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Wednesday, September 5, 2012

UPMC Invests in Intelligent Infrastructure with IBM to Support Vision of Personalized Medicine

Press release:

UPMC Invests in Intelligent Infrastructure with IBM to Support Vision of Personalized Medicine

Contract extends current project already yielding $191 million in savings

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ARMONK, New York - 05 Sep 2012: UPMC, one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, today announced the renewal of its agreement with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to continue enhancing computing and storage performance and reliability. UPMC’s new technology investment with IBM, valued at $120 million over the next four years, will support the healthcare system’s goal of changing the way that treatments are designed for individual patients by effectively using massive volumes of patient and research data.

Under the original agreement with IBM signed in 2005, UPMC saved or avoided costs of more than $191 million over six years, eliminating the need to create a new data center and supporting UPMC’s rapid growth. Under the new agreement, IBM and UPMC will continue to collaborate on the development of medical technologies that improve care and the patient experience and remain among the founding partners in the Center for Connected Medicine, a showcase for how technology can transform healthcare.

“UPMC is keenly focused on creating new models of effective and affordable care, supported by good science and smart technology. Extending our long partnership with IBM is a key part of that strategy,” said Chief Information Officer Daniel Drawbaugh.

IBM worked with UPMC to design a dynamic, virtualized technology infrastructure that shortened information backup times by 20 percent and recovery times by 50 percent. IBM’s expertise in storage and server virtualization allowed the re-engineered network to become more adaptable and flexible to meet expanding patient volume and data growth for UPMC’s more than 20 hospitals and 400 outpatient locations. The information technology infrastructure supports UPMC’s industry-leading electronic medical records system in which patient information — including tests, radiology images, allergies and medication lists — is always available to the medical team. A private cloud system also supports all mission-critical applications for UPMC, recently ranked 10^th in the nation among “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.

“UPMC has pioneered a new model for ensuring its information technology keeps pace with the challenging demands of healthcare,” said Dan Pelino, general manager, IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences. “With a focus on flexibility to meet the constantly changing demands of this progressive integrated healthcare delivery and financing system, UPMC's technology infrastructure plays an important role in delivering the highest quality of care, safety and efficiency.”

IBM Global Technology Services will provide support and services over the term of the contract.

UPMC’s virtualized infrastructure is built on IBM BladeCenter and Power System servers, andIBM XIV storage systems.

About IBM

For more information, please visit www.ibm.com/smarterplanet

Join in the discussion on the Smarter Healthcare LinkedIn Group

Watch our videos at www.youtube.com/ibmhealthcare

About UPMC

UPMC is a $10 billion global health enterprise with more than 55,000 employees headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., and is transforming health care by integrating more than 20 hospitals, 400 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, a health insurance services division, and international and commercial services. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC ranked No. 10 in the prestigious U.S. News & World Report annual Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals in 2012—and No. 1 in Pennsylvania—with 15 adult specialty areas ranked for excellence. UPMC is redefining health care by using innovative science, technology and medicine to invent new models of accountable, cost-efficient and patient-centered care. For more information on how UPMC is taking medicine from where it is to where it needs to be, go to UPMC.com.

IBM Accelerates Smarter Commerce through Intelligent Guided Customer Experience

Press release:

IBM Accelerates Smarter Commerce through Intelligent Guided Customer Experience

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ORLANDO - 05 Sep 2012: At the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced new software and services designed to help Chief Marketing Officers (CMO), Chief Procurement Officers (CPO) and other key line-of-business executives realize quicker business results by delivering intelligence guided customer experiences, across all digital channels, aligned to the buying and shopping preferences of each individual

With today’s news, IBM expands its Smarter Commerce initiative with new cloud-based software and services that allow businesses to immediately put the customer at the center of their operations in order to drive revenue and ensure sustainable brand loyalty. This includes:

· IBM Marketing Center, an IBM SmartCloud Solution that integrates digital analytics with real-time marketing execution capabilities into a single solution that allows CMOs to better meet customer needs by quickly analyzing customer shopping patterns and turning these insights into intelligent offers that are personalized to each person.

· A new Smarter Commerce managed services offering that helps clients more rapidly and effectively deploy and manage their ecommerce environments.

· A new offering for Strategic Supply Management, available on-premises and as a SmartCloud solution that speeds and improves supplier governance, risk and compliance.

