Mobility Technology Overview

Mobility solutions let your employees conduct business anywhere, anytime, from any device delivering three key capabilities to the organization: insight, collaboration, and awareness. The technology underpinning mobility spans the spectrum of network capabilities: wired and wireless IP networks, unified communications, and location tracking solutions, each of which has integral security capabilities to protect both the device and the enterprise network.
Insight
Insight is the ability for employees to make accurate information-based decisions, complete business processes no matter where they may be, and meet customer needs on a timely basis. It is more than access to e-mail and other collaboration tools; it is the key information imbued with the timeliness and context needed to meet revenue goals, improve customer satisfaction, and interact with partners.

The technologies that support insight include:

• Both wired and wireless IP networking technologies that link the user to the corporate network to access applications and data
• Devices customized for the individual job role and environment, including laptops, tablets, ruggedized computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, mobile phones, and wireless IP phones
• Security solutions to protect the device, data, and corporate network, including VPN, antivirus, firewall, network admission control (NAC) appliance, and intrusion detection and prevention solutions
• Cisco and third-party applications that use network intelligence, including presence, location, identity, time of day, network type, and device type, to create contextually aware information delivery

Collaboration
Collaboration is more than simply trying to reach a colleague, partner, or customer by phone, e-mail, IM, or text message. Effective collaboration means reaching the person, not the device, quickly and simply in order to speed communication and decision making.

The technologies that support collaboration include:

• Unified communications solutions extended to mobile solutions, including smart phones or wireless IP phones, as well as to desktop IP phones and single-business-number-reach services
• Applications such as e-mail, voicemail, instant messaging, or text messaging
• Presence capabilities to understand who is available and whether they wish to be reached by phone, e-mail, IM, or text message
• Audio- and video-conferencing capabilities that allow users to share documents

Awareness
Awareness enables visibility into the key assets and people that are needed to complete work processes and meet customer commitments. Connecting these valuable assets into the network clarifies their location and status, reduces search time and procurement costs, and improves customer and employee satisfaction.

The technologies that support awareness include:

• Wireless LANs that allow the tracking of mobile devices and people throughout a building
• Active and passive RF identification (RFID) tags that report the movement of assets and the condition of the item, including temperature, humidity, vibration, and availability
• Location appliances that track usage, location, movement, and trends

Did You Know…about NexusCare Managed Service?

NexusCare Managed Service is a support solution set that is designed to provide technical assistance for trouble escalation and resolution when an organization’s in-house staff needs assistance for Service Incident management. The service is not intended as a day-to-day administration of Service Change (Moves/Adds/Changes/Patches/Upgrades) service. The organization is still responsible for the day-to-day operations, system administration, and system back-up.

The following are the various types of services provided by the NexusCare Managed Service:

• Service and Support – Block of Hours: This solution is designed to provide technical assistance for trouble remediation, escalation, and resolution when the client’s in-house staff needs assistance for Service Incident management. This service can also be intended as a day-to-day administration of service change service. This service emphasizes non-specific work objectives.
• NexusCare Connect: Combines the flexibility of a pre-paid block of hours with a newly invented and highly secure SSL/VPN technology for rapid connections, reduced remediation times, and basic up/down monitoring of specific servers and infrastructure.
• NexusCare Connect Prime: This service ensures maximum device up-time and availability by providing remediation services independent of block of hours account balance. It provides remediation services based on time length of contract. This services also offers flexible billing terms, discounts based on volume contracts, and SSL/VPN based up/down monitoring.
• NexusCare PRO Monitoring: Based on NexusCare Connect Prime, this services provides significantly enhanced proactive monitoring services for LAN/WAN and Unified Communications platforms. 24×7 proactive monitoring and incident remediation allow customers to focus on organizational objectives.

NexusCare assists in significantly accelerating your return on investment by providing you:

• Proactive Monitoring: conducted in-house or is not a service requirement.
• Configuration Management: from archiving to active configuration, NTAC has all the tools and experience needed to maintain a stable and predictable networking environment.
• Service Changes: routine moves, adds, changes, deletions, and upgrades can be implemented quickly and efficiently via built-in contract pricing.
• 24×7 Incident Support: Nexus Technical Assistance Center (NTAC) engineers know your network which will save you time and effort. NTAC supports the network solution, not just the device. NTAC experts manage escalations to Cisco TAC or 3rd party manufacturers on behalf of you. The incident is handled from ticketing to resolution via NTAC regardless of technology.

