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PRESS RELEASE

Silicon Cloud Establishes Cloud Center in Singapore for Internet of Things Design Enablement

In collaboration with Cisco, the cloud center is hosted at the Singapore University of Technology and Design to enable IoT node designs

Singapore, 02 Apr, 2015 – Silicon Cloud International, a provider of secure and private cloud computing infrastructure, announced today that its second cloud centre has been operational in Singapore since March 2015. This cloud centre is aimed at providing a state- of-the-art design enablement infrastructure and framework for Internet of Things (IoT) node designs. The cloud hardware is hosted in the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and will support IoT research and design worldwide. To establish this centre, Silicon Cloud has received funding from SPRING Singapore's Technology Enterprise Commercialisation Scheme and equipment from Cisco.

IoT devices have a very large spectrum of use with significant local (country-specific) applications. The design of IoT nodes requires extensive use of analog, mixed signal, Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and multi-physics tools. Silicon Cloud is planning to offer an end-to-end, seamless design platform for IoT node designs. In September 2014, Silicon Cloud launched a pilot  programme for  cloud based semiconductor  design with 11 universities in Singapore, the UAE, and Malaysia. A pilot release of the IoT design enablement platform is scheduled for April 2015.

The semiconductor platform simplicity, lower development cost, and wide range of applications foster an unprecedented era of semiconductor design opportunities for small to medium size companies and developing countries.

"With the Internet of Everything (IoE), spiralling demands for on-demand video, cloud services, LTE mobility, and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, as well as rising customer expectations for ubiquitous high-quality service connectivity, are putting tremendous pressure on network infrastructure and operations. Often, the general-purpose processors in routers cannot achieve the necessary IoE performance, in which systems and subsystems must inter-connect and communicate billions of events, connections, and operations per second. Enabling the IoT revolution is at the forefront of Cisco^® strategy for transforming the way we connect, communicate and collaborate. The next wave of semi- conductor and sensor designs are driven by devices that enable IoT. Silicon Cloud's technology and offerings represent a major step for enabling IoT designs in developing countries," said David West, CTO, Systems Engineering & Architectures in Asia Pacific and Japan at Cisco.

"The mission of the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA) is to promote, enable, and accelerate the semiconductor eco-system in Singapore. We believe Silicon Cloud's initiative is a significant component for driving this mission by bringing together the joint forces of MNCs, start-up enterprises and local universities", said Ulf Schneider, President of SSIA.

"As a research-intensive university, SUTD researchers will utilise this high performance and secure cloud computing platform for their next generation of IoT research and design, with application to healthcare and Smart Nation systems. The innovation possibilities, which require international and multidisciplinary collaboration, are infinite; enabled by Silicon Cloud's platform, it can range from creating new IoT devices to improve lighting and water management, monitoring and security as well as traffic control for Smart Nation applications, to breakthrough bio-sensors and probes technologies that support the development of an integrated healthcare system for remote health monitoring, making healthcare more timely, accurate and affordable," said Professor Yeo Kiat Seng, Associate Provost at Singapore University of Technology and Design.

"High performance virtual machines and data security are essential components for cloud based IoT node design infrastructure and frame-work. Silicon Cloud is at the forefront of providing these capabilities and technologies", said Mojy Chian, CEO and co-founder of Silicon Cloud International.

About Silicon Cloud International Pte. Ltd.

Silicon Cloud International establishes secure and high performance cloud computing centers for engineering and scientific applications around the world. As an initial application, Silicon Cloud is providing a turn-key Integrated Circuits (IC) design platform. The design platform is all encompassing and includes PDKs (Process Design Kits), EDA software tools, design IP, integrated design flows, virtualised and scalable computing resources, and IC design training packages. Silicon Cloud's private cloud and thin client architecture provides a novel security model for semiconductor and IoT designs.

For more information, please visit www.siliconcloudinternational.com

About SUTD

The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) is Singapore's fourth public university, and one of the first universities in the world to incorporate the art and science of design and technology into a multi-disciplinary curriculum. Established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), SUTD seeks to nurture technically- grounded leaders and innovators in engineering product development, engineering systems and design, information systems technology and design, and architecture and sustainable design, to serve societal needs.

