Apple and Cisco Fast-Tracking the Mobile Enterprise

I came to Cisco to create incredible technology experiences for millions of enterprise workers. That’s why I’m so thrilled to be the executive sponsor of our partnership with Apple; together, our two companies are capable of “incredible” on a pretty massive scale.

Since our announcement in August, engineers, user experience and design teams from Cisco and Apple have been working side by side and testing together to make sure you have a truly delightful experience with your iPhone and iPad on your company’s Cisco assets.  And today, as Apple introduces iOS 10, we’ve reached a major milestone.

When we announced the Apple partnership last August, we promised to change the way people work by:
– optimizing networks to deliver improved performance for iPhone and iPad.
– creating an even better experience for Cisco voice communication on the iPhone.
– reinventing teamwork and meetings with Cisco collaboration tools.

Here’s how we’ve done that by integrating into new capabilities and APIs that Apple has built into iOS 10:

– We’ve optimized how iPhone and iPad communicate with a Cisco wireless network. When you’re at work and on the go, your iPhone or iPad will simply “know” what’s the best available wireless access point for you—and will select it by default. This makes performance of all your apps, especially real-time apps like voice and video, much more reliable, particularly when you are on the move.

– We’ve created a “fast lane” for business critical apps. No longer will you have to ask your coworker to lay off the cat videos while you’re on a Cisco WebEx or Spark Call on your iOS device; your IT department can now effortlessly prioritize the apps most critical to your business, helping you get the job done from your mobile device.

– We’re making Cisco Spark on iPhone a seamless experience. Cisco Spark is our platform for the future of work, and now it is completely optimized for your iPhone and iPad.  With Cisco Spark app installed on iOS 10 you’ll be able to tap a contact in your address book and instantly make a VoIP call without having to launch a third-party app. The integration doesn’t stop there, you’ll also enjoy other native iOS calling features with Cisco Spark—calls will now ring on the lock screen, just like a regular call, users will have access to mute and call waiting.  Even more conveniently you can now ask Siri to use Cisco Spark to call contacts in your People app.

We’re so excited to get these features into your hands.  You can find out more about the network enhancements and the collaboration improvements at www.cisco.com/go/apple.

I look forward to your feedback. Let me know @rowantrollope.