May 28, 2008

Cisco announced an evolved architecture that helps empower businesses to meet and exceed mobility demands and move beyond basic wireless networking into the next generation of business mobility - transforming the way business is done by fostering broader collaboration and new levels of productivity. This announcement is part of Cisco Motion - Cisco's innovative vision for business mobility that delivers practical solutions to integrate mobile devices, applications, security and disparate networks into a unified platform.

The cornerstone of the Cisco Motion vision is the Cisco 3300 Series Mobility Services Engine (MSE). This appliance-based platform offers an open application programming interface (API) for consolidating and supporting an array of mobility services across wireless and wired networks. Cisco is releasing four initial software offerings for the MSE: Cisco Context-Aware Software, Cisco Adaptive Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (wIPS), Cisco Secure Client Manager and Cisco Mobile Intelligent Roaming. The Cisco MSE and its software integrate with the Cisco Unified Wireless Network portfolio, Cisco Unified Communications Manager and Cisco-compatible devices to expand the reach and value of an enterprise's mobility system.

Numerous application and solution partners have integrated or plan to integrate with the MSE. This partner ecosystem includes Nokia and Oracle, technology partners like AeroScout, Agito Networks and Airetrak, as well as industry-specific application partners like IntelliDOT and Johnson Controls (healthcare) and OATSystems (manufacturing).

"Today's business mobility challenges cannot be solved using only traditional wireless LAN solutions when multiple network elements are converging and need to collaborate. Cisco's Motion approach is a true services-oriented network architecture that creates a mobility network as a platform for integrating key business strategies, processes and goals," said Brett Galloway, senior vice president of Cisco's Wireless and Security Technology Group. "To meet and exceed business mobility expectations, IT must secure and manage a range of devices, integrate multiple networks, enable applications, access information with a high level of security, and help ensure a consistent experience regardless of network connection or location."

Cisco Motion: Accelerating the Evolution of Business Mobility

Information Technology (IT) departments must increasingly manage disparate networks (Wi-Fi, cellular, passive RFID, personal wireless, sensors, Ethernet), to handle a rising number of devices and more applications. The Cisco Motion approach includes the industry's first mobility architecture that addresses these challenges in the following ways:

• Unifying networks: Extending applications to devices regardless of the connection
• Managing the client device wave: Securing devices, centralizing client provisioning
• Facilitating collaboration: Selecting the right media at the right time and right place
• Opening up development: Open API supports integrated applications and services

"Cisco's mobility vision mirrors Oracle's approach to application development, which focuses on efficiently connecting users to the information they need to make better business decisions," said Jon Chorley, vice president of product strategy at Oracle. "Integrating Oracle's enterprise applications with Cisco's open mobility platform creates tremendous value for our customers."

The Cisco MSE's initial service offerings include the following software components:

Cisco Context-Aware Software captures contextual information from a full range of sensors, mobile devices and RFID tags over the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, allowing businesses to move beyond basic location tracking and gather detailed information about assets like location, temperature, availability, and the application used. Information is channeled into applications, increasing asset-management intelligence. Context-Aware Software supports enhanced received signal strength indication (RSSI) and time difference of arrival (TDOA), improving location accuracy and performance indoors, outdoors and in challenging RF environments.

Flextronics, a valued Cisco partner and global leading Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) provider for Cisco and OEMs, is looking to the Cisco Context-Aware Mobility solution to track Cisco's capital assets as a service at its global manufacturing sites. In Austin, Texas, the company tracks high-value assets like thermal chambers and testing equipment used to manufacture products, enabling it to account for Cisco capital equipment and easily locate it in real-time.

"We need to locate customers' assets immediately throughout our large facility in real time and conduct regular inventory checks, regardless of location in the manufacturing process. Flextronics' adoption of Cisco's location solution is the foundation for supporting capital-equipment logistics management that also enhances our capabilities to reduce inefficiencies and provide true cost-avoidance opportunities," said Mel Day, director of engineering services of Flextronics. "Looking forward, we see more assets coming into our facilities and devices that need to connect to the network, and Cisco's new Mobility Services Engine can help alleviate the challenge of managing multiple siloed networks and devices that need to interoperate."

Cisco Mobile Intelligent Roaming facilitates seamless handoff of dual-mode mobile devices between Wi-Fi and cellular networks based on availability, real-time network information and user location. It integrates with numerous offerings from service providers, third-party vendors and mobile device manufacturers. By utilizing network intelligence and client software integration from its open ecosystem of partners, Cisco Mobile Intelligent Roaming software gives IT additional control of mobile devices while helping to create a seamless mobile experience.

"As users access more applications and services on their mobile devices, businesses need a unified approach to managing the mobile networks and securing their data. A unified mobility system approach like Cisco Motion helps enhance the mobile experiences and ease the automatic handoff between wireless networks in offices and cellular networks in public environments," said Tom Furlong, senior vice president, Services & Software, Nokia. "Nokia is targeting to deliver automatic handoff to Cisco's internal Nokia Intellisync Call Connect users and other customers in its next software release."

Cisco Adaptive Wireless IPS is a new intrusion-prevention system that delivers the feature depth of an overlay solution with the full benefits of an integrated solution. It integrates wireless threat detection, mitigation, vulnerability scanning and performance monitoring into the wireless network. It assists in protecting against rogue access points and clients, wireless hacking and day-zero threats. RF spectrum analysis provides self-healing protection. Proactive prevention includes automated vulnerability analysis, management frame protection and infrastructure authentication. Purpose-built collaboration between wired and wireless intrusion prevention helps provide full protection (Layers 1 to 7) by detecting inappropriate network activity or malware spawned by wireless clients. The Cisco MSE centrally processes, analyzes and correlates events from the Adaptive Wireless IPS monitors, providing broad mobility threat protection.

The final announced MSE software product, Cisco Secure Client Manager, centralizes the security and management of provisioning various mobile devices via the Cisco Secure Services Client 802.1X solution over wired, Wi-Fi, cellular and other wireless networks. It addresses one challenge faced by IT: managing the connectivity and security of Wi-Fi and other mobile devices. The MSE's open API enables integration with third-party device management software and solutions.