SAN JOSE, Calif., March 23, 2010 – To salute more than 15 years of its CCIE certification and to gain insight into what digital infrastructures will look like over the next five years, Cisco today announced the results of the most comprehensive end-customer survey ever conducted of the international CCIE community.

Commissioned as part of Cisco's overall 25th anniversary celebration, the research was conducted by Illuminas, a strategic research firm, to explore the unique perspective of some of the most knowledgeable and well-respected information technology professionals in the networking industry. The study reveals the top trends that are driving innovation, including virtualization, security and risk management, unified communications, video, and real-time collaboration. A total of 970 CCIE holders from 79 countries participated; their employers range from Fortune 500 enterprises to small- and midsize organizations representing a wide variety of industries.

Survey Highlights:

Rapid Adoption of Virtualization

• More than two-thirds of the CCIE holders surveyed said virtualization will be the top networking investment over the next five years as chief information officers continue to be hyper-focused on reducing IT costs.
• Organizations are increasingly adopting virtualization as an energy-, space- and cost-saving measure. A holistic and comprehensive virtualization strategy can provide a significant competitive advantage to organizations by increasing operational efficiency and simplifying management.
• CCIE holders expect energy efficiency in the data center to be the top green networking initiative impacting networks over the next five years.

Increasing Security Requirements for Increasingly Sophisticated Networks

• CCIE holders believe it is critical that networking professionals stay ahead of the increasing number of internal and external security breaches that jeopardize today's networks. Over the next three to five years, security and risk management will be the networking skills in greatest demand, according to 64 percent of the survey participants. One out of three expects network and information security breaches to remain a top concern of CIOs over the next five years.
• As organizations embrace collaboration technologies across business and geographic boundaries, network security will continue to be a critical component of IT strategy. Network vulnerabilities and threats to network security, as well as the skill and sophistication of attackers, are constantly evolving.

Collaboration via Unified Communications and Video

• Unified communications will lead to increased collaboration in the workforce, 47 percent of the CCIE holders said. Thirty percent of the respondents expect that accommodating the needs of a highly collaborative, global workforce will be a top CIO concern over the next five years.
• Collaboration and Web conferencing solutions will play a key role as enterprises prepare to address the complexities of this highly mobile, highly collaborative global business environment.
• Fifty-two percent of the respondents believe that real-time video solutions, such as Cisco TelePresence^TM, will be one of the top green initiatives affecting networks and network engineers. CCIE holders agree that using video for collaboration is increasing, with 25 percent of those surveyed stating that video will be a top networking trend over the next five years.

CCIE Certification:

• Cisco introduced the CCIE certification in 1993 to assist the industry in distinguishing the top echelon of Internetworking experts worldwide. Today, networking professionals holding active CCIE certifications are valued by their employers and customers for their expert network engineering skills and mastery of Cisco products and solutions.
• According to those surveyed, employment as a CCIE holder in networking has been extremely positive. Ninety-eight percent of respondents to the survey are currently employed, and more than 70 percent feel they are very or extremely valued by their organizations. In fact, two-thirds would recommend a career in networking to others who are interested in technology.
• Eighty percent are very or extremely satisfied with their career choice and 40 percent report that they have been involved in the design and implementation of a networking project that improved the lives and welfare of citizens within their community.
• Further, two out of three believe that they have been able to provide a positive mentoring experience for others who are seeking to develop their networking skills.

Supporting Quotes:

• Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, general manager, Learning@Cisco, said: "CCIE holders have established a reputation for leading the networking industry in deep technical networking knowledge and are typically deployed into the most technically challenging network assignments. As a result, they have an unparalleled depth of knowledge and experience. These are the world's leading IT networking professionals, and they possess rare insights and real-world perspectives about the direction and strategic applications of networking. They are engaged daily on the leading edge of our industry with major global deployments of virtualization, video and collaboration as well as borderless networks for their organizations."
• Antônio Odair Zabotto, CCIE 3895, specialist technician Net IP, Telefonica Brazil, one of the largest broadband providers in South America, said: "Throughout my career, holding a CCIE has opened doors for diverse opportunities. I have always felt that I was valued for the certification and the value it brings to my company. CCIE certification establishes credibility and improves professional knowledge."
• Blair Buchanan, CCIE 1427, founder, Sherwood Cameron Associates, a leading provider of professional consulting services in Canada, said: "CCIE certification has been a huge, valuable career boost, even in situations where my work has been far removed from CCIE type activities. I would never let my CCIE lapse. Customers see a CCIE certification and immediately gain confidence that the solution they are considering will be planned, implemented and supported by a highly qualified professional. As two-thirds of CCIE holders predict that CIOs will continue to be focused on reducing IT costs over the next three to five years, we are uniquely positioned to support this and other important industry trends."
• Gao JunFeng, CCIE 12121, CEO, Node Network Technology Co. Ltd., a Cisco authorized IT training provider in China, said: "Working with Cisco and holding a CCIE has helped me stay at the cutting edge of emerging technologies throughout my career. The trends and insights revealed through the CCIE survey highlight the growth areas that should be focused on over the next several years, such as virtualization and collaboration technologies. With 67 percent of CCIE holders predicting growth in virtualization, it is clear that this is an area where networking professionals should consider bolstering their skills."
• Marjan Bradesko, CCIE 1556, business development manager, Learning and Consulting Services, NIL, a Cisco Learning Solutions Partner and Cisco Gold Certified Partner in Europe, said: "As new technologies converge with evolving business models, networking professionals are adopting new ways to design, deploy and manage networks with the human component in mind. CCIE certification significantly helps in building trust and establishing credibility both with customers and partners."

Supporting Resources:

• Additional information about the Cisco CCIE program and complete survey results are available at: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/
• CCIE Survey Whitepaper: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/docs/DOC-7000/
• CCIE Wall of Fame: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/community/careers/get_inspired

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