Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the world according to the popular press and the statements of tech CEOs in the last year. There is a lot of discussion about the impact of AI on all areas of… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the world according to the popular press and the statements of tech CEOs in the last year. There is a lot of discussion about the impact of AI on all areas of business. This post is about how AI impacts program management.

As program managers, we build our expertise in a certain domain, technology, and industry and the bulk of our time is spent managing programs, which align that expertise with organizational requirements.  Some aspects of this management become predictable and repeatable over time-which is usually a trigger for automation and potentially AI.

While the field of AI is large, much of the recent interest is around generative AI (GenAI) after the advent of ChatGPT in late 2022. GenAI has been useful in multiple applications including with answering questions (“how do I?”), summarization (“what are the key aspects?”) and a sliced view (“what at the top 10 issues in this project?”). While the possibilities appear endless, AI can be valuable only when it is relevant, which means it must learn from and refine what is existing and available.

The impact of AI on program management

According to a report on AI in the global Program Managemen Market by MarketsandMarkets, AI will help in streamlining processes, improving efficiency, and mitigating risks. As a result, the market for AI in project management is expected to double over the next five years. The report indicates that by utilizing AI, project managers can improve project outcomes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. For example, project managers can deploy AI-based solutions to automate routine tasks. This can improve communication while freeing up team members to focus on more effective project delivery.

Businesses need to develop a complete view of the challenges and implications of adopting AI-based solutions for program management. Before implementing AI, they must understand the increased threat of data to leaks and cyberattacks and the accessibility of project management tools on mobile devices which makes data assets more vulnerable. This is particularly important in highly regulated industries.

Regardless, while there is no one-size-fits-all answer, the growing use of AI is expected to help in all stages of program management such as planning, execution, monitoring, and control. AI-powered software can be used to predict project duration, spot potential delays, and recommend different strategies based on historical data. AI can also be used to find areas where more resources will be needed during execution, identify probable problem areas, and modify plans accordingly in real time.

GenAI and the successful project manager

The Project Management Institute Talent Triangle is a framework to help project professionals understand the impact of GenAI, and the skills and competencies that must be acquired and improved to achieve success. There are three areas which define the successful GenAI mindset of a modern project manager:

Ways of Working – Method of working where generative AI can help the team meet expectations, but the accountability will be with the project manager in the type of questions being asked, safety of the answers, and the decisions made based on those answers.
Power Skills – The interpersonal skills for which AI can be an effective tool in stakeholder communications. Defining the context, purpose, audience, and scope and structuring the response with continuous revision will help provide a concise approach.
Business Acumen – Understanding the macro- and micro-influences and having the domain-specific knowledge to align projects with the big picture. AI can become a coach in identifying the problem, gathering the data, generating the solution with human in the loop where the system will interface with a person for feedback and inputs.

With AI still in the early stages, program managers need to be aware of some of the challenges when using AI. Here again, data quality and availability are crucial considerations along with AI model selection and integration, ethics, security, and privacy. Using a human-in-the-loop approach and training to couple intelligent automation with human oversight and feedback will help mitigate the concern areas.

The human in the loop

It is important to note that while AI can excel in repetitive and data-driven tasks, human-centric skills such as decision making, emotional intelligence and adaptability will be key to the program manager’s contribution. The value of program managers will be based on their ability to create context and provide meaningful insights, specifics and strategy which are not repeatable. Last but not the least, program managers can work with teams and leaders in a nuanced manner to provide a trusted relationship – something that is hard for AI to do.

Just as new technologies relevant to Cisco’s business are continually integrated into products and solutions, our business operations teams are looking into collaborating with other teams on the use of AI tools in program management. Stay tuned for further updates.

"}]]  Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the world. There has been a lot of discussion about the impact of AI on all areas of business over the past year. This post is about how AI impacts program management.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

The quest for life’s meaning has been a constant throughout human history. Finding our personal purpose is essential for our emotional well-being and fulfillment as human beings. This purpose in… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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The quest for life’s meaning has been a constant throughout human history. Finding our personal purpose is essential for our emotional well-being and fulfillment as human beings. This purpose in life, which drives and motivates us day by day, takes on an even greater dimension when it aligns with the purpose of the organization for which we work. When an employee feels that their work contributes to a greater cause, their commitment and performance reach optimal levels, creating a state of “engagement” that benefits both the individual and the company. It’s a win-win situation.

