It wouldn’t be her only legacy at Collin. 

Networking with neighbors  

When Debbie first started IT Essentials, she realized a lot of participants had previous experience that she lacked. “Almost everybody that starts in tech has some type of background in technology,” she says.  

“They’d probably built a computer. I had not. I’d never opened a computer before. So, trying to keep up with the pace of the class, and wanting to spend more time on the equipment, I decided I needed something to play around with at home,” she says. She put a notification in her neighborhood app asking whether anyone had any equipment to donate. “I didn’t care if it worked or not, I just needed to break it apart.”  

“I had a huge response, there’s a lot of IT professionals who gave me switches, routers, wireless access points, a lot of stuff,” she says.

Debbie as mascot at club promotion to students

Club collaboration at Collin

Patrick Evans, Discipline Lead – Computer Networking Program, Collin County Community College, says the response was probably so big because the Dallas area is a tech hub, housing numerous familiar tech businesses, and even a big Cisco Customer Experience Center on the same road as one of the Collin College campuses. 

Starting in with the equipment in her garage, Debbie invited classmates to come over and collaborate, and, with the encouragement of Professor Evans, eventually formed the Computer Science and Engineering Club.  

The club offers a platform for mentorship and networking and is more popular than Debbie could have imagined. “I’ve never led a club before, we started very small, it was just like five members,” she says. With more than 200 current members, “we’re the biggest club right now in the IT center—we keep growing!” 

Debbie makes the Networking Academy Dream Team 

If continuing to look after her family, studying, running the club, and a couple of internships weren’t enough, Debbie was also part of the Dream Team at Cisco Live in Las Vegas in June 2023.  

The Dream Team consists of five Networking Academy students who are selected from across the Americas, to work alongside Cisco engineers to help set up and maintain the network at the event.  

At Cisco Customer Experience Center, Richardson, Texas (Debbie second from right)

“It was awesome to learn from the network engineers,” she says. “I’m so glad that Professor Evans taught me how to patch cables…it came in handy, because the other Dream Teamers had never done that before. So I ended up showing them how to put an RG45 on a cable!” 

“It was amazing,” she says. “It was one of the best times of my life. It was meeting a lot of people, meeting a lot of Cisco executives, learning from them, helping set up the network…it was very exhausting, but it was totally worth it.” 

Certifications to secure the dream 

As though Debbie weren’t engaged enough, she has also completed the pre-apprenticeship phase of the Cisco CX Apprenticeship Program.  She achieved the required CCNA certification and is currently self-studying for the DevNet certification. DevNet is a requirement to complete during the second part, which is six months full-time paid work as a Technical Consulting Engineer within Cisco’s Customer Experience organization. “My dream career is to work for Cisco,” she says.  

In the meantime, she’s preparing to take CCNP, her final class at Collin College before graduation in the Spring of 2024.  

If the sheer number of activities Debbie has engaged in since returning to study seems overwhelming, she dismisses it breezily: “I’m from Texas,” she says, “go big or go home!” 

Explore more inspiring success stories at netacad.com/careers/success-stories.

  In Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate all of our Hispanic students and alums of Cisco Networking Academy's IT skills-to-jobs program. Debbie Gomez is one super-inspired individual who is sharing her passion for technology in her communities.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

In the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity, the concept of Zero Trust has emerged as a crucial defense against sophisticated threats. Cisco offers a powerful combination of Cisco Duo Security… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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In the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity, the concept of Zero Trust has emerged as a crucial defense against sophisticated threats. Cisco offers a powerful combination of Cisco Duo Security and Cisco Secure Access Solution, providing organizations with a robust framework to strengthen their Zero Trust strategy. This article explores the seamless integration of these solutions, offering Cisco and IT managers a comprehensive guide to enhancing security within their digital ecosystems.

The Imperative of Zero Trust

With remote work, cloud adoption, and relentless cyberattacks, traditional security models struggle to keep up with evolving threats. The Zero Trust paradigm challenges the notion of inherent trust in users and devices, emphasizing continuous verification and granting access based on the principle of least privilege. Cisco Duo Security and Cisco Secure Access Solution serve as the pillars for implementing this approach.

