I have great pleasure in introducing you to the new Cisco Energy Industry Blog.

Did you know that the Energy Industry is one of Cisco's fastest growing sectors served with huge opportunities for Cisco partners and customers? You probably know that Cisco has historically served the Enterprise IT and Network buying centers of most energy companies around the globe, but did you know that Cisco has a growing presence in the Operational Technologies areas of these companies solving real business, technical and process challenges? Yes, the Internet of Everything is here!

Nico Smit Welcomes you to the new Energy Blog and the re-invigorated YouTube and Facebook social media for Cisco Energy

That's because over the past decade we've pushed the relevance of Cisco well beyond the concerns of the networking engineer and are now leading the dialogue, solutions and innovations for energy firms' lines of business-crossing the entire value chain and ecosystems that compose an energy enterprise organization. With a complement of collaboration, virtualization and video service architectures that we provide over the network, Cisco has proven to be a trusted partner for a variety of firms in the energy sector, transforming their businesses and creating long-term competitive advantage through new models for customer growth, product and business innovation, agility and operational excellence.

So what can you expect from this blog? Who are the people contributing, and what are their backgrounds? What are Cisco's views and opinions about the Energy Industry? Why would you be interested?

We want you to be part of the dialogue. Cisco has gained increased influence with energy companies not only in terms of technical guidance, but also in terms of business advice and thought leadership. The goal of this blog is to share and broaden that perspective. Read the blogs, watch the videos and give us your comments and opinions. We welcome your viewpoint and constructive feedback. Check out our other social media platforms: Cisco Energy YouTube Channel, Cisco Manufacturing and Energy Facebook, and the Cisco Energy Twitter feed.

Alongside my energy industry experience including a previous role as the Director of Oil and Gas Strategy with the Global Enterprise theater at Cisco shaping Cisco's go to market for the Global Customers,  I include a team of Cisco expert contributors to this Energy Industry blog alongside me, Nico Smit.  With my team: Peter Granger, and Rene Pluis, as well as other Cisco energy thought leaders such as Rick Geiger,  Clara Alvarado and others,  we welcome you to join us in this dialogue on the future of Energy!

Feel free to express your views and opinions -we welcome your comments, and look forward to engaging with you on future social media conversations.