Cisco’s purpose to power an inclusive future for all not only guides the company’s strategy and operations but also inspires its employees to work with passion and dedication. It helps to answer the “Why” question: Why do we do what we do? Aligning personal objectives with corporate ones creates a work environment where people feel part of something bigger than themselves, which is a powerful driver of motivation and commitment. Even better when you can engage the broader ecosystem, not only amplifying the positive impact but deepening business relationships – demonstrating that doing good is good for business.

APO Giving Back Week

During FY23, the Americas Partner Organization (APO) launched an initiative known as “APO Giving Back Week.” The intention was to align efforts and amplify impact by extending the initiative to include our external partner community. Spanning an entire week, the event saw over 20 Cisco champions from cities stretching from Canada to Argentina mobilize employees, contractors, and channel partners. Together, they supported causes and NGOs that addressed local community issues.

The results were impressive: just over 385 Cisco employees and 125 individuals from our channel partner companies contributing more than 1,300 hours of volunteer service, participating in various give-back activities from packing and sorting food parcels at foodbanks; to serving food at hostels and shelters, to litter picking and reading to children and so many other positive things in between.

To inject some added fun and competition, the activity with the highest participation of channel partner employees earned a cash donation for their chosen NGO. Kudos to all the cities and teams that took part, and special congratulations to the teams in Atlanta, Toronto, Mexico City, and San Jose (Costa Rica) for their outstanding involvement and contributions in mobilizing the highest participation of channel partner employees (ePlus and NWN Carousel in Atlanta. Connext and Ikusi in Mexico. Bell Canada and Ingram Micro in Canada. Fusion and Datasys in Costa Rica) and winning the cash donation of $1,500 each for their chosen NGO.

The innovative aspect of this giving back week was amplifying impact by engaging our channel partners in the US, Canada and LATAM under the global initiative Partnering for Purpose – collaborating with our partners based on shared interests and objectives.

What We Can Achieve Together

Here are some of the amazing results and highlights from the week:

Team Canada: “From Montreal to Vancouver, we had 46 volunteers, including 12 partner volunteers from Bell Canada and Ingram Micro, at four different food banks, moving more than 13,000 pounds of food. Logging 90.5 volunteer hours, equaling $1100+ Canadian Dollars donation!”  

Team Costa Rica: “We collaborated with three of our local partners: DATASYS, CiberC, and Ingram., and not only did we have a positive impact on the environment but helped to bring people together and strengthen the connection between the local community and the environment. Our volunteering was a great example of how small actions can have a big impact on the health of our planet. We collected 20 kilograms of beach litter and planted 30 trees.” 

Team Raleigh: “We harvested food from [a] local community garden, weeded rows of vegetables, and watered garden beds.” 

Team Chicago: “We assembled and provided 200 activity packets and 30 children’s books for hospitalized children at Lurie Children’s Hospital.” 

The experience was so enriching that there are already plans to replicate it in June 2024. Everyone across APO and the Americas is invited to join. These engagements not only reinforce the sense of belonging and commitment of employees to the company but also promote collaboration and teamwork; while strengthening the network of relationships between the company and its partners.

In the end, the alignment of personal purpose with that of the company and collaboration with the community creates a virtuous circle of commitment, performance, and satisfaction for all: individuals, the organization, and the whole ecosystem. Let’s be the bridge.

Learn more about Partnering for Purpose and how you can get involved:

Visit the Partnering for Purpose SalesConnect

Visit us on the Cisco website

Read our stories and Partnering for Purpose blogs

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

Cisco Partners Facebook  |  @CiscoPartners X/Twitter  |  Cisco Partners LinkedIn

"}]]  During FY23, the Americas Partner Organization (APO) launched an initiative known as "APO Giving Back Week." The intention was to align efforts and amplify impact by extending the initiative to include our external partner community. Together, they supported causes and NGOs that addressed local community issues.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

World Water Day is an annual United Nations Observance, held on March 22, focusing on the importance of freshwater. Access to water is a human right, yet, 2.2 billion people live without safely m… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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World Water Day is an annual United Nations Observance, held on March 22, focusing on the importance of freshwater. Access to water is a human right, yet, 2.2 billion people live without safely managed drinking water services. Water is also at the heart of adaptation to climate change, serving as the crucial link between the climate system, human society and the environment. 