With the new offerings introduced today, IBM provides customers with automation and intelligence while accelerating and improving marketing, sales, customer service, procurement and supply chain management.

IBM currently analyzes more than $100 billion in commerce transactions per year in the cloud. Current IBM customers that have embraced cloud-based Smarter Commerce offerings include RadioShack, Bank of Montreal and Urban Outfitters.

New Marketing, eCommerce Capabilities for CMOs

According to IBM’s State of Marketing survey, 48 percent of marketers believe that improved technology infrastructure will enable them to better meet the needs of customers, who are increasingly interacting with brands via multiple channels. For example, over the recent back to school shopping season, 15.7 percent of online sales took place via a mobile device in July and 15.4 percent in August.

IBM’s new Marketing Center combines digital analytics and real-time marketing execution in a single integrated offering that can easily be deployed without taxing the resources of the chief information officer (CIO). Once live, marketers can turn data provided by customers into personalized offers via email or website personalization (including the mobile web), all with just a few clicks.

Through these capabilities CMOs consistently deliver exceptional experiences that are in line with the wants and needs of each individual. To ensure ongoing success, the application provides automated marketing tracking, digital and campaign analytics that measure the effectiveness of marketing efforts which can be adjusted in real time if necessary.

For example, while an individual frequently visits a retailer’s mobile website and identifies items of interest, they consistently fail to complete their purchase. Through its automated capabilities, CMOs and their team can quickly identify this trend and, with just a few clicks, re-engage the customer by sending a coupon for 10 percent off specific items and also presenting them with a personalized website that reflects their unique interests.

"Given today's empowered customers that are digitally connected 24/7, we see it as a top priority to provide our customers with the best possible experience in every interaction," said Laura Symspon-Cornelius, director of Web Analytics from Office Depot. "The idea behind the new IBM Marketing Center, to combine digital analytics and real-time marketing execution in a single application, is very compelling for making that task easier."

In another instance, a CMO of a bank can analyze two campaigns simultaneously to determine the effectiveness of each overall and with specific groups and customer segments. With this information, the marketing team can determine in real-time which campaign best meets the needs of each customer in order to ensure the best experience possible.

“Customers today are connecting with brands on multiple fronts, including mobile devices, social media sites and in the store. Regardless of the channel, these individuals expect each experience to be flawless and relevant,” said Yuchun Lee, vice president, IBM Enterprise Marketing Management. “With the IBM Marketing Center, we expand our SaaS portfolio with an all-in-one solution that provides CMOs and their teams with the intelligence required to consistently meet the unique needs of each individual customer -- the ultimate goal of all marketers.”

To further enhance the entire shopping experience, IBM also today introduced Smarter Commerce Managed Services, a new set of services from its Global Process Services (GPS) group. The service augments IBM’s software and global business services offerings with full-scale business, process, and IT managed services to help business executives deploy and manage cross-channel commerce processes, especially providing the human interaction components of eCommerce, such as needing agent chat support or live assistance. In this way, companies are able to more quickly and effectively interconnect their multiple commerce channels to speed business results.

New Software for CPOs Rapidly Reduces Spend and Risk

In addition to the CMO, the demands of the empowered customer have put additional pressure on CPOs to further reduce spend with suppliers and improve risk management. In an environment where an average 50 percent of the value of a product comes from suppliers, managing supply costs and risks plays a critical role in meeting the needs of the empowered customer¹.

With IBM's new Emptoris Strategic Supply Management, CPOs are given complete visibility and control over spending, contracts, service providers and supplier intelligence and processes. The new version also improves supplier governance, risk and compliance with enhanced information management and workflow capabilities. In addition, IBM has enhanced procurement analytics for contract compliance and improved program accountability for suppliers, categories and regions.

“Building a world-class procurement organization involves people, process and technology. BP Lubricants has built its procurement operations with high-quality people and processes,” said Mark Edwards, Chemicals procurement manager, at BP Lubricants. “The use of advanced sourcing technology from IBM has enabled our Lubricants procurement team to gain greater control over global spend and market data. The solution empowers us to realize the best value, not just the best price, from a supply base by factoring multiple performance drivers into decision-making.”

Streamlining the supply chain, from materials sourcing to product delivery, are as critical to meeting customer expectations as the outward-facing marketing and sales departments. For example, IBM is helping global brewer Anheuser-Busch (AB InBev) streamline supplier sourcing and contract management in the cloud with IBM Emptoris solutions. This will enable the company to achieve significant breakthroughs in supply chain visibility that reduces risk, lowers costs and accelerates business results.

