SAN JOSE, Calif., September 14, 2004 - Cisco Systems today announced a new line of integrated services routers, the industry's first routers to deliver secure, wire-speed data, voice, video and other advanced services to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and enterprise branch offices, as well as service providers for managed network services offerings. Founded on 20 years of routing innovation and leadership, the new Cisco 1800 Series, Cisco 2800 Series and Cisco 3800 Series integrated services routers are the first to provide customers with an infrastructure that enables fast, secure access to today's mission-critical business applications with optimized security, while establishing a foundation for tomorrow's intelligent networks.
"Integration of voice and network security capabilities into routers is a great way to help organizations save money and time, but the addition of these features cannot negatively impact network performance," said Jeff Wilson from Infonetics Research. "Cisco's integrated services routers will help many organizations build more efficient and robust IP networks."
Securing the Network
The new Cisco integrated services routers are part of the Cisco Self-Defending Network security strategy. Embedded directly inside the integrated services routers lies the industry's most comprehensive portfolio of network security services, which provide customers with a single, resilient platform to rapidly deploy secure networked business applications.
Cisco integrated services routers ship with built-in virtual private network (VPN) hardware encryption and acceleration, version 2.0 of the intuitive Cisco Router and Security Device Manager (SDM) for ease of management, and Cisco IOS Software-based VPN firewall. In addition, inline intrusion prevention system (IPS) functionality, for the first time embedded into a router, provides the network with a deeper level of protection not previously offered in these markets. Customers have the option of adding additional modules for enhanced network services and higher performance, such as VPN acceleration, enhanced IPS, and URL filtering, which helps protect network investments customers' needs for more resilient, self-defending networks grow.
"We've been impressed with the enhanced security capabilities of the Cisco integrated services routers in our evaluation and believe they could help provide a scalable platform for a number of projects," commented Norbert Dähne, head of projects communication services for Lufthansa Systems. "As we expand our network infrastructure to support innovative projects, such as voice over IP, this requirement for security without performance degradation is a key benefit to us."
Feature-Rich, Cost-Effective IP Communications Solutions
In addition to embedded security, Cisco offers industry-leading voice services integrated directly inside the routers, providing maximum deployment flexibility for telephony services, while offering higher combined data and voice densities in a single system.
Cisco 2800 and 3800 series routers integrate new releases of the award-winning Cisco CallManager Express and Cisco UnityTM Express systems. Customers can easily replace small, aging private branch exchanges (PBXs) and key systems with a comprehensive IP telephony, voice mail and auto attendant solution for their small and medium-sized sites. Larger customers can use Cisco integrated services routers in Survivable Remote Site Telephony mode with their central Cisco CallManager solution for redundancy. By converging data and voice into a single solution, Cisco helps customers simplify deployment, administration and maintenance, while increasing productivity and decreasing operating expenses.
In addition, significant advances in voice trunk and station densities, digital signal processing (DSP) and platform performance enable affordable voice and IP Communications for any-sized customer site within the same-sized platform deployed for data and security. Cisco 2800 Series and 3800 Series routers feature embedded DSP slots for enabling secure voice, voice gateway, conferencing, and transcoding capabilities, combined with call processing integrated within Cisco IOS software, along with optional voice mail and automated attendant in advanced integration modules (AIMs) or network module slots. By embedding proven voice technologies inside the platform, Cisco integrated services routers free up integrated modular slots, enabling customers to take advantage of these high-speed slots for additional services, interfaces and densities.
Delivering Services to Customers of All Sizes
Customers of all sizes are seeking opportunities to converge best-of-class, data, voice and security services into a single system that speeds the deployment of network services, while helping them protect, optimize and grow their businesses. With the industry's most comprehensive voice and security services, directly embedded and integrated into these new platforms, Cisco's portfolio provides maximum performance, resilience and flexibility for adding new applications easily and cost-effectively. In line with the Cisco SMB-Class and Business Ready Branch solutions programs, the integrated services routers help businesses build secure, reliable and flexible networks that scale as their companies grow.
Service providers can now quickly and cost-effectively extend managed voice, security, and data services to customers of all sizes using a single routing platform that is flexible and scales to meet changing customer needs and has the reliability and availability necessary for service-level agreements.
"With the new Cisco integrated services routers, BellSouth can provide its customers with highly secure access to advanced technology solutions while maintaining the highest levels of performance and reliability," said Fred Shaftman, president of BellSouth Business. "The capabilities of voice, video, and data services packaged on a single system allows BellSouth to more effectively and efficiently extend next-generation applications beyond the enterprise, to branch offices and SMB markets."
Integrated Services Routers Extending Value to the Channel
The integrated services routers have been designed to allow Cisco channel partners the opportunity to cost-effectively offer end-users a truly converged routing, voice and security solution; while utilizing Cisco's world-class partner technical and sales readiness programs and tools to help them deliver best-in-class customer support. Currently, more than 90 percent of Cisco SMB and enterprise revenues flow through Cisco channel partners, and Cisco is committed to helping our Cisco channel partners be successful in transitioning to sell the new routing platforms.
Pricing, Availability and More Information
The Cisco 1800 Series, 2800 Series and 3800 Series integrated services router will begin at list prices of $1395, $1995 and $9500, respectively. The new Cisco 1800 and 2800 Series routers will be available in September 2004 and the Cisco 3800 Series routers will be available in October 2004. For further information about these products, visit: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2004/hd_091404.html.