This year’s theme for World Water Day is “Water for Peace,” which focuses on water’s vital role in creating a more stable and prosperous world.

As part of Cisco’s Purpose to Power and Inclusive Future for All, we invest in solutions that build resiliency for communities, individuals and natural ecosystems, including equitable access to clean and affordable drinking water.  

Cisco and the Cisco Foundation, through our cash grant programs and technology donations to nonprofit organizations, support organizations that are working to raise awareness of global water issues, increase access to safe drinking water, and protect this precious natural resource. It’s one example of how our social impact and environmental sustainability efforts come together in support of an inclusive future. In honor of World Water Day, we would like to shine a spotlight on four of these nonprofits – to learn more about them, please keep reading! 

Cool.org

Australian educators interested in sustainability and water conservation using COOL.org

Cool.org has supported educators and parents with online, real-world, evidence-based education resources for 15 years.

With an emphasis on environmental sustainability, Cool weaves content from industry experts and scientific organizations to create real-world resources that empower students to address big environmental challenges.

Since 2019, Cisco has been instrumental in supporting Cool to ensure their platform and systems are best in class. This support has played a crucial role in the development of their new educator-customized platform, saving time for educators and ensuring access to exceptional resources for all educators globally.

Cool creates and supplies teaching resources about water – from the water cycle to marine biology, from hydropower to geothermal energy, from conservation and adaptations. These resources provide teachers with a myriad of opportunities to bring water into the classroom. Through engaging activities, students can explore the wonders of water through Cool resources and develop a profound appreciation for its role in sustaining all life on Earth.

Join For Water

Photo courtesy of Join For Water

Join For Water changes lives by guaranteeing water for people and for nature. They operate in Benin, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Mali, Uganda, Ecuador and Peru. Their projects focus on drinking water, water for food production, sanitation, environmental management, and conscious water consumption in upper income countries.

Starting in 2020, Cisco provided several product grants of both hardware and subscriptions to Join For Water. Initially these grants consisted of five collaboration endpoints and supporting Webex subscription, which allowed for improved inter-office collaboration.  The most recent grant in 2023 provided a complete Meraki network solution, now installed in the Belgian office. Cisco is currently working with Join For Water and a Cisco partner to equip five of the remote offices with a similar Meraki network, allowing for a more secure and easy experience in managing their global network.

These donations have helped Join For Water reduce costs and CO2 emissions related to airplane travel. They have also enhanced connections between teams in Africa and South America that used to work separately from each other.

Join For Water says that Cisco support is contributing to their efforts to improve quality of life for 420,000 people over 5 years – most of them women. This includes enabling 67,000 people to get access to decent drinking water, 50,000 farmers to produce sufficient food through irrigated fields, and 7,000 people, mainly school children, to gain improved access to toilets. Join For Water also anticipates protecting and conserving 237,000 hectares of freshwater ecosystems during that five-year period (2022 through 2026).

WaterAid

Onsite work in Colombia

WaterAid transforms lives by improving access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in the world’s poorest communities. They work with local partners and influence decision-makers to maximize their impact.

With 40 years as an industry leader, WaterAid places special emphasis on evidence-based, sustainable solutions that help communities prosper in the long term. They strengthen systems at the community and the national level. WaterAid has reached 29 million people with clean water, 29 million people with decent toilets and 28 million people with good hygiene.

WaterAid is working to transform the lives of people in rural La Guajira, Colombia, who are forced to drink untreated water, exposing them to a range of deadly diseases, microbiological contaminants, elevated salinity levels, and heavy metals.

Thanks to a Regional Solutions Grant from the Cisco Foundation in 2023, WaterAid rolled out the first mobile water quality lab in La Guajira. By analyzing water quality data, communities can identify maintenance and repair needs, ensuring the longevity and effectiveness of water systems. Now there are fewer gastrointestinal illnesses, cases of dehydration, and related fatalities. The partnership has been key to multiplying the impact of a large-scale WASH investment project recently launched by WaterAid and Colombia’s Ministry of Housing.

