SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 20, 2012 – Employees are demanding not only to use their own devices at work, but also to have more flexibility in the way they work and when and where they work. The Cisco® Connected World Technology Report found that more than 40 percent of college students and young employees said they would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility.

To help companies meet these demands, Cisco is taking IT organizations beyond the basic step of connecting user-owned devices to the network by introducing a comprehensive approach that unifies policy, supports a better user experience and simplifies management to deliver an uncompromised user experience in any workspace. With this holistic approach, based on the Borderless Network architecture, Cisco can help IT organizations move beyond basic BYOD connectivity to deliver the following:

1. A unified policy across wired, wireless local area network (LAN), cellular and VPN, achieved via enhancements to Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), which allow for easy self-provisioning of a user's device, and policy integrations with mobile device management (MDM) solutions.
2. An uncompromised user experience over the entire wired/wireless network through updates to the wireless LAN infrastructure with Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software 7.2. The updates offer up to double the video scalability for multicast video, allow one controller to support up to 30,000 devices, and provide IPv6 support for client devices. These updates can help enhance the quality of collaboration applications such as Cisco Jabber and Cisco WebEx with real-time video over Cisco networks.
3. Simplified operations and network management with the introduction of Prime Assurance Manager and Prime Infrastructure, which help IT professionals understand application performance from a user perspective, accelerate troubleshooting and lower operating costs.

Highlights:

• Unified Policy: Cisco's approach to moving beyond basic BYOD connectivity provides a unified policy across the organization's entire network – wired, wireless LAN, cellular and VPN – helping set and enforce specific policies across the entire company based on users' roles, the devices they are using, the applications in use, and posture information. With this announcement, Cisco is enhancing ISE to include the following:
  • Zero-touch On-boarding: ISE 1.1MR guides users through an easy step-by-step process to quickly self-provision their own device at a time that's most convenient for them without burdening the IT team, allowing IT to focus on more complex, time-sensitive matters.
  • MDM Policy Integration: To better protect data and enforce compliance on mobile devices, Cisco is working with several MDM vendors including AirWatch, Good Technology, MobileIron and Zenprise to integrate their solutions with ISE. With this integration, IT can use Cisco ISE to define policies that help ensure mobile devices are enrolled in MDM, and gain visibility and control over endpoint access based on policies such as requiring a pin lock, disallowing "jailbroken" devices, or remotely wiping the data on lost or stolen devices.
  • Considering the Connected World Technology Report findings that 70 percent of employees worldwide admit that they break IT policies, with one in five citing the need to access unauthorized programs and applications to get their job done, a unified policy based on both the user needs and company needs will create a more secure work experience that supports employee and IT needs.
• Uncompromised User Experience: Cisco helps IT optimize the experience for a diverse set of users with any type of device, and any type of desktop (native or virtual), across the wired/wireless network, allowing them to evolve their business beyond just the current BYOD needs. As part of this, Cisco is updating its wireless LAN infrastructure with the release of Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software 7.2, which includes:
  • Better Video: Up to double the video scalability compared to competitive solutions with Cisco VideoStream, which optimizes the network for multicast video so users can tune into company video events on the device and location of their choice. VideoStream also allows IT to prioritize video streams efficiently over the wired network. Video scalability is becoming increasingly important, especially when considering the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) forecast that details how video will account for the majority of overall traffic, with business video conferencing alone increasing sixfold from 2010 to 2015.
  • More Devices: With this update, one controller can support up to 3,000 access points and 30,000 clients, allowing for a flexible, scalable wireless network that can support higher capacities while lowering operational costs.
  • IPv6 Support: Optimized IPv6 client support with full functionality, providing seamless roaming without drops, improved video and network communication and enhanced IPv6 security protection to close any security holes. Having full IPv6 client functionality is critical to a company's BYOD strategy as 71 percent of smartphones and tablets – 1.6 billion in total – will be IPv6-capable by 2016, according to Cisco VNI.  
  • Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software 7.2 is also available on controllers embedded in the Integrated Services Routers G2 and Cisco Catalyst® 6500 Series Switches.
• Simplified Operations and Network Management: Cisco offers simplified, centralized operations and network management to understand application performance from a user perspective, accelerate troubleshooting and lower operating costs. Today, Cisco is announcing innovations in the Cisco Prime™ portfolio, including:
  • Simple and Thorough Visibility: Prime Assurance Manager 1.1, a brand-new management platform, provides simple and thorough visibility into application performance across wired/wireless networks and end devices. This added visibility allows IT to understand and track the user's application performance, quickly spot the exact location of an application performance problem, and correct it on the first try, saving time and money while increasing user satisfaction.
  • Complete Lifecycle Management: Prime Infrastructure 1.1 delivers a bundled package for complete lifecycle management across the wired/wireless infrastructure, with new branch management portfolios to control individual branch components. This package provides IT with one place for planning, deployment and on-going management of Cisco infrastructure.