Cisco Duo Security: Elevating Authentication

Authentication plays a critical role in the Zero Trust model, acting as the gateway to access. Cisco Duo Security enhances this layer with a sophisticated multi-factor authentication (MFA) framework. By requiring users to provide multiple forms of identity verification, Duo Security prevents unauthorized access, even in the event of a password breach. With features like Verified-push notifications and Passwordless authentication, Cisco Duo Security ensures security without hindering user productivity.

Cisco Secure Access Solution: Orchestrating Zero Trust

Working in tandem with Cisco Duo Security, the Cisco Secure Access Solution acts as a central hub for Zero Trust implementation. This comprehensive solution unites various security functions, including network, application, and endpoint security, into a cohesive framework. By intelligently orchestrating access policies, the Cisco Secure Access Solution mitigates risks through real-time monitoring and contextual awareness. For instance, if an employee attempts access from an unfamiliar location, additional authentication layers can be triggered to safeguard sensitive data.

The Power of Integration

The integration of Cisco Duo Security and Cisco Secure Access Solution empowers organizations to establish a robust and dynamic Zero Trust environment. Here are the key benefits:

Enhanced Identity Verification: By combining MFA from Duo Security with contextual insights from Cisco Secure Access Solution, access is granted only to verified users, irrespective of their location.
Real-Time Policy Adaptation: Leveraging contextual factors such as device health and user behavior, policies are dynamically adjusted in real-time. This adaptive approach strengthens security while preserving a seamless user experience.

Risk-Based Authentication: Anomaly detection enables proactive evaluation of access risks, triggering step-up authentication as necessary. This helps prevent potential breaches by adding additional verification layers when anomalous behavior is detected.
Unified User Experience: The integration maintains user-friendly authentication methods, facilitating smooth adoption and minimizing disruption across the organization.
Comprehensive Visibility: Gain valuable insights into user activities and access patterns, enabling swift detection of anomalies or potential threats.

Implementing the Integration

To implement the integration effectively, follow these steps:

Assessment: Conduct a thorough evaluation of your organization’s security landscape, identifying gaps and opportunities for integration.
Deployment: Roll out Cisco Duo SSO and integrate them with your existing authentication identity sources such as an on-premise active directory or Cloud IDP.
Policy Definition: Define access policies within the Cisco Secure Access Solution, leveraging insights from Cisco Duo Security.
Configuration: Configure the integration between Cisco Duo Security and Cisco Secure Access Solution, using SAML2.0
Testing and Optimization: Rigorously test the integrated solution across various scenarios to ensure alignment with security and user experience requirements.
Continuous Vigilance: Implement continuous monitoring to promptly detect and respond to security incidents or abnormalities.

In Conclusion

As the threat landscape continues to evolve and user environments become increasingly complex, integrating Cisco Duo Security with Cisco Secure Access Solution offers a powerful solution for fortifying the Zero Trust framework. This integration empowers Cisco and IT managers to establish a dynamic security posture, where access is rigorously verified and risk is effectively managed. By embracing this convergence, organizations pave the way for an agile, resilient, and adaptive security approach in today’s interconnected digital realm.

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with Cisco Secure on social!

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What if young people concerned about the effects of climate change had the opportunity to perform hands-on service to mitigate its effects on vulnerable communities? As Service Year Alliance sees it,… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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What if young people concerned about the effects of climate change had the opportunity to perform hands-on service to mitigate its effects on vulnerable communities? As Service Year Alliance sees it, every youth in America should have that chance, and every community deserves youth service as a resource for combating climate challenges. Since its launch in 2016, Service Year Alliance has embarked on a mission “to make a year of paid, full-time service — a service year — a common expectation and opportunity for all young Americans” to serve communities across the nation.

Key to realizing the organization’s mission is ServiceYear.org, an online platform where individuals looking for service year opportunities can connect with organizations and programs offering them. Since 2013, Cisco has provided the organization vital technical and financial support, starting with the platform. Later, when events triggered by climate change became more frequent and severe, Service Year Alliance expanded its focus to include climate-related service, which qualified it to receive additional funding from the Cisco Foundation’s $100 million USD portfolio, earmarked for supporting non-profit organizations working towards a more regenerative and resilient future climate.