The University, also in collaboration with Zhejiang University (ZJU) and Singapore Management University (SMU), is distinguished by its unique East and West academic programme which incorporates elements of technology, entrepreneurship, management and design thinking. Graduate opportunities include an MIT-SUTD Dual Masters' Degree Programme and an SUTD PhD Programme. As a research-intensive university, SUTD will bring together the best minds and ideas to seek solutions to modern-day challenges and create a better future. www.sutd.edu.sg.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com. Cisco products are supplied in Singapore by the channel partners of Cisco Systems International Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

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PRESS RELEASE

Cisco Networking Academy Extends Partnership with Universidad de Guadalajara

This agreement is intended to further increase the flow of IT talent in the region of Jalisco

GUADALAJARA, MEXICO – March 9, 2015—Cisco Systems Inc ("Cisco") and the Universidad of Guadalajara (UdG) renewed their partnership under the Cisco Networking Academy® Program as well as announced an expansion of the program within the UdG schools.

The partnership, which started 10 years ago between Cisco and the UdG, will grow from 4 to 13 self-sustaining academies in ten university centers and three technical high schools from the UdG. It is expected to benefit at least 3,600 students during the first three years.

This program will offer students skills to access career opportunities in the rapidly growing ITC market by offering valuable foundational technical training. The participants of the Academy will develop essential skills in critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving, to help preparing them to be competitive in an information-driven global economy.

The courses, IT Essentials and CCNA, are structured in a blended education model that includes hands-on activities, online modules, interactive tools, and online assessments that provide immediate feedback.

The agreement also includes the donation of equipment for the laboratories of the 13 academies to support hand-on activities for students and the Cisco Enabled Education Development CEED2000 platform to help in the teaching process for instructors.

The Cisco Networking Academy is an IT skills and career building program for learning institutions and individuals worldwide. More than 5.5 million people have joined the Networking Academy and become a force for change in the global economy since 1997.

According to an IDC study, the demand for networking skilled professionals currently outstrips supply, and this tendency will be prevalent throughout the following years in Latin America. In 2015, IDC estimated that Mexico will have a shortage of approximately 115,000 professionals with networking skills.

The Networking Academy identifies and develops the skills that people and businesses need to thrive in a changing economy. Courses are offered in 170 countries on six continents. About 180,000 students in more than 25 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are opting to gain ICT skills and to improve their career prospects. The program in Mexico is one of the largest worldwide, with 374 academies in the country and nearly 55,000 students.

Supporting Quote:

Rogelio Velasco, Vice President of Cisco Mexico

"Finding skilled professionals for IT is becoming a challenge for many companies in many industries; Cisco is looking to contribute with the development of this new required talent. The partnership with the UdG will contribute to address this gap and impact the country's competitiveness and innovation potential."

About Cisco Networking Academy

The Cisco Networking Academy® program helps fill the global demand for network professionals by increasing access to information and communications technology (ICT) education and career opportunities. It encourages economic growth in communities around the world by producing skilled computer networking professionals to support local industries. The Networking Academy embraces the latest advances in technology to create a rich, interactive learning experience and set a standard for technology use in ICT education.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.

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PRESS RELEASE

Bell Let's Talk and Cisco to unite students around Canada in a national conversation about mental health on Bell Let's Talk Day

Clara Hughes and Michel Mpambara will lead live webcasts linking schools nationwide to encourage youth to talk about mental health

MONTREAL, Jan. 14, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell Let's Talk and Cisco today announced that students from across the country will join Clara Hughes, Canada's 6-time Olympic medalist and Bell Let's Talk national spokesperson, and Québec spokesperson Michel Mpambara, in nationwide webcast conversations about mental health on January 28 - the 5^th annual Bell Let's Talk Day. Special guests will join Clara, Michel and thousands of students at schools around the country in a live national conversation to end the stigma around mental illness.

