Cisco Takes the Application Way

Vendor cuts further into the app-net path As Kia Canada built its new headquarters in Mississauga ON last year, the auto maker considered bringing its PBX from the old site. But the system didn’t measure up anymore. "The bang for the buck wasn’t there," said Donald Knowles, MIS manager. Kia wanted more than a dial tone: "wireless phones, wireless access points for the barcode readers," Knowles said. "As we looked at it, the standard machine we had before just didn’t work." Kia sought a holistic communication system that would provide wireline and wireless, easy network management, support for advanced call centre applications and room to grow. In the end, the firm purchased gear from Cisco Systems Inc.: the Catalyst 4510 switch for the network core, 3560 switches at the edge, Aironet 1200 access points, 160 or so IP phones, CallManager Express (PBX software for small companies), the Unity voice mail system, and IP Contact Center (IPCC) Express for routing and queuing calls for the contact centre. The Cisco environment has proven to be robust, and Kia has big plans for it. "We’re looking at opening up unified messaging, so users can check their emails through the phone," said Warren Dantes, Kia’s network supervisor. "We’re also looking at testing the VPN, so the guys on the road can take their extensions with them." Myth BustingThe Kia case study blasts certain Cisco myths. Once considered the go-to communication vendor for large firms alone, the company is making progress among small- and mid-sized companies. Its "Express" equipment, like IPCC Express and CallManager Express, seems to be hitting the mark. That Kia picked Cisco for voice infrastructure is informative. In some respects, the network vendor bears the burden of its legacy: long considered data-centric, it struggled to convince industry insiders that its voice equipment was on par with competitive offerings from Avaya Inc., Mitel Networks Corp. and Nortel Networks. Now, many companies purchase Cisco voice gear, and market researchers generally put the vendor near the top of the list for revenue generated from voice sales.But these days Cisco battles a fundamental concern: that it operates in a market bound for commoditization. In fact, most communication equipment vendors are fighting the notion that routers, switches and other elements of workplace connectivity are no more a strategic IT investment than, say, a server made from scrap parts. Cisco and its competitors insist that their gear is strategic. The equipment provides smart links among workers and thus improves workforce efficiency. So what does Cisco have up its sleeve to further promote networking as a strategic investment? At its Worldwide Analyst Conference in Santa Clara, California late last year, the firm explained its application way forward. SONACisco unveiled the Service Oriented Network Architecture (SONA), the vendor’s latest riff on the networking theme. SONA combines hardware, software and services like identity management for an "intelligent" communication backbone: network components effectively reach up and aid the applications running above. SONA incorporates Application Oriented Networking (AON), which deals with common computing requirements that individual programs might otherwise have to manage alone. SONA also includes Application Delivery (AD) products, which speed data along the network. Recently, Cisco combined AON and AD to form Application Network Services (ANS). According to Greg Mayfield, a senior manager in Cisco’s enterprise architectures group, ANS is more than a name change. "If we didn’t take the holistic view, I don’t think we’d succeed as we approach something as big and important as SONA." SONA may be a new way of looking at Cisco’s offerings. "Don’t think of point products," Mayfield said. "It’s the systems approach." But is SONA all that groundbreaking? It seems to be a marketing effort, for the most part — a way for Cisco to package its wares so potential purchasers consider acquiring a whole host of products that ostensibly work hand in hand: routers and switches; services modules; application optimization appliances; IP phone systems and messaging systems. It’s hard to believe SONA is a substantial paradigm shift. Still, CEO John Chambers suggested SONA’s impact will be significant. "All of these decisions…take three to five years before they become obvious," he said. And for gear makers, "by the time it becomes obvious, it’s probably too late." A clarification: although they sound similar, SONA and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) are not the same thing. SOA describes the way applications are built: individual functions are brought together in unique combinations, rather than jammed into stand-alone programs. According to Cisco, SONA supports SOA by putting some of those functions into the network. Linksys OnePerhaps more concrete than SONA is Cisco’s new product for service providers and, in turn, SMBs. Linksys One is a hosted IP phone system meant to satisfy small companies and carriers alike. It provides SMBs with VoIP connectivity, security and quality of service, all from a simple high-speed Internet connection. Linksys One includes a services router, IP phones and an analogue voice gateway. It’s meant to let small companies source a complete communication system from one service provider. According to James Richardson, SVP, commercial business, Cisco wants to make a big splash among SMBs. But the firm has stumbled here in the past. "We were trying to sell our enterprise-like offer into an environment that didn’t need it." Meanwhile, service providers seek revenue streams from hosted offerings, but current efforts miss the mark. "IP Centrex has been a remarkably unsuccessful business," said Charlie Giancarlo, Cisco’s chief development officer. But there are no guarantees Linksys One will succeed. It faces competition from on-premises equipment such as Cisco’s own Express portfolio, as well as gear from Avaya, Mitel and Nortel. And many carriers already offer some kind of hosted voice-data service for SMBs. The telcos might be reluctant to add Linksys One to their product lists. Still, a few have signed up: MCI Inc., airBand Communications Inc. and NeoNova Network Services Inc. in the US, as well as IP Systems Pty Ltd. in Australia. MobileIf Linksys One represents Cisco’s next big thing for SMBs, then dual-mode roaming is the vendor’s upcoming carrot for mobile. At the conference Cisco demonstrated a new Hewlett-Packard Co. cellular handset sporting technology from Ottawa’s SIPquest Inc. The device, initially connected to a wireless LAN, made a transition onto the cellphone network, even as the gentleman holding the handset continued his conversation. The jump wasn’t seamless, but it worked. This is the second public demonstration of WLAN-cell handoffs we’ve seen. Avaya provided a similar demonstration at its analyst conference earlier in 2005. It suggests network managers will face a new network setup that brings the wireless wide area and the wireless LAN closer than they have ever been before. The novel system will require unique user education, testing procedures and device-usage policies. It’s too soon to say whether these advancements are a boon or a bane for network managers. But at Kia, Dantes focuses on the plus side. The dual-mode system might be just right for his company. "The building has a lot of metal," he said of the new HQ. "Regardless of which provider you’re with, the signal is very weak. You get one bar or no service. If somebody were to walk in with their GSM or CDMA handset and it handed off to Wi-Fi, well, we’re just waiting for the device to do that." But Kia will have to wait a bit longer. Canadian carriers have yet to buy into the LAN-cell plan. Communication companies like Rogers Communications Inc., which is the front-running candidate to provide the service, face tough questions about the system’s impact: will it boost the subscriber base, or cause users to spend less time on the lucrative cell network? How will it integrate with existing carrier services? Providers must weigh the risks and rewards carefully, and that will slow the dual-mode advent in this country. Fight For ControlTo a certain degree, Cisco’s latest offerings represent the network vendor’s side of an industry-wide battle for control. Firms of all kinds want business customers to come to them first. Software sellers like Oracle Corp. and SAP AG use language similar to that of Avaya, Cisco, Mitel and Nortel: if you want your IT infrastructure to run as well as possible, consider our products primarily, and build everything else around them. That trend is evident in Cisco’s SONA. This isn’t to say Cisco will turn its back on the lucrative data area. The company expects big growth among providers in that realm. "I believe you will see them grow 200% to 500% per year," Chambers said. Nonetheless, the age of speeds and feeds is over. Welcome to the software sell. Expect vendors like Cisco to promote their equipment as worthy of not only the network manager’s scrutiny, but that of the entire IT department and executives, too.

Cisco Takes the Application Way

News | 02/01/2006 5:00 am EST

To keep reading, get a free trial.

Already a Subscriber?

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us