In the following Q&A, Kristen Bennett, Service Year Alliance’s Chief Executive Officer, discusses its unique mission and how it’s changing the landscape of service years.

Q: What drew you to the national service space, and how did you become CEO?

Kristen Bennett, Service Year Alliance’s Chief Executive Officer

A: I graduated from college in 2008, as the recession hit. I was already considering a mission-oriented career and found a service year opportunity through AmeriCorps VISTA with the WE Connect initiative, spearheaded by First Lady of California, Maria Shriver. During my service year, I built critical community partnerships and helped to connect low-income families to programs and resources to become more financially stable. I received a modest stipend and health care benefits while other recent graduates around me competed for a few unpaid internships and hourly service-industry jobs. The experience was transformational, placing me on a career path in service that I might not have otherwise reached on my own.

I wanted to make an impact beyond my service year, so after it was over, I accepted a position as a program officer at California Volunteers, California’s state service commission overseeing service and volunteerism in California. While working there, I learned the ins and outs of the service sector while building my professional network, which included Shirley Sagawa, one of AmeriCorps’ founders. I eventually joined her at the National Conference on Citizenship in Washington, D.C. to lead the development of ServiceYear.org, the first technology platform dedicated to connecting the next generation of youth to service years. Over the next nine years, my role evolved into Service Year Alliance’s Chief Strategy Officer, Interim Co-Chief Executive Officer, and finally Chief Executive Officer, my current position.

Q: How has collaboration with Cisco and the Cisco Foundation been instrumental in advancing and expanding national service programs?

A: Cisco’s been with us since the beginning — first, in the early days before our organization even existed, offering $2.1M in philanthropic support through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to launch Service Year Alliance and to create ServiceYear.org, the first technology platform to act as a marketplace matching young people and service year positions. We built the platform from scratch, and we couldn’t have done it without a philanthropic partner who had both technology expertise and resources to help us get the work started.

Over the years, Cisco has supported everything from our efforts to reach young people, to pandemic and public health response, and now the Climate Project. Our long partnership around helping young people become aware of, learn about, and find the right opportunity for themselves has allowed us to optimize very effectively for specific needs — like how to help young people find the right climate-related service year position.

As a result, throughout 2023 our conversion rate from registering on the site to actually submitting an application increased from 23 percent to 36 percent. Climate organizations saw even bigger shifts — Grid Alternatives, which advances resiliency programming, saw a dramatic 360 percent increase in enrollments and a 165 percent rise in applications this past year, reflecting the growing interest young people have in doing climate-focused service years.

Q: What does a typical service year look like?

A: There is no “typical” service year since opportunities can vary widely. They range from delivering high-dosage literacy tutoring to bring students up to grade level, helping rural non-profit organizations develop strategies for recruiting volunteers, giving tax preparation assistance to low-income families, assisting individuals at a community health center, or installing solar panels in under-resourced neighborhoods.

Q: What is the Climate Project, and how does a partnership between Service Year Alliance and the Cisco Foundation power the initiative?

A: A poll led by Data for Progress, an American think tank, shows climate change is a major concern for 91 percent of youth, but two-thirds of them aren’t sure how to make a tangible difference. In 2022, Service Year Alliance kicked off the Climate Project in a multi-year partnership supported by the Cisco Foundation to specifically address climate-related issues by recruiting the next generation’s youth into climate-related service to assist communities in becoming more resilient to climate change and empower them with opportunities to help tackle this daunting crisis.

An AmeriCorps member serves in a community garden. Photo credit: AmeriCorps

To develop the project, we first hosted targeted conversations with national service programs, green sector employer associations, workforce development partners, and other organizations and agencies working to address problems brought on by climate change. We also formed a cohort made up of eight standout service year programs to take a deeper dive into effective strategies for leveraging service to both further address the impacts of climate change, as well as equip young people with the skills, certifications, and experience they will need to enter into green sector careers.

Taking what we learned, we published a suite of three guides for partners to use as “roadmaps” to best leverage human capital in three distinct areas related to climate and environmental resilience: community capacity building, rural resilience, and energy efficiency. They spotlight a diverse assortment of program models throughout the U.S., offering organizations guidance for choosing the best model for developing their own programs and pathways.

