Connecting with Customers at IBC

I came back from IBC week in Amsterdam amazed by the Cisco team’s hard work and energized by what we heard from customers. In all, we hosted more than 500 customer meetings in the Cisco booth and gave over 200 demos across our various product offerings. In case you weren’t able to join us, here is a snapshot of a few of my key takeaways.

Service Providers are now surely aware of Video Aware Networking

By far, this was the most-visited area of our booth. Video Aware Networking is the latest example of how our engineers are innovating for efficiency. By leveraging solutions such as segment routing, and Smart Rate Control, Cisco is able to collect information from both the network and the video application in real time, to create specific, automated actions. This technology is really going to simplify and improve the video experience and our customers are very excited about the work we have done in this space. In this space alone, we conducted demos with 80+ customers showing the significant benefits that Video Aware Networking offers to deliver multi-play services, including video to any screen, more efficiently.

Customers make the best salespeople

We were honored to have customers like Sky New Zealand and YES in our booth, talking to prospective customers about their relationship with Cisco and how our product portfolio is addressing their needs. Sky New Zealand, for example, spoke to their multi-phase technology transformation. By partnering with Cisco, Sky New Zealand will be able to utilize cloud technologies for network operations and video delivery, and introduce new services to their subscribers like multiscreen Cloud DVR.

Creating shared success

The decision to partner our Infinite Video Platform with Adobe’s Experience Cloud was an easy one. Our partnership with Adobe enables a more complete solution by offering clear direction on monetization, combined with powerful subscriber analytics and viewer insights. The outcome yields more personalized content and a tailored approach to advertising for end-subscribers.

From ideas to reality – check.

We are getting really good at quickly turning innovative ideas into effective market solutions. When we say that we can create one platform for all devices, we deliver with Infinite Video Platform. When we say that we can make IP Video Better than Broadcast, we mean it. We are moving faster than ever, with purpose and undeniable results. For me, events like IBC offer a reality check opportunity where I ask myself, “How can we better deliver our vision to our customers?” Our goal is to lead the industry, not just keep up with it. We know that there is a lot of movement and transformation in the market, and we know that customers are desperately seeking innovative and efficient solutions not just to survive, but thrive and grow their businesses. Reflecting back on the show, we received incredibly encouraging feedback from both industry analysts and customers that they are excited about our new ideas, and they like where we are going. That is a great reality check.