CISCO NETWORKERS 2006 - LAS VEGAS, June 20, 2006 -- Communication networks are moving beyond the office and becoming the platform for life's experiences, based on a survey of attendees at Networkers, Cisco Systems annual users' conference in Las Vegas this week. The people who build and support the networks that we use everyday are standing on this network platform and using it to reach higher and farther in both their professional and personal lives.

An overwhelming majority of Networkers attendees responding to a Cisco Systems survey attributed life changing experiences to the communications, collaborations and success they have achieved through online experiences. They responded to having met their spouses online and having used the Internet as a communication tool to keep in touch with family and friends. This emergence of the network as the platform for innovation has also birthed a new lexicon of terminology that has evolved with the shift into cyberspace. Attendees submitted over 1,100 unique and creative industry terms relating to the Internet. When asked: "What's your self-proclaimed next industry buzz word?" respondents offered a multitude of responses including Fiberchildren (a child born after 2005 that has always had access to integrated Voice, Data, and Video) and e-rationing (the amount of Net Time allowed to children by their parents).

Changing the Way We Work

At the office, the Networkers respondents are using the network for broader collaboration and interaction throughout their company, with suppliers and customers, and with their peers. Using the network as a foundation, they are innovating with their business partners to get closer to the customer and increase revenue. Their efforts are moving the focus of networks and communication technologies from efficiency and cost savings, to enhancing the experience of customers and employees. When asked to list the top three greatest benefits of IT to their overall business, they listed increased productivity, (62.38 percent), improved customer satisfaction, (55.1 percent), and improved competitive advantage, (44.1 percent). Other responses included to enable business continuity, create business innovation and create new revenue outlets.

Additionally, when asked what technologies they plan to deploy over the next year that will give their business a competitive advantage, respondents listed VoIP applications, (77.64 percent), ahead of video or video on demand (46.23 percent) and enterprise instant messaging (36.29 percent).

New Network Lexicon

As with any cultural phenomenon, the network has spawned jargon that reflects its growing pervasiveness. Networkers' attendees submitted their personal buzz words, which included Green Noise (enthusiasm generated when working as a team) and World Without Walls (worldwide web - WWW). And while some may be concerned about developing a webpendenancy - a reliance on the Internet to effectively function), most respondents reported positive experiences, even approaching webvana.

For more information on activities at Networkers 2006, please see the blog at: http://blogs.cisco.com/networkers/. For additional information on the survey of the 2006 Networkers attendees and more of their interesting new industry terms, please see: http://blogs.cisco.com/news/.