One Acre Fund

One Acre Fund supports smallholder farmers in nine countries across sub-Saharan Africa in gaining the knowledge and means to achieve big harvests, support healthy families, and cultivate rich soil. One Acre Fund is now elevating their farmer-facing model with technology and is pursuing a remote-sensing strategy to offer farmers data-driven recommendations that will improve their farm yields and offer critical climate protection. This guidance may include an alert for when a major shock like a flood is coming.

Providing accurate flood prediction is crucial because in recent years, heavy seasonal rains in East Africa have increasingly led to devastating floods. Poor land management practices and extreme droughts can lead to erosion and dry soil, reducing the land’s ability to absorb water and increasing surface runoff during heavy rains. For farmers that are heavily reliant on rain-fed agriculture, flooding can lead to crop destruction, loss of livestock, damage to infrastructure such as irrigation systems and roads, and displacement of local communities, all of which can pose threats to livelihoods and food security in the region.

In many countries in the Global North, flood maps are usually made using stream gauges that track rising water levels, which are not readily available in East Africa due to limited financial resources and poor infrastructure. Cisco Foundation supports One Acre Fund’s pilot program to develop remote sensing capabilities through analysis of data from modeling programs and on-the-ground validation.

Learn more about how Cisco and the Cisco Foundation support nonprofit organizations on our ESG Reporting Hub.

"]]  In honor of World Water Day, we're spotlighting Cisco and Cisco Foundation nonprofit partners advocating for this natural resource.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

As institutions of higher education seek ways to address student retention, they are increasingly turning to technologies that promise more of an “at home” experience, driving greater engagement and s… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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As institutions of higher education seek ways to address student retention, they are increasingly turning to technologies that promise more of an “at home” experience, driving greater engagement and security for their users, while being simple and reliable to use. But often overlooked is the network behind it all.

When Biola University, a private Christian university in Southern California, sought solutions, they reached out to their friends at Cisco. Today, in part one of our two-part series on creating a secure student-centric experience, we discuss their technology journey with Scott Himes, Biola’s director of network operations.

Q: Prior to Cisco, what was your technology like and why did you choose to stay with Cisco?

A: We’ve been Cisco customers for quite some time, 20 plus years, since before I started at the university. When it comes down to it, the tools must do what the tools need to do. And Cisco’s done this for Biola — and it’s done it well.

I think one of the greatest testaments is we have a network refresh fund which allows us to proactively cycle out network equipment on a regular basis. But it doesn’t mean it’s always funded perfectly.

In some cases, we’ve got these switches that have been out there running for eleven, even twelve years . . . and they’re just working like champs. They’re doing exactly what they’re supposed to. That’s such a testament to Cisco’s build quality and their hardware capabilities. It’s just doing what it’s supposed to do . . . in a way that you can trust. It’s just a solid product. We’ve been really successful with Cisco. It’s been a great relationship.

The stability that has come from that has been key, it’s been amazing. We’re able to do some things that are beyond what we should be able to do with the number of people that we have. Because we’re not having to constantly firefight, we’re not diverting time to put out the fires. We can focus on innovating things.

Q: What kind of challenges were you facing?

A: One challenge we’ve been working to resolve on our campus has been the problem of students wanting to improve the network connectivity in the dorms, really trying to make the dorm experience, from a wireless standpoint, more like the home network experience that they come from.

Their network at home just works. They look at connecting all their devices, their Apple TV’s, gaming systems, all that stuff like that and everything works the way it’s supposed to — and it doesn’t really work that way in a university network. So, we’ve been working to implement Cisco’s solution, user defined networking (UDN), to improve that scenario, improve the way that devices connect and work together when they come onto the campus — and how they work in our enterprise network — making it act more like a home network scenario and solution.

Q: How are you leveraging automation to enhance your network?

A: We’re primarily using Cisco Catalyst Center for user defined networking. We’re using it to deploy our wireless controllers and our wireless access points, and to configure the wireless network as a whole.