Q: What are your most valuable partnerships, and how do they further your mission?

A: Besides Cisco, the Cisco Foundation, and AmeriCorps, as part of the Climate Project we have worked with a broad spectrum of organizations committed to solving climate issues in under-resourced communities. In January 2023, we launched The Partnership for the Civilian Climate Corps (PCCC), a non-partisan partnership of over 100 national, state, and local cross-sector organizations representing service, workforce, labor, environmental justice, conservation, and youth — all organizations aligned behind shared principles for engaging youth in climate-focused service and workforce development opportunities. The PCCC includes The Corps ­Network, American Clean Power, Jobs for the Future, Evergreen Action, and America‘s Service Commissions, among many others.

Additionally, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council was an important link to additional networks such as the National Community Action Partnership, the National Association for State Community Service Programs, and the Building Performance Association. Our relationships with these organizations allow us greater access to national conversations and information essential to promoting national service as a talent pipeline to meet our nation’s ambitious climate goals.

Q: What are some of the benefits for corps members, including post service?

A: At a basic level, service corps members receive a living stipend, health care coverage, and skills training. After completing a service year, corps members are eligible for a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, which they can use to pay for higher education or pay off student loans. Additionally, those who participate in service year programs without a bachelor’s degree are over twice as likely to go on to earn their degree compared to their peers.

Following service, we support service year alums by keeping them connected to one another and informed about a variety of career pathways available to them. Among those with bachelor’s degrees, 38 percent enter into service-oriented career areas — education, community and social services, and health care — compared to 13 percent of their peers. For climate-focused alums, we are committed to ensuring they are connected to green sector career opportunities and informed about their post-service options during and after their term of service.

Q: What are some ways climate-related service benefits communities?

A: Corps members dedicated to tackling climate hurdles in local communities have a direct and tangible impact. We selected the focus areas for our roadmaps based in part on a landscape assessment of the impacts of programs.

GRID Alternatives AmeriCorps members install solar panels. Photo source: GRID Alternatives

For example, one of the programs we worked with on our Energy Efficiency roadmap, the Mile High Youth Corps’ Energy & Water Conservation Program, saved over 101,500 low-income families 620,799 kilowatt hours of energy across Colorado in 2021 — a total savings of $160,000 USD. We are excited to continue to work with service year programs and employer partners advancing energy efficiency to help expand programming and create additional pathways for service year alumni to enter into weatherization and clean energy careers.

And in developing the Rural Resilience roadmap, we saw how AmeriCorps programs like Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) are not only demonstrating how service year corps members can infuse the additional capacity that is needed for more rural communities to participate in the growing green economy, but are also equipping these young adults to serve as the next generation of climate leaders in the communities in which they serve — with multiple corps members from the 2022/23 graduating class obtaining staff positions at the local nonprofits that hosted them during their service years. To help expand these types of results, Service Year Alliance is directly supporting several organizations as they seek to create and expand service year programming in rural communities throughout the Southeast.

Finally, we can already see how our Community Capacity Building roadmap is helping to fuel the development of state-based climate corps programming. In North Carolina and elsewhere, we are very pleased to see state-based initiatives really leaning into the belonging and inclusion elements of our resources and placing equity at the center of their program development efforts. By adopting practices that not only support diverse corps members, but also bring corps member host sites and supervisors along on the journey, new opportunities are being created for underrepresented populations to become involved in climate action. 2024 is going to be a big year for expansion of state-based climate corps programming, and Service Year Alliance is ready to help those initiatives grow in a way that will create opportunity for all.

Q: Can you share a story about a corps member whose life changed dramatically after a service year?

A: While in her early twenties, Geri Lopez, a member of the White Earth Tribe in central Minnesota, was working to bring solar and wind power to her community when governmental funding for it dried up. However, she wanted to continue working in the renewable energy sector.

That’s when she applied for a service year with Ampact AmeriCorps under the Climate Impact Corps Home Energy Initiative. Geri served alongside an energy-efficiency professional to make homes in low-income communities safer and more energy efficient. She learned how to test and analyze building envelopes, and just about everything else related to home weatherization. Equally important, Geri developed new problem-solving and communication skills, which, along with her training and experience, helped her land a job as a weatherization auditor and inspector at MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, hence enabling her to join the green economy.