"I am thrilled that so many students from around Canada will be able to join us directly in the conversation about mental health on Bell Let's Talk Day," said Clara. "Together we can change the way we talk about mental illness and help end the stigma that stops so many people from seeking the help they need. We all have family, friends and colleagues touched by mental illness, and I hope that by reaching so many young Canadians we can help inspire them to make a positive difference in people's lives."

On January 28, Clara will be at Jesse Ketchum Public School in Toronto and Michel will be in Montréal at École secondaire Dalbé-Viau, speaking with students and encouraging them to become champions for mental health. Through Cisco high-definition video collaboration technologies, Cisco TelePresence® and WebEx® Enabled TelePresence, youth from schools around Canada will virtually join Clara, Michel and the students of Jesse Ketchum and Dalbé-Viau for this unprecedented event.

In Toronto, Clara will be joined by TSN host Michael Landsberg and comedian Kevin Breel. Joining Michel in Montréal will be Olympian Alex Genest, Josiane Babin of the Mental Illness Foundation's Partners for Life program, and NRJ radio and television host Anais Favron, who will moderate the event.

"Clara and Michel have such a powerful and important message to share with young people across Canada and Cisco is thrilled to help enable this important conversation through our technology," said Willa Black, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Cisco Canada. "We believe there is tremendous potential to end the stigma around mental illness by connecting and empowering Canadian youth."

"We look forward to using the power of technology to welcome thousands of students across the country as they join us in the conversation on Bell Let's Talk Day," said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let's Talk. "With the examples of Clara and Michel leading the way, young people will be encouraged to speak freely and share their stories to help end the stigma of mental illness."

Cisco TelePresence technology creates a live, face-to-face communication experience over the network that empowers participants to collaborate like never before. Cisco TelePresence solutions help people meet, share content, create high-quality video recordings and events, consult with experts, and deliver powerful personalized services, all using the power of the network for an immersive in-person experience. Cisco WebEx Enabled TelePresence enables any user with a standards-based video endpoint or WebEx client to join a meeting. Anyone, anywhere on any video-enabled device, including smartphones and tablets, can join a TelePresence meeting.

Join the conversation on Bell Let's Talk Day 
On January 28, for every text message, wireless and long distance call made by Bell Canada and Bell Aliant customers, every tweet using #BellLetsTalk, and every Facebook share of that day's Bell Let's Talk Day image at Facebook.com/BellLetsTalk, Bell will donate 5 cents more to Canadian mental health programs.

In 2014, Canadians answered the call with a total of 109,451,718 messages including texts, wireless and long distance calls, tweets and Facebook shares, meaning Bell added another $5,472,585,90 to its Bell Let's Talk funding commitment. Based on its original $50 million donation and the results of the last 4 Bell Let's Talk Days, Bell has now committed more than $67.5 million to Canadian mental health.

Bell's donations are made at no extra charge to Bell Let's Talk Day participants, though normal long distance or text charges, if any, apply.

The Bell Let's Talk mental health initiative
Bell Let's Talk promotes mental health based on 4 action pillars - anti-stigma, care and access, research, and workplace best practices. The initiative supports mental health leaders across the country including the Royal Ottawa Hospital, Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal, Hôpital Charles-LeMoyne, Montreal Jewish Hospital, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the University of British Columbia, the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Queen's University, La Fondation du Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec, Concordia University, Brain Canada, Kids Help Phone, Sunnybrook Hospital and Université Laval Foundation.

The annual Bell Let's Talk Community Fund supports front-line mental health organizations in every region of the country. The Fund has provided grants of $5,000 to $50,000 to hundreds of community organizations focused on improving access to programs and services that support people living with mental health issues.

To learn more about the Bell Let's Talk campaign, and to download the Bell Let's Talk toolkit to help get the conversation started, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

About Bell
Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers and business customers with wireless, TV, Internet, home phone and business communications services. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out of home, and digital media. Bell is wholly owned by Montréal's BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). For more information, please visit Bell.ca

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. Cisco products and services are supplied in Canada by Cisco Systems Canada Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com andhttp://newsroom.cisco.com/canada. 