And we’re just starting to add our wired network infrastructure into Cisco Catalyst Center as well, so we can start automating the process of software upgrades to help speed up the process of hardware replacement.

So, when we put new switches in place on campus, we can easily deploy the configuration to them. We can replicate what was there on the previous hardware, and get it get it back up and running as quickly as possible.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your approach to network security at Biola, and why it is important? 

A: I think network security is inherent, it’s something that’s critical. We see it at every level of the campus network. Because we’ve been working on this UDN solution, student network security has been top of mind.

We’ve been trying to put this solution in place, partly because it allows student devices to work easily together, plus it secures them in the process. It provides a little containerized network for student devices that isolates their devices from their roommate’s or neighbors’ devices. It allows them to use exactly what they want to use on the campus network and restricts other people from them, but also allows them to invite other students into their UDN, too, so they can share the devices they want to share.

Next up

Now that we’ve taken a brief look at the technologies involved in creating a student-centric experience, I invite you to take a deeper dive by exploring our latest interactive ebook In Search of the Best Experience: Exploring the Roles and Technologies of Experience Driven Institutions in Higher Education. Join our Cisco education experts as they go deeper to explore the value, strategies, and technologies that are transforming student-centric experiences.

Plus, look for part two of our blog series titled Creating A Secure Student-Centric Experience: Taking Leadership, coming soon.

"}]]  Did you know a student-centric experience can increase retention and engagement while keeping student data more secure? Discover how.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Every enterprise needs visibility into its tech stack. Our platform, augmented by Cisco Partners, helps IT professionals select the right solutions for their specific needs.

At Cisco AppDynamics, we… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Every enterprise needs visibility into its tech stack. Our platform, augmented by Cisco Partners, helps IT professionals select the right solutions for their specific needs.

At Cisco AppDynamics, we live by one core belief: Full-stack observability (FSO) is the key to delivering amazing customer experiences.

Visibility at every level of the technology stack is essential to rapidly identifying and mitigating problems before they impact end users. However, observability is also crucial to enhancing productivity, optimizing infrastructure, reducing risk, and managing costs. As the enterprise tech stack grows increasingly complex, the breadth and depth of full-stack observability solutions need to keep pace.

When I talk to our partners and customers about the technology challenges they face, they invariably mention three things:

They’re overwhelmed by IT complexity
They seek clarity and security within these systems
They need a single source of truth to drive business decisions

Despite these common concerns, different enterprises will approach these challenges in different ways. Even in an organization as large and sophisticated as Cisco, we don’t have the resources to address every specific use case. But every enterprise needs the ability to observe and monitor each component of its IT stack, harden its security, and lower costs by optimizing its operations.

That’s why we launched the Cisco Observability Platform—an open, extensible ecosystem that combines Cisco’s technological prowess with our partners’ deep subject matter expertise and uniquely innovative approaches. The result is a scalable catalog of solutions that can address virtually any use case.

The response from our partners has been nothing short of phenomenal. Since the launch of the Cisco Observability Platform last June, our partners have built nearly a module a week, including the eight new modules we announced last month. And as the Cisco FSO ecosystem continues to evolve, that growth trajectory will accelerate. Over the next twelve months, we’ll be introducing exciting new modules from even more partners.

An open and extensible platform

One of the keys to building a successful platform is support for open standards. That’s why we incorporated OpenTelemetry™ (OTel) into the Cisco Observability Platform, making it easy to capture metrics, events, logs, and traces (MELT) from cloud-native technologies. These universally supported protocols allow our development partners to address a virtually unlimited number of use cases.

Today, these Cisco- and partner-owned modules run the gamut from optimizing data center operations to measuring the carbon footprint of your cloud infrastructure. Some are specific to certain industries, like manufacturing, e-commerce, or oil and gas. Others are broadly applicable across virtually every enterprise, offering visibility into user behavior on web and mobile platforms, policy and regulatory compliance, potential security incidents, cloud operating expenses, and AI operations.

However, all of these modules ultimately address the three core themes (observe, secure, and optimize) central to FSO.

Observe

When application performance degrades, everyone suffers. But before you can troubleshoot, you need to observe how your apps operate in real-time. A sophisticated FSO solution allows you to trace app behavior across multiple networks, clouds, and microservices to identify points of failure.