Product Availability:

• Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software Release 7.2 is currently available globally.
• Cisco ISE 1.1MR is scheduled to be available globally in the summer of calendar year 2012. The integration with MDM is scheduled to be available globally by the end of calendar year 2012.
• Prime Assurance Manager 1.1 and Prime Infrastructure 1.1 are both currently available globally.

Supporting Quotes:

• Rebecca Jacoby, senior vice president and CIO, Cisco

"BYOD is not just about connecting user-owned devices and allowing guest access. It's about what you do after that – that's when things get interesting. Cisco goes beyond that first step to provide companies with a complete solution to tackle the BYOD phenomenon today and tomorrow."

• Sujai Hajela, vice president and general manager, Wireless Networking Business Unit, Cisco

"The BYOD trend is here to stay, but companies must move beyond the basic act of connecting user-owned devices to a comprehensive BYOD strategy to meet employee demands. Unlike competitors, Cisco is approaching BYOD holistically. With a comprehensive strategy designed around the network, unified policy and simplified management, Cisco delivers an uncompromised user experience in any workspace, setting companies up for success now and into the future."

• Mitch Davis, CIO, Bowdoin College

"Before BYOD even became an industry trend, the majority of Bowdoin College students brought their own personal mobile devices. Over a two-year period, the number of devices and demand for wireless access quadrupled. Seeing this trend, we knew we had to develop a comprehensive BYOD strategy. We worked with Cisco to enable anytime, anywhere wireless access on any device so students and faculty can learn and collaborate with ease without even thinking about wireless connectivity or if their device will work on the network. And best of all, we can scale the solution based on our needs, set specific policies based on the user, and manage the solution efficiently."

• Paul DeBeasi, Research VP, Gartner

"Mobile communications traffic will continue to grow exponentially. This growth in traffic will strain wireless networks (WLAN and mobile cellular). It will require that enterprises and mobile communication service providers invest capital to improve network capacity, reliability, and manageability. In addition, enterprises have begun to embrace the policy of bring your own device (BYOD) as a way to satisfy user demands, potentially save money, and stop managing end-user hardware. Enterprises should consider a comprehensive approach to BYOD that balances security, user experience, and supportability."

Supporting Resources:

• Cisco Enterprise Mobility
• Cisco Aironet 3600 Series Access Points
• Cisco Identity Services Engine
• Cisco Prime Infrastructure
• Cisco Prime Assurance Manager
• Cisco Wireless Case Study: Bowdoin College
• Fundamentals of the Identity Services Engine
• Fundamentals of Spatial Streams
• TechWiseTV Episode 110: Embracing the Bring-Your-Own-Device Trend
• Join the Mobility Conversation

Tags / Keywords

BYOD, Beyond BYOD, Wi-Fi, WiFi, Cisco Mobility, Cisco Enterprise Mobility, Cisco Wireless, Cisco Wireless Networking Business Unit, Sujai Hajela, wireless local area network infrastructure, wireless LAN, WLAN, Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software 7.2, Cisco Identity Services Engine, Cisco ISE, ISE, mobile device management, MDM, Cisco Prime, Prime, Prime Assurance Manager, Prime Infrastructure

About Cisco

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