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PRESS RELEASE

Cisco Technology Responsible to Deploy Infrastructure for Mexico Conectado

Over 22,000 sites nationwide will be based on Cisco Meraki

Mexico City,  January 13, 2015. – The leading Cloud Networking Solution, Cisco® Meraki, will be used to offer Internet connectivity under Mexico Conectado, a program developed by the Mexican federal government to offer broadband connectivity to population in public areas.

Mexico Conectado looks for the deployment of telecom networks to offer broadband connectivity in sites such as schools, health centers, libraries community centers, and parks that represent about 250,000 public areas nationwide. The program aims to achieve the goals set out in the Constitutional Reform in Telecommunications, the National Development Plan, the Program for a Modern and Nearby Government, and the National Digital Strategy, which mandate access to the Internet to all Mexicans.

Cisco Meraki is a cloud-based architecture that offers customers Wi-Fi, switching, security, and mobile device administration centrally managed. It is built on intelligent software and rich cloud-based services, simplifying customers' day-to-day operations and enabling the adoption of new applications and devices. The platform has operational and deployment advantages lowering the total cost of ownership (TCO) allowing the customer to gather key information and analytics to understand the use and exploitation of the connectivity service.

 “Networking technology plays a key role in helping to solve most critical challenges in Mexico, to develop new opportunities for economic growth, create new jobs, and foster social inclusion”, said Rogelio Velasco, Vice President of Cisco Mexico. “The opportunity to participate in Mexico Conectado ‑ by connecting the unconnected ‑ will allow us to support the country in their effort to increase connectivity, thus the use and adoption of Information Technologies that will have a very positive impact on population.”

The deployment of the solution will be done through the service providers responsible for supplying the service directly to the Mexican federal government.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.

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PRESS RELEASE

NEW Cisco Research Reveals Hyper-relevance as Key to Winning the Digital Consumer

Retailers who offer Internet of Everything experiences can capture a 15.6 percent profit improvement

NEW YORK, National Retail Federation 104^th Convention & Expo, Booth 2052, January 12, 2015 – The digital consumer has come of age and expects a rich palette of retail experiences that provide ever-increasing value and convenience both in-store and out. Today, Cisco released survey findings from 1,240 retail consumers in the U.S. and U.K. that uncover their preferences for Internet of Everything (IoE) enabled retail experiences and provides insight to help retailers capture the new digital consumer through IoE innovations fueled by mobility, video, and analytics. The research is part of a global study that when fully completed will survey 6,000 consumers in 10 countries.

Key Highlights

Customers Want a Convenient, Contextually Relevant Shopping Experience

The fifth annual Cisco® Consulting Services retail survey found that most shoppers want innovations that improve convenience and efficiency, extending beyond personalization into hyper-relevance. Hyper-relevance delivers value—such as greater savings, efficiency, or engagement—in real time throughout the shopping lifecycle, using analytics to determine the experience that best suits the customer’s context (where he is, what she is looking to accomplish in that moment). Analytics helps retailers track in-store patterns and use existing video technology to determine, for example, where shoppers are spending more time in the store and which shelves need restocking, information that can immediately be used to improve shoppers' experience and drive better store performance.

When asked to identify primary areas for in store retail improvements, 39 percent of consumers identified the process of selecting and purchasing goods - for example, having the products they want in stock and an efficient checkout process. By contrast, 13 percent chose a more personalized shopping experience. That is not to say that customers don’t want personalization at all, but consumers made it clear that targeted offersmust be contextual, relevant, and easy to participate in.

Digital Consumers Exhibit Strong Interest in IoE-Enabled Experiences, Creating Savings, Efficiency and Engagement

To help provide guidance to retailers on where and how to make their strategic innovation investments, Cisco tested 19 different shopping concepts with consumers in its survey. Together, these provide a snapshot of consumer receptivity to new IoE-enabled innovations in the shopping experience. These use cases are at the heart of the IoE value that is up for grabs for retailers in terms of revenue uplift and employee productivity. For an illustrative $20 billion retailer, these use cases drive a total gross annual value opportunity of $312 million and a 15.6 percent improvement in profitability.