Because of her inspiring service year story, Geri was invited to attend the White House’s Summit on Building Climate Resilient Communities, to be held on September 28, 2023.

Watch this video to hear Geri speak about her service year experience at the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Ideas: Climate 2023 conference in Miami Beach, Florida, on March 8, 2023 — International Women’s Day.

Visit ServiceYear.org to learn more about how youth can connect to climate-related service year opportunities.

Top photo image source: AmeriCorps

  Service Year Alliance, a Cisco Foundation grantee, has climate-related service opportunities so youth can gain skills for the green economy.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

This National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Senior Director of Security Brand Marketing at Cisco Cecilia Correa shared how she has built a rewarding career in security. Driven by creative… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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This National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Senior Director of Security Brand Marketing at Cisco Cecilia Correa shared how she has built a rewarding career in security. Driven by creative collaboration along with a global perspective, Correa is a champion of security’s impact on the world.

“The combination of our purpose-driven brand within a category that’s so foundational is what moves me,” she said. To contribute to cybersecurity’s impact and innovation, visit our open roles.

Security touches everything

What led you to say yes to becoming the Senior Director of Brand Marketing at Cisco in security?

Cecilia Correa: Cisco’s mission of powering an inclusive future for all is extremely inspiring. It’s not just words on a slide. It guides all the work that the company does. I was drawn to the opportunity to join the marketing team because Cisco is a brand that matters. A brand that has substance and depth. As a brand marketer, you can’t have a better brief to work from: Cisco built the core infrastructure of the internet and is uniquely positioned to provide cybersecurity that helps organizations stay protected and resilient in our increasingly digital world.

What energizes you about working in security?

Cecilia Correa: With everything and everyone more connected than ever, security matters more than ever. As connectivity increases, so do opportunities for cyber criminals to impact essential infrastructure and even global economics. Threats have shifted to attacks that can and have disrupted healthcare systems, food industries, fuel pipelines, and power grids.

Security is on the priority list of every single client because security is simply critical for them to operate. They need a security platform, not a bunch of cobbled together fixes. Our clients cannot have a resilient supply chain or a resilient workforce without having a resilient infrastructure from a security standpoint to protect their data, to protect their people, to protect their assets. It feels meaningful to work in a category that is so essential and foundational – and to be part of Cisco – a company that can bring its heritage and strengths like no other to innovate and make a difference.

Mission-driven global impact 

What’s the impact of security on the world?

Cecilia Correa: Cisco believes that security is a basic human right that we all must address and that secure, global connectivity is crucial for an equitable planet. Ensuring the safety and security of our shared network is essential to our connected world and collective future.

Why Cisco?

Cecilia Correa: Cisco is uniquely positioned to help make the world safer for all. Our holistic, simplified approach to security sets us apart. We built the core infrastructure of the internet and are one of the most trusted security providers in the world. I love that Cisco is not afraid to stand up for what it believes in – and it’s an organization that cares deeply about its people. It offers a wealth of opportunities for development and enables employees to give back to the communities that they’re in.

A rewarding career awaits

If what’s next in cybersecurity drives you, visit our open opportunities.

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with Cisco Secure on social!

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  This National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, learn from Brand Leader Cecilia Correa about what makes working in security meaningful and impactful.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) is an extension of the IPv6 architecture that enables the insertion of routing instructions, known as segments, directly into IPv6 headers. This standards-based… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) is an extension of the IPv6 architecture that enables the insertion of routing instructions, known as segments, directly into IPv6 headers. This standards-based technology enables simplicity, flexibility, and security at scale. The architecture, defined in RFC 8402, is a source routing paradigm that allows a node within a network to steer traffic through a domain using an ordered list of segments. The list of segments instructs nodes on how to process a packet. As the path information is within a packet transit or intermediate nodes do not have to maintain state of all the paths within a network.   

IP Version 6 (IPv6), as noted in IPv6 OMB Mandate: What’s Your Strategy? is the new IP standard for the US Federal Government. IP Version 6 provides the additional addressing and foundation towards a Zero Trust enabled infrastructure.  