For example, The London School of Economics deployed an FSO solution that enabled it to seamlessly enroll 12,000 students from around the globe with zero downtime and no errors. Using Cisco AppDynamics’ Application Performance Monitoring (APM) module, LSE’s tech team was able to anticipate potential bottlenecks and reduce average web page load times from 15 seconds to milliseconds.

Secure

Cyber-attacks are inevitable. But the faster you can identify and assess the threat, the less likely it is to spread and wreak havoc on your network. FSO lets you focus on the threats most likely to impact your business and neutralize them quickly.

Security is especially important when you’re storing the sensitive personal information of 7 million constituents. The Indiana Office of Technology maintains systems for over 90 state agencies, using Cisco AppDynamics, Cisco ThousandEyes, and Cisco Secure Application to keep its mission-critical apps running smoothly and securely. The ability to detect and defend against attacks in real-time helps agencies be more resilient, ensuring the secure 24/7 access to data that citizens require.

Optimize

Businesses that are better at managing costs and optimizing resources enjoy a considerable advantage over their competition. FSO solutions allow enterprises to maximize workload efficiency while closely monitoring cloud spending.

Frankly, one of the reasons we’re such enthusiastic evangelists for observability is that we’ve seen the results with our own eyes. We use the Cisco Observability Platform, Cisco AppDynamics, and Cisco ThousandEyes to gain visibility and insight across Cisco’s entire IT stack, then use that data to measure the impact of tech issues on the business. Our AIOps practice has allowed us to achieve “five nines” availability for IT services and applications, enjoy a 38-percent reduction in mean-time-to-restore for critical infrastructure issues, and reduce business-critical impacts by 80 percent.

The bottom line is that observability really works—and it’s more crucial to the enterprise than ever. At Cisco, we wouldn’t think of operating without it.

Custom operations for every enterprise

The world of enterprise technology is vast and differentiated. Direct competitors within the same industry may vary significantly in their approaches to people, processes, and technologies. Even when facing similar problems, they may need to address them uniquely. That’s what our observability platform is built to address as it continues to expand and evolve.

What truly differentiates the Cisco Observability Platform from its competition is the depth of its solutions, the speed of its evolution, and the breadth of its innovation. As more FSO solutions roll out, we’ll be able to tackle even more enterprise pain points on a global scale.

None of this would be possible without the help of our partners, who continue to amaze us with their creativity and passion. I would personally like to thank the partners who’ve helped make the Cisco Observability Platform a stunning success in such a short time. By increasing visibility across the IT stack, their FSO modules can help businesses cut costs, streamline operations, improve security, and ensure better experiences for all of their customers.

Learn more about how the Cisco Observability Platform
can help optimize your enterprise IT stack.

"}]]  Every enterprise needs visibility into its tech stack. Cisco Observability Platform, augmented by Cisco partners, helps IT professionals select the right solutions for their specific needs.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Imagine a Michelin-level chef setting up her kitchen. She chooses the best ovens, appliances, knives, and pans, putting thought into each decision. Yet she doesn’t lose sight of their collective p… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Imagine a Michelin-level chef setting up her kitchen. She chooses the best ovens, appliances, knives, and pans, putting thought into each decision. Yet she doesn’t lose sight of their collective purpose: helping her create world-class entrées.

That same focus on outcomes should be true with IT decision-making, for a restaurant or for any small or medium business (SMB). IT is a means to an end. Yet the technology can seem so complex that it’s easy to get lost in technical details—to make myopic decisions based on speeds and feeds.

Today it’s more important than ever for business leaders to adopt a thoughtful decision-making process for their IT investments, and to maintain a clear focus on business outcomes.