Prepackaged Best Practices Speed Client Deployment

The IBM Smarter Commerce Workbench is an asset repository that helps IBM accelerate the adoption of solutions for Smarter Commerce. The workbench captures implementation best practices, assets and knowledge that can be shared globally with other project teams to help improve the speed and quality of solution building. This enables clients to get faster business results from their solutions.

For more information on IBM Smarter Commerce, visit:http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

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To join the conversation, follow hashtags #smartercommerce and #IBMSCGS

[1]“Cross Industry Report of Standard Benchmarks,” published by CAPS Research, July 2012

Monday, August 20, 2012

IBM Opens Natural Resources Industry Solutions Lab in Brazil

Press release:

IBM Opens Natural Resources Industry Solutions Lab in Brazil

Lab to accelerate development of environmental, intelligent resource extraction and real-time analytics solutions

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São Paulo - 20 Aug 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the opening of its Natural Resources Industry Solutions Lab (NRIS Lab) in Sao Paulo, Brazil to help mining, oil and gas companies use innovative technology to meet the operational, environmental and supply demands facing the industry today.

The new software development lab will be located in São Paulo but will have a national scope to service Brazil’s growing natural resources industry. The lab will be connected to a global network of labs and industry solution centers enabling teams to share knowledge and expertise with local clients. The operations of NRIS Lab will be integrated with other existing local IBM facilities including IBM Research – Brazil, focusing on development; and the Natural Resources Solution Center, focusing on the development of solutions and interaction with clients.

Today there is greater demand than ever for natural resources, yet the availability of our planet's natural reserves is dwindling. Cost cutting is maxed and prices, competition and risk keep rising. Natural resources companies are looking for greater visibility over their entire enterprise, insight into financial impact of operating decisions, and the ability to know, evaluate and respond in real time.

This lab, the first of its kind in Brazil, will focus on the development of automated solutions to help natural resources companies tackle these challenges.

“Making innovative technology rapidly available to help our clients is a key priority for IBM and this initiative is aligned with our strategy to strengthen this capability to help clients. We’ll combine technical and scientific potential to offer world-class projects as well as leveraging research, development and support from market specialists,” said Fábio Scopeta, Director, Software Lab, IBM Brazil.

According to Ulisses Mello, Natural Resources Executive, IBM Research - Brazil, the project will help companies adopt state-of-the-art technologies already in place in foreign markets. “Operations will build on an environmental focus, intelligent resource extraction, real-time analytics and big data management for the collection of valuable data.

“The goal is to enable technology-driven operations and leverage predictive analytics, helping companies improve their natural resource extraction capabilities,” says the executive. The initiative will make available to clients a comprehensive set of projects spanning the entire IBM portfolio, from consulting to development.

Natural Resources Solution Center (NRSC)

IBM has established Natural Resources Solutions Centers (NRSC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil opened in March 2011 and Perth Australia, opened in June 2010 with the objective to help companies in the oil, gas and mining industries to speed up the adoption of innovative technology and business strategies.

NRSC works as a showcase of IBM solutions, where clients can experience hands-on demos of leading-edge technologies for the oil & gas and mining industries. The new São Paulo lab will focus on software R&D to create a specialized portfolio for this industry, which will be available at the NRSC in the form of demos.

About IBM

For more information about IBM’s offerings to the oil and gas, as well as mining industries, visit: www.ibm.com/industries.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

MIAX to Offer High Performance Trading Platform Built On Cisco Ultra-low Latency Intelligent Network

PRESS RELEASE

MIAX to Offer High Performance Trading Platform Built On Cisco Ultra-low Latency Intelligent Network

Princeton, NJ and San Jose, Calif. – August 16, 2012 – Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC ("MIAX") announced today that it has selected Cisco's ultra-low latency intelligent network infrastructure for the trading platform of the MIAX Options Exchange, a fully-electronic options exchange planning to commence operations in late September 2012, subject to SEC approval. MIAX's experienced technology team worked closely with Cisco Channel Partner, Continental Resources Inc., to develop an intelligent networking infrastructure to meet the unique demands of a high-speed trading environment. As a result, the MIAX Options Exchange trading platform was designed from the ground up to address the highly secure, functional and high performance demands of the derivatives market.