Combining Segment Routing with IPv6, known as Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6), lays the foundation for end-to-end services and zero trust security across an entire organization/enterprise.  

Why Segment Routing 

Segment routing simplifies network architecture and operations via source-based routing. On the data plane Segment Routing can run via IPv6 or via multiprotocol label switching (MPLS). With the OMB IPv6-Only mandate and the inherent benefits of SRv6, government organizations should be gearing towards SRv6.  

SRv6 empowers network operators with enhanced traffic engineering and the ability to go beyond. SRv6 enables efficient and resilient resource utilization, Any VPN, Service Function Chaining (SFC), 5G behavior natively with IPv6, and optimized path selection. The simplicity gained through reduced control plane complexity facilitates organizational visibility, operational simplicity, and infrastructure management. Simply put, if you can troubleshoot IP, you can troubleshoot SRv6. In an IPv6-Only environment SRv6 allows organizations to seamlessly scale and gain (back) the advantages of IP and IPv6 through address summarization. For example, a domain of 10 or 10,000 or larger can be summarized into a single IPv6 advertisement reachable via 1 simple prefix. Enterprises and large organizations with tens of thousands of nodes can now provide full reachability with very few IPv6 prefixes.  

[ Segment Routing Details – https://segment-routing.net]  

Cisco has been a leader in Segment Routing and SRv6 since its inception in 2013; to include shipping of SRv6 since 2019. Additionally, SRv6 is incorporated within open-source projects and open-source communities. Going forward this will continue to drive development and interoperability of SRv6 and offer benefits in terms of innovation, collaboration, and customization in meeting and exceeding business and mission objectives. Some examples of open-source projects include the Fast Data Project FD.io, SAI/SONiC, and Free-Range Routing (FRR). A more comprehensive list can be found at: https://www.segment-routing.net/open-software  

Open Source at Cisco 

Public Sector and Enterprise Use Cases   

SRv6 along with IPv6-Only is applicable anywhere within an organization. Across government and public entities this includes regional education networks, broadband and middle mile initiatives, healthcare (e.g., telemedicine), 5G, Private 5G, IoT, and Edge. Future use-cases are numerous with benefits beyond legacy infrastructure; to include extension of SRv6 services to the application layer.  

 An excellent high-level design (HLD) of SRv6 can be found here: Cisco Converged SDN Transport SRv6 High Level Design. The concepts within this HLD such as a core network are the same as a self-managed wide area network or core network of a large enterprise. In referencing the Cisco IPv6 Journey Map , public sector organizations should consider and plan for SRv6 within the strategy/planning phase. The ultimate outcome of transition to SRv6 and IPv6-only being mission success with added benefit of alignment with the OMB Mandate.  

 Get started with SRv6 and IPv6 today and learn more via the following resources:  

Segment Routing 
Converged SDN Transport SRv6 
Transitioning to IPv6 for Simplicity, Efficiency, and Modernization  
IPv6 Customer for Journey for Public Sector Organizations 

Learn More:  

Cisco Customer Experience and Services
Cisco Solutions for Government

  Explore the future of networking with SRv6. Enhance IPv6, simplify operations, and bolster security and resilience. Discover how SRv6 transforms large-scale networks.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

In our rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations face countless challenges, from thwarting increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals, to meeting ambitious sustainability targets, to adapting… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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In our rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations face countless challenges, from thwarting increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals, to meeting ambitious sustainability targets, to adapting to new ways of working. To stay competitive in the face of scarce IT skills, more companies are leveraging managed services delivered by an evolving ecosystem of partners. And as customers look to simplify and manage increasingly complex technological needs, they also demand measurable business impacts from their IT investments.

In response to all these factors, the popularity of partner managed services is higher than ever. Recent research from Canalys, a leading global market research and analysis firm specializing in the technology industry, makes this clear. According to their findings:

While total IT spending is forecast to grow 3.5% globally in 2023, managed services is predicted to grow 12.7%!
89% of partners surveyed expect their managed services revenue to grow in 2023. A full 56% expect it to grow by more than 10%.
35% of partners that sell managed services expect over 20% growth in their managed services revenue in 2023.[1] That number is up from 27% in November 2022.

