Cisco Live Wire
August 2008
- Orlando Post–Show Recap–– Cisco Live 2008: Initial Results and Successes
- Executive Summary: Hear from Cisco Live host, Lance Perry
- Cisco Live Virtual: Your Gateway to Hundreds of On–Demand Technical Sessions
- Save the Date for Cisco Live 2009!
- Virtualization Drives Energy Efficiency in the Data Center
In this Issue:
Welcome to the August edition of the Cisco Live Wire Newsletter, your number one source for information on Cisco Live. This year’s event attracted more attendees, generated more excitement, and offered more education for everyone. In this issue of Cisco Live Wire, we share results from the event and audience feedback. We are pleased to announce that 2008 was another successful year for Cisco Live and we are looking forward to 2009 in San Francisco!
Orlando Post–Show Recap––Cisco Live 2008: Initial Results and Successes
The Power of Collaboration came to life in Orlando last month as nearly 11,000 Cisco Live attendees networked with peers, broadened their knowledge, and had a great time!
One of this years attendees, Greg Atkins, Voice Project Engineer for Sutter Health, summed up his Cisco Live experience by saying, “Among the benefits of Cisco Live is the access to the ability and direct knowledge of engineers that attend, and having the chance to ask them questions that directly pertain to very specific topics or things that might be specific to our organization.”
In addition to positive feedback surrounding the event, we also experienced record setting attendance and the introduction of the new Cisco Live brand. If you weren’t able to attend the event, or if you were unable to take full advantage of everything while you were there, then we invite you to get connected to Cisco Live 2008 using the below links.
See video highlights from the conference including keynotes and super sessions.
Watch more video blogs from customers.
View conference photos from Orlando on Flickr.
Continue to follow us on Twitter.
Cisco Live displayed innovative and limitless opportunities for all attendees. Feedback and results from the event show, that Cisco Live was highly successful for our customers, our partners, and Cisco.
Keynote Speakers
Cisco CEO John Chambers launched the week with a lively keynote which reflected the Power of Collaboration theme and demonstrated how Cisco enables collaboration across all areas of the organization. One returning attendee deemed Chambers ‘the best speaker that [he’s] had a chance to see’.
Padmasree Warrior also delivered her first speech since becoming CTO of Cisco. Guest speaker Ben Stein closed the show with a standing ovation. All three speakers shared their insight and enthusiasm for the future of global communications. View these keynotes now using Cisco Live Virtual.
Super Sessions
Cisco Live 2008 featured three Super Sessions presented by a distinguished lineup of Cisco executives, partners, and customers that attracted nearly 3,000 attendees. The week began with a Collaboration Panel, moderated by John Gallant, CEO of Network World, in which Cisco executives discussed the wide variety of collaboration tools and technologies that are available for organizations of all sizes, across all industries.
Other sessions included: “Data Center Evolution” with Doug Gourlay and Visa CIO Michael Dreyer; and “Cisco and Intel Mobility Solutions” with Brett Galloway sharing the stage with Diamond Sponsor, Intel.
Check out what you may have missed or want to re-visit by logging onto Cisco Live Virtual and viewing these super sessions today.
IT Executive Symposium
The IT Executive Symposium, making its debut in 2008, attracted 90 senior–level customer executives who represented more than eight different industries and covered all of Cisco’s customer segments. Some of Cisco’s executives in attendance were John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, and Padmasree Warrior, CTO.
Discussions during the symposium were heavily geared toward the topics of innovation, leadership, change and transformation, as well as the impacts of globalization. Participants were engaged in a variety of wide-ranging activities, from instructor-led sessions and in-depth Q&A, to interactive case studies and technology show-and-tell. One attendee noted that the event was “a great networking opportunity with very timely topics that weren’t only focused on Cisco but rather trends and solutions for IT.”
The IT Executive Symposium, which teaches attendees how to strengthen valuable relationships with customers, scored an overall satisfaction rating of 4.69 out of 5 an encouraging start to his new program and a welcome invitation for its return in 2009!
Exhibitors and Partners
This year, a record number of partners exhibited in the World of Solutions, which included the first ever Cisco Powered Pavilion, with eight Cisco Powered Program members, and Cisco TelePresence, sponsored by one of our Diamond Sponsors, AT&T. On opening night the floor was buzzing as a record number of attendees circulated the floor excited to begin the week.