Key Highlights:

Being built on Cisco's networking infrastructure will enable the MIAX Options Exchange trading platform to provide extremely high performance, best in class customer interfaces for a better customer experience, and state-of-the-art monitoring, systems security and automated continuous testing to ensure high reliability of network infrastructure.
Cisco's networking infrastructure will facilitate co-location in dual data centers, and allow MIAX POP's (Point of Presence) to be available for routing to a third disaster recovery data center. It will also enable a software architecture that results in minimizing the demands on power, space, and cooling while allowing for rapid scalability, resiliency and fault isolation.
Cisco Nexus 3000 and Nexus 5000 series switches will enable the MIAX Options Exchange trading platform to offer protection, high performance and exceptional throughput to deliver a high quality customer experience.
Cisco Nexus 3000 series switches offer Layer 2/Layer 3 switching at ultra-low latencies to deliver an extremely high performance infrastructure for high speed trading workloads, and in the process consume less power and support multiple connectivity, which will reduce the cost and size of the MIAX's data center footprint.

Supporting Quotes:

Frank Ziegler, senior vice president of Systems Infrastructure at MIAX
"After a rigorous evaluation of industry-leading vendors and testing in our data center, we found that the technological capabilities and roadmap offered by the Cisco Nexus 3000 ultra-low latency network infrastructure were perfectly aligned to support the high speed trading requirements of the MIAX Options Exchange. The Cisco Nexus 3000 and Nexus 5000 based intelligent network infrastructure created a stable, reliable network, which is essential to the value that the MIAX Options trading platform will bring to the traders on our exchange."

David Yen, senior vice president of Data Center Group at Cisco
"Cisco is focused on transforming how the network drives business innovation. We developed the Cisco Nexus 3000 switching series to provide high speed trading environments with a highly secure, high performance, ultra-low latency reliable network platform. By delivering Cisco's intelligent high performance network infrastructure as part of its options trading platform, the MIAX Options Exchange is providing a trading platform with the proper protections, latency, and throughput to give its trading community a competitive advantage."

Additional Resources:

For further information regarding the MIAX Options Exchange including key milestone dates, member on-boarding and technology requirements
please visit www.MIAXOptions.com or contact MIAX Trading Operations atTradingOperations@MIAXOptions.com.
Cisco Solutions: Cisco Ultra-Low Latency, High-Density Layer 2/3 Switches
Follow Cisco on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Tags/Keywords: High Frequency Trading, Miami International Holding, MIAX, Networking, Cisco, Nexus 5000, Nexus 3000, Nexus switch, Data Center

RSS Feed for Cisco: http://newsroom.cisco.com/rss-feeds

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com/. For ongoing news, please go tohttp://newsroom.cisco.com/.

About Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC
Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC (MIAX) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH). MIAX has assembled a team with deep rooted experience in developing, operating and trading on options exchanges. The initial focus of MIH is to leverage management's expertise and relationships in the equity options space to launch the MIAX Options Exchange. MIAX intends to launch the MIAX Equities Exchange once the MIAX Options Exchange is operational and plans to pursue Latin American equity listings. The launch of the MIAX Options Exchange and the MIAX Equities Exchange is subject to SEC approval. The vision for the MIAX Equities Exchange is to become a marketplace that enables access to the Latin American markets, a place where global Hispanic entrepreneurs can seek capital and growth opportunities, and an exchange where Latin American companies will want to be listed. MIAX believes that Miami is the ideal location for taking advantage of the rapidly developing business opportunities emanating from the Americas and that Latin American companies will be interested in listing on the MIAX because of its presence in Miami. The MIAX Futures Exchange is also planned as a follow-on initiative. The launch of the MIAX Futures Exchange is subject to CFTC approval.

Disclaimer and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities of MIH, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer; solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical or current facts of MIH, together with its subsidiaries, including MIAX (the "Company"). Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the possible or assumed future results of operations of the Company; the competitive position of the Company; potential growth opportunities available to the Company; the expectation with respect to securities, options and future markets and general economic conditions; the effects of competition on the Company's business; and the impact of future legislation and regulatory changes on the Company's business. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.