Why IT spending is accelerating for SMBs

SMBs are spending unprecedented sums on IT. Their global spend will reach $1.35 trillion in 2024 and keep growing by 5.7 percent annually through 2028, according to Techaisle. It’s not because SMBs are flush with cash—their budgets are as lean as ever. Their world is changing due to three main drivers:

Cybersecurity: Nearly 43 percent of cyber attacks now target SMBs, according to a recent Accenture cybercrime study. Eighty-three percent of SMBs say that cybersecurity is their number-one challenge, according to a recent TechValidate survey.
Remote and hybrid work: Remote work is now fundamental to business operations. But diversified work locations require a much better network built for secure connectivity anywhere, for any user to any app or device.
Technology as differentiator: SMBs recognize that technology is the key to their competitive advantage and growth. The network is their backbone, and they need to leverage it creatively and effectively to deliver amazing customer experiences.

5 tips for better IT decision-making for your business

It is clear to see, the stakes are high. So how can you make better business decisions around IT? Follow these five guidelines.

1. Identify your desired business outcomes

Smart decision-making about technology doesn’t start with technology itself. Begin with the end in mind. A zoomed-out view leads to big-picture success. I recommend SMBs ask these questions to drive IT decisions:

How can we enable our employees and unleash their full potential?
How can we enhance our workspaces for health, safety, and productivity?
How can we deliver amazing customer experiences that set us apart?
How can we empower our lean IT team to be more efficient and innovative?

Mike’s Bikes, a regional chain of 16 bicycle shops and two distribution centers, took this outcomes-focused approach. Staff wanted to eliminate the frustrating process of manually printing price tags for thousands of products, which had to be changed with each sale or promotion. A simpler, more powerful network with Meraki MX security and SD-WAN appliances allowed them to transform this process with digital price tags, which also aligned with the company’s sustainability goals.

2. Prioritize cybersecurity

“Good enough” security doesn’t cut it anymore. Too much is at stake. But here’s the challenge: SMBs with lean IT teams don’t have the bandwidth to manage complex, advanced cybersecurity solutions or products from multiple vendors.

Tarrytown Expocare Pharmacy solved this challenge with Meraki MX for integrated networking and cloud-managed security that could meet their rapid growth. Without expanding their IT team, they were easily able to set up and deploy systems that manage sensitive data, with no compromises. Meraki gave them superior security across all of their existing locations (and eight new), with an integrated firewall that blocks 98 percent of malware, and is backed by Cisco Talos, one of the world’s largest threat intelligence teams. Even better, Meraki secure networking proved easy to manage with a user friendly dashboard, giving complete network visibility.

These integrated solutions aren’t limited to big businesses. Today they’re available—and necessary—for SMBs to level up. It all starts with Meraki, the ideal foundation for secure and high-performance networking that delivers impressive business outcomes.

3. Choose scalable solutions to meet tomorrow’s needs

After you identify your current needs and challenges, look ahead to ones you may face in the future, known and unknown. With this perspective, choose IT solutions that won’t become obsolete in six months and are scalable, expandable, and upgradeable. You’ll be much better prepared for growth with cloud-delivered, cloud-managed agility—what I call the “infinitely upgradeable cloud.”

Once you have a foundational, secure network with Meraki, for example, you can effortlessly expand it to new locations. Through Meraki’s platform approach, you can easily add smart security cameras that monitor foot traffic in a retail store, or IoT sensors that monitor temperature or detect water leaks in a warehouse.

Seeing firsthand what a product can do helps you visualize its uses for your business now and in the future. Demos and free trials are a smart way to see tech in action and ensure you’re putting your budget to its best use. You can test drive Meraki with a free trial to experience its cloud management and scalability. You can also explore a marketplace of integrated, third-party apps to leverage your network in hundreds of new ways.

4. Avoid solving point problems with point solutions

You can easily purchase a “box” to meet an immediate need. Problem solved, but is it really? A one-off approach, repeated with a dozen vendors, leads to a cobbled together network that is unreliable and difficult to manage for small, resource-constrained IT teams. Underlying complexities persist, demanding a more comprehensive and sustainable solution.

I’ve seen lots of businesses struggle with this. The answer is to prioritize scalable solutions (as mentioned above) but also converged solutions for simplicity and control. Combined networking and security is especially impactful. Today, SD-WAN and firewall security can be converged in a single device and managed through a single cloud dashboard. For businesses like Mike’s Bikes, the Meraki dashboard transformed and simplified their day-to-day operations.

