ROI

October 17, 2013

DATA CENTER

Now is the time to refresh to Cisco UCS!

Intel estimates1 that one-third of the servers in production are more than four years old. At first, one might think that it is great to get this much service out of a capital investment, but the operational costs to run these outdated servers would pay for a complete technology refresh increasing p…

October 6, 2013

DATA CENTER

Cisco UCS vRack on Full Display at PASS Summit

Cisco is proud to be a Platinum sponsor and exhibitor at PASS Summit this year. If you aren’t familiar with PASS Summit, it “is the world’s largest, most-focused, and most-intensive conference for Microsoft SQL Server and BI professionals.” Gary Serda has done an excellent job in detailing wha…

September 24, 2013

DIGITAL AND SOCIAL

A Chapter from My Unwritten Book: Social Media Planning (Part 2)

Last week, I shared basic enablement, intelligence, engagement and measurement practices. This week’s presentation focuses on some advanced practices in the areas of intelligence, engagement, advocacy and measurement. By no means is this list complete so please feel free to add your two cents…

September 18, 2013

DATA CENTER

Cisco UCS Changing the Economics of the Datacenter at Oracle OpenWorld

Next week at Oracle OpenWorld, I will be giving an abbreviated theater presentation on how Cisco UCS is changing the economics of the datacenter (full presentation below). If you will be at OOW, please stop by the Cisco booth (#1021 – Monday 9/23 @ 12:30pm, Tuesday 9/24 @ 4pm, & Wednesday…

August 19, 2013

DATA CENTER

Redux: Yes, Cisco UCS servers are that good

Almost a year ago, I wrote my first blog post detailing what customers have been saying about their UCS experiences in our Case Studies, Solution Briefs, etc. The findings have been updated with the latest studies. While the percentages haven’t changed much, the number of customers reporting similar…

June 25, 2013

DATA CENTER

Cisco UCS vs. IBM Flex System: Complexity and Cost Comparison

Complexity and Cost Comparison: Cisco UCS vs. IBM Flex System is report recently published by Principled Technologies. They evaluated both the technologies and costs of each solution and found a UCS solution is both less expensive to deploy and less complex to manage than an IBM Flex System. Off all…

May 16, 2013

DATA CENTER

Cisco UCS – Changing the Economics of the Datacenter

Cisco UCS has fantastic technology that technical decision makers are demanding. But what about business decision makers? It doesn’t matter how great the technology is, the question for BDMs is how will UCS save me money? I set out to answer that question, connecting UCS technology innovations…

May 9, 2013

NETWORKING

First Look – The Cisco NOC Model For Wired and Wireless

Over the last few weeks, we’ve started to unpack some of the focus-group discussions we’ve recently had with hundreds of IT professionals.  The goal of these focus groups was to help as Cisco continues to ensure we’re meeting our customers’ needs.  We’ve discussed some…

May 2, 2013

NETWORKING

Steps To Optimize Your Network – An Introduction

One of my passions in life is sailing, both cruising and racing.  There is nothing quite like the wind in your hair and the sun on your face to paint a perfect day.  The difference between a great day on the water and miserable one comes down to preparation.  Basic maintenance of the vessel, proacti…