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MIAX to Offer High Performance Trading Platform Built On Cisco Ultra-low Latency Intelligent Network

PRESS RELEASE

MIAX to Offer High Performance Trading Platform Built On Cisco Ultra-low Latency Intelligent Network

Being built on Cisco's networking infrastructure will enable the MIAX Options Exchange trading platform to provide extremely high performance, best in class customer interfaces for a better customer experience, and state-of-the-art monitoring, systems security and automated continuous testing to ensure high reliability of network infrastructure.
Cisco's networking infrastructure will facilitate co-location in dual data centers, and allow MIAX POP's (Point of Presence) to be available for routing to a third disaster recovery data center. It will also enable a software architecture that results in minimizing the demands on power, space, and cooling while allowing for rapid scalability, resiliency and fault isolation.
Cisco Nexus 3000 and Nexus 5000 series switches will enable the MIAX Options Exchange trading platform to offer protection, high performance and exceptional throughput to deliver a high quality customer experience.
Cisco Nexus 3000 series switches offer Layer 2/Layer 3 switching at ultra-low latencies to deliver an extremely high performance infrastructure for high speed trading workloads, and in the process consume less power and support multiple connectivity, which will reduce the cost and size of the MIAX's data center footprint.

Additional Resources:

For further information regarding the MIAX Options Exchange including key milestone dates, member on-boarding and technology requirements
please visit www.MIAXOptions.com or contact MIAX Trading Operations atTradingOperations@MIAXOptions.com.
Cisco Solutions: Cisco Ultra-Low Latency, High-Density Layer 2/3 Switches
Follow Cisco on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Disclaimer and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Nuance's XT9 Simplifies Text Input on Sharp AQUOS TVs

Nuance's Successful Predictive Text Input Lets People Quickly and Easily Find and Discover TV Content; Days of Painstakingly Entering a Search Letter by Letter via Remote Control are Over

Burlington, Mass. – August 14, 2012 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced that the Sharp AQUOS TV ASIA features intelligent text input powered by Nuance’s XT9, optimized for IPTVs. With XT9, Sharp AQUOS ASIA consumers experience a simpler way to find web content and navigate menus.

Today’s IPTV experience provides consumers with seemingly limitless contents and entertainment options; but, traditional remote controls make it difficult to navigate menus and search the web – and nearly impossible to discover new content. Nuance’s XT9 predictive input technology automatically completes likely search terms after only a few characters are entered, changing the way people engage their traditional remote controls to enter complete words and phrases. XT9 for TV features word correction and auto punctuation, and lets people easily alternate between numbers, letters and symbols.

XT9 supports over 80 languages worldwide, and is available alongside Nuance’s successful Dragon TV voice and natural language understanding platform to provide TV manufacturers with the ability to offer consumers a flexible, multimodal voice and touch connected TV experience.

“There’s a new revolution underway around the digital living room search experience,” said Michael Thompson, executive vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. “Consumers demand the ability to quickly get to the content they love, and easily discover new entertainment options.”

Availability

Sharp’s 2012 AQUOS IPTV ASIA featuring Nuance’s XT9 will begin shipping in August 2012, supporting English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Farsi and Arabic. For more details on Sharp’s AQUOS TV portfolio and availability visit www.aquos-world.com/en/.

To learn more about XT9, Dragon TV and Nuance Mobile’s broad portfolio of voice and touch innovations, visitwww.nuancemobilelife.com.

About Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of voice and language solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Cisco and CTM Collaborate at Macau Cloud Solution Day Showcasing the New Era of Cloud Computing

PRESS RELEASE

Cisco and CTM Collaborate at Macau Cloud Solution Day Showcasing the New Era of Cloud Computing

Cisco Introduces CloudVerse to Address Growing Importance of Cloud Computing

MACAU & HONG KONG, March 23, 2012 – At the Macau Cloud Solution Day, held today at the Grand Hyatt Macau, Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking, and CTM, Macau's leading telecom operator, further collaborated to unveil new cloud computing technologies, bringing an upsurge in innovation to the information technology (IT) industry. Themed "New Era of Cloud Computing", the event marked the launch of Cisco® CloudVerse and the furthering of the collaboration between CTM and Cisco with the preview of CTM's new cloud-based value-added services – the Cloud Infrastructure Service and "Business Talk" Unified Communication Service – facilitating Macau's march towards a new era of cloud computing.

The cloud is dramatically transforming business IT and consumer services. In the inaugural Cisco Global Cloud Index(2010-2015), Cisco estimates global cloud computing traffic will grow 12-fold from 130 exabytes to reach a total of 1.6 zettabytes annually by 2015 – the equivalent of 22 trillion hours of streaming music or 1.6 trillion hours of online high-definition (HD) video streaming. The study also predicts that over 50 percent of computing workloads in data centers will be cloud-based by 2014. Cloud is becoming a critical element for the future of IT, and in addressing today's business demands for agility, continuity and security amid a dynamic economic ecosystem.