Among the exhibitors was the Cisco booth, featuring four experiential demos and a theater, as well as more than 35 demos of Cisco technologies and solutions. This year’s event had a record number of partner case studies from companies such as IBM, Intel, HP, Computer Associates, Nokia and many more. These received high evaluation scores across the board.
Educational Programming
With more than 700 breakout sessions, Cisco Live 2008 educational offerings ranged from Cisco Networkers technical breakouts, to customer case studies, to technology spotlight sessions. Preliminary results indicate improvement in all categories over 2007 survey results.
This year, for the first time ever, Cisco Live attendees received three educational programs for the price of one: the Cisco Networkers Program, the IT Insights Program, and the Cisco Developer Services Program. Each program offered in depth educational opportunities to its attendees.
- The Cisco Networkers Program offered more than 400 technical sessions on data center, network systems, security, unified communications, video, mobility and wireless and more. The IT Insights Program, designed specifically for IT managers and directors, taught attendees how to balance technical and business needs.
- The IT Insights Program, designed for IT managers and directors, taught more than 1,100 attendees how to balance technical and business needs. Sessions included Building the State-of-Art Campus Network, Web 2.0 -- The Next Market Transition, and Video Communications in the Web 2.0 World. These breakout sessions, along with numerous insightful case studies, provided IT managers with interactive and meaningful guidance, focused on helping attendees balance technical and business needs.
- The The Cisco Developer Services Program offered 380 attendees ways to make use of the network to develop applications for uniting voice, video, data and mobility during sessions such as Managing Network Performance using the New IOS Data Collection Services, Policy-based Network Access, Embedded Diagnostic & Management in IOS: TCL, EEM Scripting and Service Diagnostics, and more.
Valuable extras included hands-on lab and techtorial opportunities, where attendees collaborated and shared ideas with peers and performed troubleshooting and problem-solving exercises. Subjects included Managing Networks and Using CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution, Enabling MPLS in Enterprise Networks, Cisco IOS Security, Managing Cisco Unified Communications, Enabling MPLS in Enterprise Networks, Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Lab, and I/O Consolidation using Fibre Channel over Ethernet.
With such comprehensive offerings we were able to provide each attendee with in-depth insight and hands-on experience with Cisco products and solutions.
Social Media
Social media applications and activities generated much excitement and participation at Cisco Live 2008. In addition to nearly 600 attendee subscriptions to the Cisco Live Twitter site, attendees also generated more than 2,000 vlogs from the Consumer Lounge in the World of Solutions area.
More than 100 Second Life avatars were in attendance at the event (the largest event in Cisco’s Second Life history). John Chambers launched his own avatar, live from the Cisco booth. Excitement spread virally as social media tools and Web 2.0 were explored at the event. One customer said over the Twitter/ciscolive feed, “Wow! Being at Cisco Live is making me think that Cisco gets social media and Web 2.0!”
Cisco Live Green Strategy
In keeping with Cisco's commitment to the environment, Cisco Live 2008 discontinued the use of printed handouts by providing USB drives containing session materials. The Cisco Live team also delivered re-usable water bottles to all attendees, rather than disposable water bottles. As a result of these eco-friendly practices, we saved almost six tons of paper and approximately 40,000 individual plastic water bottles.
Now that the event is over, online viewers can use the on–demand hall function of the Cisco Live Virtual tool, and get event collateral online, including the Cisco Booth at Cisco Live eCollateral and Multimedia. These practices and many more have contributed to a significant reduction in printed materials and an overwhelmingly positive response from attendees.
Social Events
Cisco Live started the week with a packed Welcome Reception in the World of Solutions, followed by a series of social events for all audiences. The highlight of the week was the legendary Customer Appreciation Party at Orlando's Universal Studios and Hard Rock Cafe. In addition to performances by the Blue Man Group and the Journey cover, Evolution, headliner Barenaked Ladies delivered a night to remember for all attendees.
From educational keynotes and super sessions, to fun social events and networking opportunities, the Cisco vision to strengthen the Power of Collaboration across the industry was exemplified this year at Cisco Live.
Executive Summary: Hear from Cisco Live Host, Lance Perry
Host for Cisco Live 2008, Lance Perry, shares his highlights from Orlando in his featured vlog. Watch more video blogs from customers..
