A few weeks ago I started to prepare my session for the great meeting of the minds atCisco Live in San Francisco. I have to confess that at the beginning it felt a bit weird creating a presentation about Internet of Things (IoT), a market that is targeting Operational Technology (OT) decision-makers, for an event that for many years now has been a "mecca" for Information Technology (IT) professionals felt incongruous.
But the more I thought about it, the more excited I got about the opportunity. As the IoT market gets better defined and developed, and grows in size and relevance, it presents an unprecedented opportunity for IT professionals to engage in the conversation and bring in their experience, skills and perspective. The IoT solutions required by OT professionals are ripe for innovation, the type of innovation that IT professionals are great at.
Resilient, scalable and secure converged networks, simplified and automated management, new computing models (Fog) that deliver distributed intelligence, and system-wide application enablement are building blocks for more advanced and smarter solutions for IoT. Ina previous blog I talked about some of the characteristics of these new environments, and how the extension of the traditional IT environments outside the "carpeted office" can deliver incredible gains in visibility, automation and control. Think about these examples in terms of business value enabled by Cisco's IoT portfolio:
But that's not all. And it's not just about business value. The IoT solutions that can be delivered by a combination of the know-how of both OT and IT professionals can also greatly improve the quality of life for all of us. Consider these examples:
So I want to invite you to come and join me during my session at Cisco Live, where I will cover (in even more detail) the basic building blocks for a successful IoT solution implementation, and will explore other cases and examples that can give meaning to IoT in a whole different way to you and your business. I would love to hear what IoT means to you.
And before I forget, we have created a full IoT program for the event that I believe you will find very interesting and informative. Join our IoT experts in technical breakout sessions about IoT architectures, IT/OT convergence and using IoT for better business outcomes, and large enterprises showing how Cisco is helping their business.
Visit the IoT booth to learn about innovative, ruggedized solutions for manufacturing, utilities, transportation, safety and security, and cities. Learn about IoT application enablement, management for IoT deployments, and embedded network solutions for the most demanding environments.
Visit http://www.ciscolive.com/us/internet-of-things/ to find out more about the education and training for IoT that makes Cisco Live such a great investment of your time.
We look forward to seeing you at Cisco Live 2014 in San Francisco!