Cisco announces collaboration portfolio

BANGALORE, INDIA: Cisco today announced a new collaboration portfolio designed to help companies accelerate business processes, increase productivity and speed innovation.

The Cisco collaboration portfolio consists of Cisco Unified Communications, Cisco TelePresence and a new Web 2.0 application platform, all of which use the network as the platform to help enable people to connect, communicate and collaborate from any application, device and workspace.

The portfolio of unified communications, video and a Web 2.0 platform is designed to integrate with business applications, existing IT infrastructures and other Web services and to allow developers to create customized applications and network-based services.

“Collaboration is the next phase of the Internet, a phase that analysts see as a $34 billion market opportunity, and at the center of this phase is the network,” said Don Proctor, senior vice president, software group, Cisco.

According to Thomas Fenady, senior director, IT, Activision: “Having the right collaborative platform helps speed our decision making, increase productivity and improve relationships within the organization and with our customers and partners.”

With the network as the platform, the Cisco collaboration portfolio is designed to interoperate with business applications, communications devices and Web-based tools while allowing IT departments to maintain their mandates regarding security, policy and compliance, the company said.

The open architecture allows Cisco collaboration capabilities to be delivered to a range of devices including Windows and Mac OS desktops, and mobile phones running Symbian, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile operating system.

Financing Program for Cisco Unified Communications

Meanwhile, Cisco Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco, today announced the launch of its ‘Zero Percent Progress Payments Program’ for the Cisco Unified Communications system in the Asia Pacific region.

Designed to improve the affordability of unified communications solutions for Cisco partners and customers, the program is available until July 25, 2009, said a press release.

Under the financing program, customers can defer payments for up to 120 days, without interest, during their Cisco Unified Communications system deployment, and channel partners receive progress payments from Cisco Capital when installation milestones are reached.

“The unified communications market is experiencing tremendous growth in Asia Pacific as organizations have begun to understand the flexibility and power of the technology,” said Benny Lee, Cisco’s managing director of Unified Communications in Asia Pacific.

“With this program, both partners and customers are able to better manage expectations based on a structured deployment and payment schedule,” added Rajiv Menon, director of Cisco Capital in Asia Pacific.

The Zero Percent Progress Payments Program has been available in the United States and Canada for more than two years, he said.