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Andy Johnston

Solutions Marketing Manager

UK native and dad to two boys. I’m a keen fan and volunteer youth team coach of the beautiful game - football (soccer!) and to relax I play the guitar (though not very well!).

By day, I'm a Solutions Marketing Manager for Midsize Collaboration Solutions here at Cisco. Originally a PC development engineer, I've spent much of the last 15 years covering a range of IT and collaboration technologies in Product Management, Product Marketing and other commercial roles with vendors, VARs and channel partners.

Articles

May 21, 2019

COLLABORATION

Staying Focused in the Open Office

Picture this: It’s Monday morning, and you’re running late. In a few hours, you have an important presentation with the VP of sales. You’ve been working on your slides non-stop for days, and your boss just asked for some last-minute changes. You still need to verify some of the sales numbers with fi…

August 31, 2017

COLLABORATION

Keep Your UC Investments Fresh for the New Digital Workplace

2017 has seen notable anniversaries of iconic products that revolutionized industries. It’s interesting to consider the relationship between these examples. These products are surviving and thriving in the modern, digital economy. Ten years ago, Apple’s iPhone completely changed the way we live, wo…

July 19, 2016

COLLABORATION

Cisco UC for Midsize Recognized as a Leader

For the second year, Gartner has positioned Cisco as a Leader in the 2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications for Midsized Enterprises, North America. We believe this is a significant achievement. Gartner puts a lot of analysis into these reports. Last year was the inaugural publicatio…

May 24, 2016

COLLABORATION

Video Collaboration & Business Growth: Winning Combination

My wife and I recently ordered some clothes online for our children. My youngest son was particularly excited about a Marvel Avengers t-shirt he’d picked out. Imagine his disappointment when the order failed to arrive! After several days and several email exchanges with the online retailer’s custome…

September 30, 2015

COLLABORATION

Raising Standards Through Collaboration

I spent last Sunday in a cold, damp changing room with 15 other forty-something parents. We were attending the first day of our FA Level 1 Soccer Coaching course. It was fascinating! Our instructor really brought to life a framework for coaching the young footballers that we volunteers look after ev…

July 13, 2015

COLLABORATION

Solving Customer Problems with Flexible Solutions

I recently flew from Heathrow to San Diego to attend Cisco Live. About an hour in and the cabin crew started serving dinner. It was a full flight and, unfortunately for me, I was seated right in the middle of the economy section. As the cabin crew converged on my row it became clear they didn’t have…

June 17, 2015

COLLABORATION

Gartner Recognizes Cisco as a Leader for UC for Midsize Enterprises

Cisco positioned highest in “ability to execute” among Leaders in the first ever Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications for Midsize Enterprises, North America. Many midsize organizations are seriously exploring solutions to replace maxed-out, expensive-to-maintain, and/or end-of-life PBXs…

April 30, 2015

COLLABORATION

Don’t You (Forget about Employee Engagement)

Tonight I’m heading out for a huge slice of nostalgia. I’m going to see 1980s pop group Simple Minds. No doubt there’ll be much reminiscing and swaying of hands to classics like “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” This year Cisco has been celebrating its 30th birthday. Another recent addition to t…

February 11, 2015

COLLABORATION

Simplifying Midsize Collaboration Deployments

In my last post I talked about the impact that low-effort experiences can have on customer satisfaction.  I singled out my home broadband provider for criticism, and so thought it only fair that I talk about a recent great experience I had with them. Last month, my provider sent an email telling me…