Did You Know…about Digital Media System (DMS)?

Today, Digital Media is the most compelling and effective way for organizations to communicate with customers, employees, partners, or students about important news, information, training, or events. It is effective because it brings both intimacy and immediacy to communications and information.

Digital Media System (DMS) extends digital media to new, compelling applications for real-time and on-demand communications with flexible digital media creation, management, and publishing in various formats to multiple devices.

With Digital Media System, organizations have:

• A single solution to deliver compelling digital media content to audiences both on site – in the branch, store, and other locations – and at the desktop.
• Scalability to reach thousands of customers and users.
• Flexibility to target communications for specific locations and specific users at any time.
• Simplicity through Web interfaces that enable nontechnical workgroups to centrally manage and deliver digital media.
• Integration with the underlying network for easy and rapid deployment, and optimal content delivery.

Nexus has the expertise to assist your organization when it is ready to use the Digital Media System. We will work with you to ensure that the system in configured to your specific needs and that it works as expected.

Nexus Hosts the Collaboration Lunch and Learn In San Diego

On May 14, Nexus hosted a Collaboration Lunch and Learn at Donovan’s Steak and Chophouse in San Diego. Over 50 individuals attended this event. During this event, Nexus provided an overview of the latest Cisco content and collaboration applications, including:

• Cisco MeetingPlace and Cisco WebEx – voice, video, and web collaboration
• Cisco TelePresence – the “in person” meeting experience
• Cisco Digital Media system (DMS) – digital signage and content networking

We have deployed these technologies at our corporate and regional offices to reduce our travel related expenses, increase the reach of our subject matter experts, and to provide a “high touch” model of support with our clients. The benefits go beyond cost savings to include a more flexible work environment, easy to use tools, and a more informed workforce.

To view the most current list of Nexus client events, please visit: www.nexusis.com/events.php.

Nexus Exhibits at the Inland Empire Technology Expo

Nexus participated in the Inland Empire Technology Expo in Riverside, California on May 12. The Expo was part of the Inland Empire Tech Week. During this event, the following topics were discussed:

• Delivering Free Wi-Fi
• Video Security
• Web 2.0 Strategies: Integrating GIS Services
• Call Center Management
• Customer Relationships
• Using Social Media and Networking to Build Your Business
• Extending your Wi-Fi Indoors to your Business

At this event, we presented the Cisco Digital Media System. Digital Media System (DMS) extends digital media to new, compelling applications for real-time and on-demand communications with flexible digital media creation, management, and publishing in various formats to multiple devices.

We hope to exhibit at this event in the future. For those of you in the Inland Empire area, we encourage you attend next year.

Is Your Organization Ready for Unified Communications?

Unified Communications (UC) delivers more effective organizational communications by eliminating complexity and allowing customers, partners, and colleagues to reach the right resource at the right time. UC enables rich and varied ways of sharing information that speeds decision-making and streamlines organizational processes.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you have a communications strategy that improves operational efficiency, increases employee productivity, and reduces costs using integrated voice, video, and data?
• Do you knokw your communications expenses?
• Do you have a flexible communications strategy that allows for easy/seamles changes in growth, mobility, and relocation?
• Does your communications strategy align with your networking strategy?
• Do you have an organizational continuance/disaster recovery strategy in order to ensure reliability of your voice, video, and data communications?
• Does your existing networking infrastructure provide investment protection by supporting your long-term communications strategy?
• Does your communications strategy incorporate your sales and customer relationship management (CRM) applications?
• Is it important to improve customer service responsiveness.

Is Your Organization’s Network Secure?

Internet connectivity without appropriate security can compromise the very gains in productivity that make organizations profitable. In the past, security threats from external resources were slow-moving and easy to defend against. In today’s connected environment, outbreaks spread across the word in a matter of minutes, and security systems must react instantly.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you looking for ways to to reduce costs and complexity with your network security and VPN deployments?
• Are you looking to increase productivity and organizational resiliency by providing remote network access to employees, contractors, and business partners?
• Are you looking for lead SSL and IPsec VPN capabilities on the same hardware and software platform?
• Do you struggle with Internet-related threats such as worms, viruses, spyware, spam, and phishing attempts?
• Would you like to be able to provide additional security services for your remote offices?
• Are you looking to upgrade your existing security or add additional security to your network?
• Do you find the concept of having firewall, IPS, network antivirus, email security, and remote VPN capabilities in a single, manageable appliance compelling?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, we can help. Please contact your local Nexus Account Representative or visit www.nexusis.com.