Cisco CloudVerse, a framework that combines the foundational elements needed to enable organizations to build, manage and connect public, private and hybrid clouds, can address the growing importance of cloud computing. It responds to the prevalence of cloud computing in a world of many clouds. CloudVerse combines three key cloud elements – Unified Data Center, Cloud Intelligent Network, and Cloud Applications and Services – enabling businesses to realize all of the benefits of the cloud: improved agility, better economics, enhanced security and a dynamic, assured experience.

Core Elements of Cisco CloudVerse:

Unified Data Center changes the economics of the cloud infrastructure by providing a fabric-based platform automating the "as a service" model across physical and virtual environments, and is designed to scale with business demands by flexibly allocating resources within and between data centers using unified computing and unified fabric.

Cloud Intelligent Network provides a consistent and highly secure user experience wherever the user is located and across the multiple clouds involved in delivering an application or service.

Cloud Applications and Services enable "as a service" delivery of both Cisco and third-party cloud applications.

"With CloudVerse, Cisco is committed to helping businesses accelerate their cloud success and realize the full potential of the cloud. We look forward to working closely with CTM on its journey to the cloud as a progression from our long-term collaboration," said Barbara Chiu, general manager, Cisco Hong Kong and Macau. "Cisco uniquely enables the world of many clouds – connecting people, communities and organizations with a business-class cloud user experience for the next-generation Internet. This next step in our collaboration will empower CTM and Macau's transition to the new era of cloud computing."

With Cisco's innovative technologies and extensive experience in cloud computing and CTM's well-established high-speed network facilities, CTM's cloud based value-added services – Cloud Infrastructure Service and "Business Talk" Unified Communication Service – were introduced and showcased in a live demonstration session at today's event.

"CTM is excited about this further solid collaboration with Cisco. We believe Cisco is the top provider in the industry which caters to our cloud computing needs, dynamically scaling IT resources and making applications and services easier than ever to access," said Vandy Poon, chief executive officer, CTM. "The strengths of both parties create an effective synergy which makes possible the development of cloud based value-added services, continuing to help businesses develop effective strategies for rapid business expansion and supporting the rapid economic development of Macau."

Cloud Infrastructure Service

Powered by the Cisco Unified Communication System™ (Cisco UCS™) and Cisco Nexus® switches, the Cloud Infrastructure Service represents a new consumption model for the use of IT resources, with network, storage and computing resources delivered in a virtualized environment as a service.

Flexible delivery of resources. The Cloud Infrastructure Service enables a resource pooling infrastructure, with dynamic on-demand utility based characteristics and highly flexible management. The pooled IT resources can be flexibly scaled up or down on demand to better align with current and future business needs. The service enables businesses to connect to the required computing resources in a very short amount of time, anytime and anywhere. The hassle of purchasing and deploying computing resources in a traditional approach with long lead time is now eliminated.

Reduced operational cost. By purchasing a compute capability "as a service", the Cloud Infrastructure Service reduces up-front capital investment in computing infrastructure and ongoing hardware upgrade and maintenance expenses including electricity and cooling expenses. The on-demand model allows businesses to purchase the required compute capability based on service consumed and data volume. This is particularly beneficial for SMBs as they can access a business-grade IT infrastructure with a simple monthly subscription plan.

"Business Talk" Unified Communication Service

With CTM's cloud service platform and Cisco Unified Communications Manager and full-featured Cisco IP Phone, the upcoming "Business Talk" service is an intelligent, enterprise-grade business telephony solution designed to address the sophisticated communications needs of today's businesses. The new service provides a unified business communication and collaboration experience that delivers voice services via multiple devices including business phones, desktop computers, notebooks and smartphones.

Enhanced mobility and business efficiency. Apart from the traditional telephony features, the "Business Talk" service provides HD voice, fixed-mobile convergence and mobility extension capabilities, which address the demand for high connectivity with greater mobility. Utilizing one single number, the service enables businesses to extend business voice to mobile phones and a unified communications platform. Users can also extend their mobility and save on roaming charges when calling from overseas via a Wi-Fi connected mobile device. "Business Talk" is a cost-effective, cross-platform unified communications service with distinctive capabilities, which helps facilitate business communications and collaboration.