Product Delivery

• Drive-Through Lane at Store (57 percent): Order products online from preferred retailers, and then pick them up in person using a drive-through lane at the store.

• Same-Day Delivery (53 percent): Same-day delivery at home of orders placed online for a fee of $5 per delivery.
• Secure Locker (40 percent): Pick up online shopping orders from a secure locker at a convenient location.

Augmented Reality

• Augmented Reality Offers (73 percent): Use a smartphone to scan products for special customized offers and promotions in the store.
• In-Store Guidance (63 percent): Use augmented reality apps to help locate items on their shopping list in the store.
• Reviews (57 percent): Use augmented reality apps to receive information about products, such as online consumer reviews or ingredients.

Mobility Enabled Shopping

• Smartphone and Tablet Apps Are Becoming the Norm: Nearly half of consumers (42 percent in the U.K. and 47 percent in the U.S.) are using smartphones to enhance their in-store experience. About one-fourth of U.K. shoppers and one-third of U.S. shoppers are using independent shopping apps on a smartphone or tablet at least once a week.
• Smartphone Checkout (60 percent): Scan barcodes on items while shopping to track and pay at a self-service checkout.
• Smart Cart (50 percent): “Smart online shopping cart” uses information from smart home appliances, purchasing history and items added by the consumer to maintain a constantly updated virtual cart reflecting current purchase needs.
• Mobile Payments (49 percent): Store several payment cards on smartphones and smartwatches to pay in stores by swiping the device at the checkout.                                                                                                     

Interactive Digital Signage

• Checkout Wait Times (77 percent): Want digital signs at each checkout line to provide estimated wait times. 
• Targeted Offers (67 percent): View offers tailored to their interests and preferences.
• In-Store Maps (67 percent): Obtain information about the location of a product in the store and the best path to get there.

IoE is shaking up the competitive dynamics in nearly all industries — particularly retail, which accounts for $1.5 trillion of the total private sector Value at Stake. Much of the Value at Stake for retail will be generated by innovations that depend on real-time analysis of data that is captured at the edge of the business from sensors, cameras and mobile devices. To meet the needs of new digital consumers and attain their potential Value at Stake, retailers need to increase their focus on innovations that deliver hyper-relevance, build a dynamic infrastructure and agile processes that enable hyper-relevance and develop new business models that drive innovation and hyper-relevance.

Cisco offers a portfolio of mobility, interactive digital services platforms, video collaboration, analytics, and cloud computing solutions that help retailers provide more efficient and more engaging shopping experiences to their customers. These solutions will be demonstrated at the National Retail Federation Convention & Expo (Cisco Booth 2052). 

Supporting Quotes

• Joseph Bradley, Vice President & Founder IoT / IoE Practice

“The opportunity ahead is tremendous. Of the $14.4 trillion in IoE value for the private sector, $1.5 trillion is there for retailers. The key to capturing this value is realizing that digital consumers aren’t static—they’re dynamic. And IoE’s connections between people process, data, and things now enable retailers to engage with customers on their terms—whether rushing through the airport to catch a flight or spending more time than usual in the shampoo aisle.”

• Doug Stephens, Founder, Retail Prophet

“If a retailer thinks that at some point this is going to slow down, and that they have time to wait and then jump in, they're wrong. Because these rates of adoption — the speed at which technology is moving — is becoming more exponential and will continue to do so.” 

Supporting Resources:

Research:

• Winning the New Digital Consumer with Hyper-Relevance white paper
• Slideshare: Research Summary
• A Retailer’s Map to Hyper-Relevance

Digital Content:

• Blog: In Retail, Insight Is Currency, and Context Is King
• Remote Expert for Retail
• Cisco at NRF Website
• Cisco Retail Blog
• Cisco Retail Website

Technorati Tags: Cisco, Cisco Consulting, retail, collaboration, shopping, mobility, mobile shopping, Remote Expert, video, HD video, collaboration, analytics, Internet of Everything, IoE, IoT

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com. 