Hear from Cisco Live host, Lance Perry, watch this featured vlog and witness Perry recapture Cisco Live 2008 and highlight some of his favorite moments, including Ben Stein’s infamous request for Perry to refill his tea onstage. Find out what you may have missed by viewing it today.
Cisco Live Virtual: Your Gateway to Hundreds of On-Demand Technical Sessions
Couldn't be at the Orlando conference? You can see it all today using Cisco Live Virtual.
Cisco Live Virtual offers extensive search capabilities, a session catalog listing each technical breakout session from Cisco Live 2008 in Orlando and video of keynotes and super sessions in the auditorium. Cisco Live Virtual also offers access to the on–demand hall including multimedia and print materials from the Cisco Booth and content recommendations based on your personal preferences.
Visit www.ciscolivevirtual.com and access hundreds of technical sessions, for free, with your Cisco Live 2008 login credentials. If you didn’t attend the event, you can subscribe now for a fee to get access to all the technical content. Watch a free session using a guest account if you want to preview before you pay.
In coming days you will have online viewing access to each session and in August, you will see new features including: your ‘My Sessions’ listings and ‘Viewer Ratings’. Those who attended Cisco Live 2008 in Orlando will have their ‘My Sessions’ section auto–populated.
Log on today and experience all that Cisco Live Virtual has to offer.
You can easily download the latest PDF versions of the session presentations to your event bag, found on the far right of the Cisco Live Virtual icon bar. Starting in August, your event bag will retain your download history providing you with one–stop, access to the materials you find valuable.
Later this year, all Cisco Live Virtual users will be able to network with each other using integrated chat, and participate in live virtual events. You can also give us your opinion on what new features we should add to Cisco Live Virtual.
Get connected today by visiting www.ciscolivevirtual.com
Save the Date for Cisco Live 2009!
Save the date for Cisco Live 2009 in San Francisco, California, from June 27 to July 2, 2009. Next year will be especially exciting as we celebrate the 20th Cisco Networkers program!
San Francisco is famous for its landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable cars, Coit Tower, Chinatown, steep rolling hills, and an eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture. The city is also known for its diverse and cosmopolitan population, shopping, museums, beaches and restaurants that offer San Francisco’s finest; world class clam chowder, seafood, and sourdough bread.
Bookmark www.cisco–live.com and check this site often for the most up-to-date details, and to participate in our interactive polls. Ensure you are among the first to hear about Cisco Live 2009 by opting in for Cisco Live communications now. You can also watch the Cisco Live 2009 video by clicking here.
See you in 2009!
Virtualization Drives Energy Efficiency in the Data Center
At Cisco Live, Data Center customers learned how Cisco is integrating services into the virtualization of data centers - helping customers increase the value from investments in their network. Read more on Virtualization and the Data Center highlights from Orlando.
Customers engaged Data Center solutions with key content in sessions including featured Super Sessions, IT Insights program, Technical breakouts and the Data Center Discovery Program. Key technical demos including Nexus, WAAS, ACE, MDS, VFrame and DCAP. In the C-Lounge, customers experienced interactive fun with the data center content revolved around web 2.0 – and joined the conversation with vlogging and blogging.
Continuing the conversation of Virtualization and the Data Center, more than two-thirds of surveyed CIOs would increase spending on virtualization even if they had to cut back on IT spending. Analysts expect the virtualization market to reach almost five times its current size by 2011 (Source: 2Q08 CIO Survey, Merrill Lynch Research).
Energy efficiency and the shift to an ‘Anywhere Enterprise’ (reusable logical assets on-demand vs. physical assets) are causing a massive change in the way users work.
Energy consumption at data centers worldwide doubled from 2000 to 2005, mostly from the growth in the number of servers. In a typical data center, electricity for powering and cooling equipment makes up 44 percent of operation costs.
At Cisco Live 2008, Cisco announced expanded virtualization capabilities across our data center portfolio for more energy efficiency IT operations. These enhancements help to protect your investment and lower your power consumption.
Learn More: Cisco TechWiseTV Event: Energy Efficiency in the Data Center
Join Cisco, EMC, VMW, and APC in a live video broadcast on August 21 to discover the tools you need to monitor, measure, and manage your data center energy usage more efficiently.
Join the conversation: www.cisco.com/go/datacenterblog
