Three reasons why we’ve just had our best SP Summit yet, and there’s more in store

I had the privilege of being part of this year’s SP Summit, a key part of Cisco Live Melbourne 2019. SP Summit is a key event on our regional Cisco calendar, a priceless opportunity for our key executives, both in the Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China region as well as our leaders with a global purview, to engage our customers and partners in this region.

The Service Provider industry in Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China is on the cusp of remarkable growth, given the technological advances we are all currently working on, and this year’s SP Summit was an opportunity to have personal interactions with key difference makers.

At this year’s instalment, we organized a rich array of demos, key meetings, tours, discussion panels, and roundtable sessions to offer our customers and partners a unique experience that would offer genuine value as their businesses look to capitalize on the opportunities offered by 5G, among others.

Here are my three key highlights from this year’s edition:

Record participation

Numbers alone do not always tell a full story, but in this case, the evidence is plain. We had nearly 300 registrations for SP Summit this year, comprising our key customers and partners from ANZ, ASEAN, India, Korea, and Japan. Given the invite-only nature of SP Summit, this number of attendees is a remarkable response from the key parties defining the future of the Service Provider industry in this region.

A full house at this year’s Automation Day, part of SP Summit 2019.

Attendance at specialist events like Automation Day (a day before SP Summit kicked off proper) and at Digital Day were also at all-time highs, with over 120 customers attending these deep-dive sessions.

Meaningful experiences

The team organized two opportunities for customers and partners to see examples of futuristic technology in action as part of this year’s SP Summit.

Firstly, we brought a group of customers to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, the most connected stadium in the Southern Hemisphere. Cisco’s connected stadium solution is on full view here, with a range of amazing innovations that demonstrate how buildings can become living, breathing technology ecosystems.

Next, we treated a group of SP Summit attendees to a ride in one of Cisco's functional Autonomous Vehicles (featured in Cisco Live's World of Solutions); a preview of how Cisco is defining the future of automotive technology. Bringing superfast networking capabilities to Hyundai vehicles in 2019, our technology will help Hyundai use more sensors and process more data in their cars, taking them from semi to fully autonomous. It will also allow them to deliver more "over-the-air" software upgrades to customers and enable vehicles to communicate with smart parking meters, tolls and traffic lights.

SP Summit attendees touring the Melbourne Cricket Ground (above, left) and experiencing the future of autonomous vehicles with Hyundai (above, right).

Breadth and depth in equal measure

Across the week, we organized a diverse line-up of interactive, engaging sessions that gave our Service Provider customers a glimpse of the business outcomes they could drive in partnership with Cisco.

Our executives ran presentations, panels, roundtable discussions, and demonstrations covering a wide variety of topics, sharing current industry best practices and learnings, while also delving into the possibilities that the future holds. 5G was naturally at the forefront of discussions, as Cisco executives explored the ways Service Providers could leverage the capabilities offered by related technological advancements.

The technology and product demonstrations on offer this year were well-received as well, including topics like Orchestrated Assurance, Network Slicing + Analytics, Closed-loop Workflow Automation, and Intent-Based Networking.

Participants experiencing demonstrations as part of this year’s SP Summit

Designed to help customers maximize their investment in 5G and Wi-Fi networks, this year’s SP Summit offered attendees a close-up view of the products and solutions they could, and should, be leveraging to get started immediately.

Cisco Mobile Visual Networking Index projections show that in the Asia Pacific region alone, the gigabyte equivalent of all movies ever made will cross mobile networks every 8 minutes by 2022.

The demand will be there, it’s up to us to ensure that the supply is in place, ready to capitalize on the opportunities on offer.

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at our next Cisco Service Provider engagement.

Originally Posted at: https://apjc.thecisconetwork.com/site/content/lang/en/id/10299