5. Find a long-term strategic partner to advise you

You need an IT consultant who listens. That’s the advantage of working with a Cisco partner. They will have strategic conversations with you about the challenges to solve and the business outcomes you want to achieve. Cisco partners bring a wealth of knowledge and access to the broadest portfolio of networking and security solutions in the world. A dedicated Cisco partner can help you level up your business and expand your ideas of what’s possible with top-notch solutions.

Cisco Meraki is built to deliver business results

When I reflect on these five guidelines for SMB IT decision-making, all roads lead to Meraki. From the ground up, Meraki was designed for simplicity and scalability, combining superior security with the best network performance.

Think of Meraki technologies as the premier tools of your kitchen. Orchestrate them to cook up delightful new experiences for your customers and employees, and to develop new recipes for business growth and success.

Explore what’s possible with Meraki

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

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"}]]  Business leaders need a thoughtful decision-making process for their IT investments in order to maintain a clear focus on business outcomes. Stakes are high, so here are 5 guidelines to making better business decisions around IT.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Are you a Cisco customer or partner looking to learn more about the manufacturing products and solutions we offer? Cisco’s Portfolio Explorer for industries builds the bridge between our customer’s de… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Are you a Cisco customer or partner looking to learn more about the manufacturing products and solutions we offer? Cisco’s Portfolio Explorer for industries builds the bridge between our customer’s desired business outcomes and the Cisco technology that enables them.

Cisco’s Portfolio Explorer for Manufacturing features five manufacturing themes with fifteen associated use cases that highlight exactly how our manufacturing customers are leveraging Cisco products and solutions and the success stories that accompany those deployments. Below are overviews of the five themes.

1. Manufacturing Supply Chain Operations 

Enable proactive supply chain management and enhance efficiency, visibility, and safety by securely integrating machines, sensors, scanners, and video systems. This approach ensures full visibility into asset tracking, raw material usage, and inventory control to meet plant demands. Additionally, establishing a comprehensive wireless network facilitates seamless asset roaming, streamlining industrial mobility.  

2. Advanced Manufacturing Operations 

Securely connect production systems like IACS devices, sensors, and controllers and streamline information flow for faster decision-making and learning. Optimize asset utilization, resolve issues, and enhance visibility with remote operations, and automate the collection and integration of all available data sources with our Digital Twin.

3. Workforce Enablement 

Develop a smart workplace environment fostering optimized communication and collaboration, enhancing employee productivity, maximizing asset utilization, and promoting sustainability. This theme also ensures reliable voice and video communications to the plant floor from any location, at any time.  

4. Industrial Security and Safety  

Establish a cybersecurity foundation that integrates OT visibility, zone segmentation, access control, and threat detection, all bolstered by a Security Operations Center (SOC) fueled by security intelligence. Cisco’s software-defined micro segmentation leverages finer policy enforcement and access control.  

5. Sustainable Operations 

Achieve a sustainable business that better manages energy, waste, and materials to achieve emissions and recycling objectives. Smart and sustainable facilities work in tandem with electric vehicle charging that is securely connected enabling uptime, station maintenance, and improved driver experience.  

Cisco at HANNOVER MESSE 2024 

Join Cisco at HANNOVER MESSE, the most important international platform and hot spot for industrial transformation. HANNOVER MESSE 2024 will take place in Hannover, Germany from April 22-26. Cisco will be in attendance to showcase our industry-leading, secure solutions that enable manufacturers to focus on creating a sustainable supply chain. Find us in Hall 15, Stand F18. 

"}]]  Cisco’s Portfolio Explorer for Manufacturing features five industry themes with fifteen associated use cases that highlight exactly how our manufacturing customers are leveraging Cisco products and solutions and the success stories that accompany those deployments.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

I am proud to introduce you to our learning event. Cisco U. Spotlight!  

And it is all happening On April 24, 2024, at 8:30am Pacific.  

What’s Cisco U. Spotlight all about? 

Cisco U. Spotlight is whe… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Sign up for Cisco U. ]]  Registration is open for Cisco U. Spotlight, a free live-streaming event on April 24, 2024. Ahead of the new virtual tech learning event's debut, explore this year's theme, "Connect. Secure. Observe." and start planning your learning experience.  Read More Cisco Blogs