Paradoxically, confidence around managed services has increased amidst plenty of global challenges. You already know about them: rising inflation and interest rates, geopolitical instability, and climate change, to name a few.

A case for adoption of partner managed services

The three main forces behind the adoption of partner managed services are: 1) budget concerns, 2) customer acquisition challenges, and 3) talent/skills gaps. Here’s what I mean:

Inflation and economic uncertainty translate into more budget scrutiny and lower risk tolerance.
Customers’ needs and expectations continue to grow. Their IT investments are increasingly focused on outcomes and experiences. As a result, technologies applied within an organization need to show ROI as strategic operational expenditures.
And when it comes to the IT workforce, IT remains a perennial challenge as the demand for skilled professionals with sufficient knowledge and experience in emerging technologies outweighs the supply. Without the ability to hire digital skills in-house, organizations lack the agility they need to compete.

The power of the Managed Service Provider

Enter the Managed Services Provider, or MSP.  These are partners delivering managed services where these services account for more than 50 percent of the company’s revenues, according to Canalys’ definition. These MSPs address all three pain points outlined above. They allow the customer to access the skills they require, applying operational expenses to achieve valuable business outcomes.

To dig a little deeper into the Canalys research, here are the key trends partners are centering on:

Flexible business models that can adapt to customer needs and market changes.
Managed services help partners diversify and differentiate. And if you want to succeed these days, you need to specialize!
Collaborating with other partners to solve customer challenges.
An increased pace in moving to recurring revenue models.

Details of these managed services trends vary by region and country, but partners worldwide are looking for new ways to differentiate their services and demonstrate value to their customers.

For partners, the accelerating adoption of managed services reflects the times and represents unprecedented opportunity. Canalys outlined the biggest global growth areas for MSPs as:

Cybersecurity and cyber-resilience. In response to evolving threats, we’ll see growth in networking and endpoint management along with a rise in detection and response. Demand for compliance will also expand due to new regulations.
In a move toward increased specialization, areas of focus include data analytics and AI to optimize processes and systems, making services more predictive and proactive.
Cloud solutions. Hybrid, migration and cost control.
Delivering Everything as-a-Service, or XaaS (including software, infrastructure, and data centers as-a-Service, to name a few).

What should you take away from these findings? Here are the top takeaways from Canalys’ global research on partner managed services in 2023:

Economic realities continue to put customer budgets under pressure, and they are looking for more flexible ways to consume IT while demanding these investments show ROI.
The shift to managed services is picking up speed and MSPs will play an increasingly important role as strategic IT advisors and implementors to customers.
To succeed, MSPs need to specialize to stand out in the marketplace and meet customers’ complex needs.
Partners are collaborating more to deliver co-managed services.

MSPs in the Age of the Partner

What does this all add up to? First, it demonstrates that in this Age of the Partner, managed services are being built for today’s changing world. It’s an elegant and nimble solution we can all benefit from—partners, vendors, and customers alike.

The second is that we should be encouraged—and excited—by what we’re seeing. Because this is about something even bigger. We’re witnessing a convergence of forces that is driving a wave of growth in partner managed services.

And third, the robustness of managed services is another example of innovation playing out in the marketplace and the role of adversity in catalyzing progress. Evolution doesn’t happen in the absence of pressure. As Plato put it, “our need will be the real creator.”

You haven’t heard the last word on this! Naturally we’re seeing variation at the regional/country level since customer needs and budgets vary widely. Watch for more specifics on the Canalys research coming from my colleagues in different regions and join us at Partner Summit 2023 to hear more about how we’re empowering partners to #GoManaged.

Read the Canalys White Paper here!

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[1] This study was initiated by Canalys, not commissioned by Cisco. In order to refresh their November 2022 data, Canalys surveyed 324 Candefero partner members from around the world in June 2023. They set out to look atd the evolution of MS, discover which types of services partners are building, identify the potential benefits and challenges involved in providing MS, and lay out areas where partners see the biggest growth opportunities.

  The popularity of partner managed services is higher than ever. Recent research from Canalys, a leading global market research and analysis firm specializing in the technology industry, makes this clear. Check out their findings.  Read More Cisco Blogs