Supporting Resources

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Monday, March 19, 2012

Serbian Postal Savings Bank Deploys Cisco Connected Physical Security Solutions

PRESS RELEASE

Serbian Postal Savings Bank Deploys Cisco Connected Physical Security Solutions

In Addition to Physical Security, Several of the Bank's Key Functions, Including Call Center, Data Center and Stock Trading System Run on Cisco Intelligent Network and Cisco Unified Computing System

Related Information

Serbian Postal Savings Bank headquarters in Belgrade, Serbia

Serbian Postal Bank deploys video surveillance from Cisco

BELGRADE, Serbia, March 19, 2012 – Cisco today announced that Serbia's biggest retail bank, Banka Postanska Stedionica (Serbian Postal Savings Bank), has implemented a Cisco® Connected Physical Security Solution at its headquarters in Belgrade and across a network of over 40 branches in Serbia.

With the Internet Protocol (IP) network, video streams from any branch can be monitored from a PC in the central office or any other branch on the network. In addition to physical security, the bank is using the Cisco Borderless Network Architecture and Cisco Unified Computing System^TM to integrate data and voice communication, customer relationship management and data center on a single, intelligent and highly secure network platform.

Key Facts, Highlights:

With more than 2 million customers and 1,500 employees, Banka Postanska Stedionica is a state-owned financial services group that has successfully completed several acquisitions over the past years. This, however, has meant that physical security systems, including video surveillance, had little standardization and were based on a variety of traditional closed-circuit TV (CCTV) solutions from different vendors, with only a small proportion attached to networked video recorders. Monitoring and maintenance had to be done at a branch level, which was far from efficient and, with little automation, relied on people being able to recognize and respond to events. It also made it virtually impossible to support a coordinated incident response.

The objective of the bank was to replace its legacy analog systems with an end-to-end, branchwide surveillance system, thus improving the protection of clients and employees, making operation more efficient, and reducing costs.

Banka Postanska Stedionica is using its Cisco Borderless Network Architecture with Cisco Integrated Services Routers as the foundation for physical security. The network connects 400 cameras, most of them high-resolution digital Cisco IP video surveillance cameras placed both indoors and outdoors.
Cisco Video Surveillance Media Servers are used at the bank's headquarters and all branches to collect and route video from the cameras and encoders over the IP network. They also offer video archive capabilities, event tagging and bandwidth management for both live distribution and historical recording. Both live and recorded video content is virtually available to all authorized security personnel. Also, certain alarm and sensor systems are integrated so that events that trigger alarms can be matched with the video content.

Com-4T doo, a Cisco Premier Certified Partner in Serbia, designed and installed a video surveillance management platform, including servers, archiving, and monitoring software. Com-4T also provided training for users.

Supporting Quotes:

Dragisa Lojanica, head of IT, Banka Postanska Stedionica

"The value of the solution became evident soon after it was switched on. In one of our branches, a cashier accidentally gave a customer an overpayment of 20,000 Serbian dinars (about $275) and the video recording helped identify where the transaction had been made and to efficiently rectify it. Cisco and Com-4T doo experts had an in-depth understanding of our need to create a modern and efficient security surveillance infrastructure, while reducing our total costs by reusing equipment where appropriate. We now have a sound and flexible foundation for the future. As a next step, we are considering the integration of access control based on the network foundation."

Geetha Dabir, vice president, Physical Security Business Unit, Cisco

"The need to protect critical assets is driving the demand for a more efficient use of physical security technologies powered by next-generation services. With the deployment of Cisco connected physical security solutions including Cisco Video Surveillance Media Servers, Banka Postanska Stedionica is helping to ensure that its customers and employees are protected, while streamlining operations, improving business efficiency and cutting costs."

Tags, Keywords: Cisco, Banka Postanska Stedionica, physical security, video surveillance, borderless network

RSS Feed for Cisco: http://newsroom.cisco.com/rss-feeds

Supporting resources:

To learn more, visit Cisco Physical Security: www.cisco.com/go/physec
Cisco Video Surveillance Media Server
Cisco Safety and Security Solutions
Medianet-enabled IP Video Surveillance
Cisco IP Interoperability & Collaboration System (IPICS)
Cisco Video Surveillance Manager Suite

Video:

Serbian Postal Bank deploys video surveillance from Cisco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_uiABWrcdo

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Wednesday, September 5, 2012