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PRESS RELEASE

Cisco and Proximus Renew Strategic Partnership

Companies to Co-Develop Business Models Around Three Growth Areas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, CES 2015, January 8, 2015 – Cisco and leading Belgian telecommunications and IT services provider Proximus announced today at CES 2015 that they have consolidated their partnership to drive joint innovation and business development. The renewed partnership will enable Proximus to provide its customers with faster, tailored and innovative services across its entire portfolio. Cisco will benefit from Proximus' technology research and local go-to-market expertise, in order to co-create new service provider offerings.

Within the framework of this renewed agreement, Proximus and Cisco have defined three areas for growth: next-generation video delivery for consumers, smart city services for government organizations and service orchestration for business-to-business customers.

• Next Generation Video Delivery: Proximus already has a very successful mass market video offer through traditional digital TV set top boxes. By centralizing digital TV functionality on Proximus' open cloud architecture instead of the consumer's digital video recorder (DVR), the telecommunications provider plans to move faster, accelerating delivery of new personalized video capabilities. For instance, an open cloud based architecture makes it easy to integrate digital TV with third party applications like cloud sourced program ratings and recommendations. And subscribers who run out of DVR space for their favorite programs could in the future simply rent more storage in the cloud. With Cisco Videoscape, both partners will develop a next generation, cloud based TV offer for Proximus. 
• Smart and Connected Cities: Cities are facing new constraints such as traffic congestion or demographic pressure. Cities of tomorrow need to be safer, more efficient, sustainable, comfortable and interactive. Together with Cisco, Proximus has developed a smart and connected cities framework that goes further than city-wide and free wireless internet. The partnership will accelerate the development of smart and connected cities (S+CC) business models that both monetize coverage and improve life for consumers and income for businesses.
• Service Orchestration and SDN: Future proof network and IT infrastructure must be able to meet exponential growth in traffic and have a native ability to enable new services. With Cisco's network service orchestration technology, Proximus customers would be able to configure their network services online. Network orchestration also allows to fully automate the subsequent provisioning and management of both virtual and physical networks, further improving customer experience and agility.

Supporting Quotes:

• Dominique Leroy, CEO, Proximus

"This long term agreement not only reinforces our existing cooperation, it also shows Proximus' commitment to innovation and improving customer service. We want to build a future that will benefit our customers, our employees, our shareholders and our partners. That transformation strategy will help us return to growth."

• John Chambers, chairman and CEO, Cisco

"As the leading service provider in Belgium and Luxembourg, Proximus has an extensive innovation track record. Proximus sees the benefits of transforming networks to a software-based, agile platform. We are expanding our collaboration to embrace the benefits of the Internet of Everything (IoE) with cloud-based video solutions, virtualized managed services solutions and much more. Together with Proximus, we will co-develop a transformation roadmap towards more agile and cost efficient infrastructure that can sustainably cope with growth in volumes, rightsizing of operational resource and changes in skills and competencies."

Supporting Resources:

• About Proximus
• About Cisco
• Information on Cisco® service provider products and technologies
• For more information about Cisco's service provider news and activities, visit the Cisco® SP360 Blogor follow us on Twitter at @CiscoSPMobility.
• Cisco® Service Provider Mobility Community.
• Subscribe to Cisco's SP360 feed
• Cisco IoE: Tomorrow Starts Here
• About Cisco Videoscape Cloud Services
• Blog Series: Cisco at CES 2015: Cisco SP360: http://blogs.cisco.com/sp
• Follow Cisco at CES news and activities on Twitter: #VideoinCloud, @CiscoSPVideo

Tags/Keywords

Cisco, Internet of Everything, IoE, Intercloud, IP, service provider, mobility, Videoscape Cloud

RSS Feed for Cisco: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/rss.html

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.

#  #  #

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.  

PRESS RELEASE

Cisco and Sky Showcase Sky AdSmart at CES 2015

Revolutionary Approach to Pay-TV Advertising Empowers Brands to Select Their Audiences; AdSmart Reaches New Heights passing 1000 campaigns In Its 1st year

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, CES 2015, January 7, 2015 – At CES 2015 this week, Cisco and Sky, Europe's leading entertainment company with more than 20 million customers, are showcasing the success of their advanced approach to addressable TV advertising.