Managed Services Organizational Benefits

Modern organizations rely on network applications more than ever before – and are ever-more vulnerable to the lost productivity and profitability that can result from a network outage. As the network becomes the platform for success in organizations of all sizes, the service and support needs are changing. While device-by-device support services provide excellent protection for individual devices, they cannot provide insight into the overall health and security of the network – or help organizations identify potential problems before they arise.

Nexus offers a portfolio of services that provide end-to-end support spanning every stage of the network lifecycle:

 

Cisco SMARTnet

Cisco SMARTnet Service is an award-winning technical support service that offers direct, anytime access to Cisco engineers and an extensive range of technical resources. SMARTnet delivers rapid issue resolution, flexible device-by-device coverage, and premium service options to help maximize operational efficiency.

 

Cisco ROS

Cisco Remote Operations Services (ROS) provides proactive monitoring and management practices to support availability, security, and reliability, all of which are critical to gaining financial and functional benefits from advanced technology investments.

Cisco ROS is a market-tested remote operations, monitoring, and management provider. The platform and solution are based on best-in-class experience, processes, and tools.

 

NexusCare

The NexusCare Managed Service is a customized support and monitoring solution designed to provide the critical expertise required to manage and resolve any system faults. Service Incidents are managed from notification to resolution. This service supplements your in-house staff to maintain system operations and performance levels.

Regardless of the size of your organization, Nexus offers the support expertise to help improve productivity, increase efficiency, and maximize the return on your network investment for the life of your network assets.

Collaboration Organizational Benefits

Collaboration supports today’s global, real-time organizations by promoting effective communication allowing people to meet at any time from anywhere. By integrating voice, video, and Web conferencing into everyday communications, organizations can expand their market reach, improve operational effectiveness, and speed decision making. The ability for all meeting participants to hear and contribute to the discussion, view other participants and read their body language, and share documents all contributes to effective remote meetings, whether the meeting is a sales demonstration, training application, project team meeting, or customer support interaction.

Nexus provides a variety of different collaboration choices for organizations. They include:

TelePresence

To improve this situation, Cisco has developed an innovative solution that creates an “in-person” meeting experience over the converged network. Cisco TelePresence delivers real-time, face-to-face interactions between people and places in their work and personal lives using advanced visual, audio, and collaboration technologies. These technologies transmit life-size, high-definition images and spatial discrete audio. Now it’s easier than ever to discern facial expressions for those crucial organizational discussions and negotiations across the “virtual table.”

WebEx

Meet online whenever you want with on-demand web conferencing. On-demand web conferencing has become the preferred communication medium for business today. By combining the ease of audio conferencing with the interactivity of video conferencing directly from your desktop, you create a truly personalized interactive experience. You can schedule meetings in advance or start an instant meeting with the click of your mouse. Send invitations via email or IM–you can even start the meeting from within our secure instant messenger.

MeetingPlace

The Cisco Unified MeetingPlace solution is deployed on-network and integrated with an organization’s private voice and data networks to help companies realize the cost-savings potential of converged IP networks. On-network deployment facilitates cost savings because organizations can use their IP network infrastructures to reduce conferencing-related transport costs. Because conferencing can account for up to 50 percent or more of a company’s overall voice traffic, keeping traffic on internal networks results in significant cost savings. On-network deployment also results in a secure meeting environment.

Data Infrastructure Benefits

An organization can derive a multitude of benefits when IT moves from its existing data center infrastructure to a state-of-the-art model that addresses the demands of today’s globally competitive environment. Almost immediately, it can realize cost savings for the IT department, based on administrative efficiencies, simply by eliminating systems that are under-utilized and require high levels of management overhead, as well as operational efficiencies based on more effective use of limited facilities.

For the organization as a whole, such an infrastructure provides a variety of benefits. When data is accessible beyond departmental silos, executives can discern a clearer picture of trends and patterns in the marketplace. Overall, a consolidated infrastructure enables smoother integration of data, which in turn promotes agility, resilience, and efficiency.

Nexus offers infrastructure architecture that allows organizations to protect critical applications and confidential data, enhance data center operational efficiencies, and rapidly create new secure application environments to support new business processes. The architecture allows organizations to invest more resources in IT initiatives that fuel growth through a consistent network foundation that enables substantial cost reductions in sustaining existing applications.