Collaboration at #CLUS, Day 2: Awe, IoT, and Harvard, Oh My

Tuesday was predictably exhausting. My Fitbit logged more than six miles (which means I did, too) and my brain can’t count how much information I absorbed. (Is there an app for that?) While the keynotes and innovation talks didn’t focus specifically on Collaboration on Tuesday, it was everywhere. Maybe it’s my opinion, but when it comes down to the root of what we do — it all comes back to collaboration. Very little of what we do is as individuals in isolation. Anywhere. On with the day’s highlights…

Jason Silva Brings “Shots of Awe”
“What do we think about when we think about a future that we can’t quite imagine?” asked futurist Jason Silva at Tuesday morning’s luminary keynote. Silva is, to say the least, energetic. (And he nearly caused me to sprain my fingers attempting to live tweet his session.) We’re obviously surrounded by technology at Cisco Live, but Silva brought in the human component with his perspective, including: “Technology is the embodiment of human creativity.” Silva brings together ideas across disciplines and definitely gets you to start thinking. He acknowledges how the state of technology is overwhelming while reminding you that “technology is the human mind turned inside out.”

https://youtu.be/FN57u7-x75w

Get more videos from Silva’s Shots of Awe series on YouTube.

SVP Rowan Trollope on IoT
Rowan hosted the innovation session on the IoT. IoT is still a mystery for a lot of people – in part because there are so many definitions. But it’s the underpinning of digital transformation. Rowan describes IoT as a third era of IT transforming business. Part of the key is changing focus. “This may sound heretical coming from a Cisco guy,” Rowan says. “but it’s not about the network. It’s about the things.” As examples, he shared details on how IoT ties into beer, sex-starved moths, and fast cars (but not all at once). Cars are a great example. In fact, last quarter, cars surpassed phones in terms of new connections to the Internet.

Get more perspective from Rowan in his blog post
The IoT train is leaving the station. Don’t get left behind.

Next-Generation Higher Education
In one of my visits to the DevNet Zone, I had a great conversation with Harvard’s Elizabeth Hess about Harvard Business School’s next generation classroom. She shared how HBX Live is a one-of-a-kind digital environment that collapses geography to allow participants worldwide to interact in real time with one another and a discussion leader. The key element is the interaction. It’s not just someone presenting to a dispersed audience on video. It’s about bringing all those people together in a way that they can interact with the presenter – and each other. The platform combines a 30-foot curved LED wall with broadcast IT and a customized web-based interface that enables participants to both view the session and engage in conversation. Behind the scenes, the system leverages Cisco Jabber, Cisco Any Connect, and Call Manager.

Wednesday Highlights
Check out sessions in person or online at ciscolive.com/us.

Visit the WoS and DevNet Zone: Meet the collaboration team, meet our partners, and play with the technology.

Want more? Check the full collaboration catalog.

Catch running commentary by following #CLUS or @ciscokima on Twitter.

Avoid #FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
Feel like you’re missing something? Check out the Cisco Live Daily Highlights page for recordings of the keynotes, access to press releases, and video of photo galleries of the conference thus far.