Sky AdSmart enables advertisers to target different ads to different households watching the same live linear TV program based on over 150 different demographic criteria. After a year of operation in millions of Sky homes in the UK and Ireland, it has brought new TV advertisers, brands and revenues to Sky Media.

The industry-first, revolutionary approach to TV advertising jointly developed with Cisco will be privately demonstrated for the first time in the United States to Cisco customers and partners at its CES campus at The Wynn Hotel, January 6 – 9.  

The technology overcomes the unicast nature of targeted advertising in the multicast environment of satellite operators.  By storing targeted ads on the DVR in the user's home and then signaling which ads should be inserted into the broadcast stream, satellite operators can now pursue a new revenue opportunity which enables businesses and brands of varying shapes and sizes the ability to be more specific about which audience sees their ads. Advertisers can choose from various factors like age, location, and lifestyle when choosing their audience, and data is derived from a combination of Sky's own data and publicly available information from consumer profiler experts such as Experian.

Sky is the first European broadcaster to offer targeted linear advertising to this degree of granularity and is the world's first operator to offer an end-to-end targeted advertising system at scale. It has enabled brands and advertising agencies to increase their investments in TV advertising.

Sky partnered with Cisco to create new service control solutions for the Sky AdSmart ecosystem and integrate them into Sky's existing video infrastructure, which included both internally- developed and third party components. Cisco contributions to the Sky AdSmart ecosystem from its Videoscape Cloud Solutions portfolio include:

• Channel scheduling & playout automation interfaces
• Digital encoder control and management
• Metadata creation and generation
• Digital mux and uplink capabilities
• DVR disk storage and filing control
• Conditional access and device addressability
• De-mux and decoding of live and stored transport streams
• Video presentation technology
• Audience Measurement System
• Appliance-level event logging and IP return path data reporting

To efficiently manage all these functions with frame-accurate timing end-to-end, Cisco also worked with Sky to develop next-generation control plane solutions that automate many aspects of this targeted advertising system.

Since the introduction of Sky AdSmart in early 2014, 357 advertisers based in the UK have run around 1000 individual campaigns using the technology. Of the advertisers that have used Sky AdSmart to date, 77 percent had not previously advertised on TV or had not advertised with Sky. In total, 895 million Sky AdSmart impressions have been served in Sky homes.

Supporting Quotes:

• Andrew Griffith, Group CFO, and Managing Director, Commercial Businesses, Sky

"Our work with Cisco to develop Sky AdSmart is helping us make TV more relevant to more brands, by enabling them to segment the audience in this way for the first time. Our combined technology has made TV advertising accessible to brands that had previously thought TV too broad a medium, as well as to local advertisers who felt TV wasn't focussed enough for them. Those brands that have made the leap are seeing huge success with Sky AdSmart and we look forward to advertisers spending more with us in 2015."

• Rob Lloyd, President, Development and Sales, Cisco

"Cisco and Sky are longtime collaborators on this ambitious program. By enabling advertisers to target their campaigns more accurately with Sky AdSmart, we are enabling incremental  revenue streams in pay-TV advertising and attracting new brands to the medium with innovative tools that increase customization, personalization and analytics for advertisers. Sky AdSmart is one example of how our Videoscape Cloud solutions fuel new growth opportunities for media and broadcast companies. We are excited to show off the immense potential of this revolutionary advertising model here at CES."

Supporting Resources:

• About SkyAdSmart
• Read Case Study: Sky AdSmart Revolutionized Pay-TV Advertising
• Cisco YouTube Channel: Sky and Cisco Build AdSmart to Transform the TV Ad Model
• Blog Series: Cisco at CES 2015: Cisco SP360: http://blogs.cisco.com/sp
• Follow Cisco at CES news and activities on Twitter: #VideoinCloud and @CiscoSPVideo

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.

About Sky:

Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company. The group serves 20 million customers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK and Ireland. Sky offer the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.

Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe's leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.6 billion. The company employs 31,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

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Better Technology Will Bring More Secure Mobile Payments | The Network

Apple and retailers battle over how to make phones become secure credit cards. The tug of war will go on for a while, but the ultimate result will be far safer transactions.

Better Technology Will Bring More Secure Mobile Payments | The Network

Networking 101: Bluetooth Smart - YouTube

Video from Cisco (9:41)



Networking 101: Bluetooth Smart - YouTube

PRESS RELEASE

Charter and Cisco Enter Agreement in Support of Charter's Breakthrough Next-Gen Video Solution

Cisco Will Serve as a Key ‘Worldbox' Supplier Through 2015, including Downloadable Conditional Access System (DCAS) and Digital Rights Management Solutions

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, CES 2015, January 6, 2015 – Cisco and Charter Communications, Inc. announced today that the two companies have entered into a strategic agreement through which Cisco will supply key products in support of Charter's breakthrough next-generation video solution. The products will include Cisco's cloud-based security suite, including downloadable security solution (DCAS) for set-top boxes, and seamless digital rights management (DRM) solution to support video services on a range of IP devices. Cisco will supply a substantial share of Charter's next-generation ‘Worldbox' volume and will continue to supply CableCARD boxes until Charter migrates all current and acquired systems to the downloadable security solution. 

The two companies will host a private press and analyst reception today at CES 2015 in Las Vegas to showcase Charter's new solution and Cisco's key contributions for the first time. The breakthrough Worldbox can act as a thin client that can be updated via cloud software and incorporates a cloud-driven user interface (UI) to deliver new features and experiences to Charter subscribers. Charter will also showcase the Spectrum Guide, a new, cloud-based, state-of-the-art user interface that will work on any deployed set-top box in Charter's footprint. 

"Cisco shares Charter's vision of the future of network architecture, where our network's intelligence is located in the cloud rather than in devices at the edge," said Tom Rutledge, President and CEO of Charter Communications.  "We are excited that Cisco will be a key supplier of the Charter Worldbox, and that their Downloadable Security Solution and Digital Rights Management solutions will be part of Charter's  next-generation, cloud-based video solution."  

"Cisco greatly values our enduring partnership with Charter," said Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers. "We are proud to join Charter today to showcase the leading edge IP and cloud-based video solutions they are developing, and the Cisco products at their core. Charter's new video solution, featuring cloud-driven video experiences offered across many devices will be a huge win for Charter subscribers."

Charter expects to deploy downloadable security to its current systems this year and will then continue deployment to acquired systems. The downloadable security solution has been a multi-year effort involving multiple cable vendors. The downloadable security solution is an open solution, which has been ported to multiple vendors' CPE. It interoperates with in-place proprietary conditional access system implementations, facilitating efficient footprint wide rollout across different cable video network architectures. Downloadable security allows current and future vendors worldwide to supply ‘Worldboxes' to Charter. Charter is currently working with vendors towards manufacturing compatible boxes for the retail market as well, with the expectation that these devices will function in other cable systems using downloadable security solution. 

Charter will offer both an HD only and an HD-DVR ‘Worldbox' featuring dual IP/QAM capabilities, configurable up to 16 tuners, a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem, 1 Gig of RAM, high-powered USB to enable future applications, and a terabyte of storage on the HD-DVR.  Charter expects to launch its new fully featured cloud based user interface, Spectrum Guide on Worldboxes, as well as on legacy boxes currently deployed within the Charter footprint. The Spectrum Guide features intuitive search and discovery capabilities with attractive graphics and TV and movie poster art that provides customers an enhanced state-of-the-art experience.  

About Charter

Charter (NASDAQ: CHTR) is a leading broadband communications company and the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services, including advanced Charter TV® video entertainment programming, Charter Internet® access, and Charter Phone®. Charter Business® similarly provides scalable, tailored, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to business organizations, such as business-to-business Internet access, data networking, business telephone, video and music entertainment services, and wireless backhaul. Charter's advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media® brand. More information about Charter can be found at charter.com.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com. Follow Cisco news and activities on Twitter:#VideoinCloud and @CiscoSPVideo.

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