October 2005 Your resource for access to Cisco AVVID news and information surrounding Cisco IP Communications Hello from Fran Hello! Are we providing a newsletter you can leverage? Do you scan the newsletter and find useful information? This newsletter is for YOU, the consultant community, as a resource of information, product announcements and news you can use. Please provide your input to information you would like included in the newsletter. Send a quick e-mail to: [email protected] so we can better serve your needs. Included this month you will find Cisco answering your clients’ needs for IPC management tools, which will also be the highlight of our Monthly Webinar on October 26th. The Cisco IP Phone 7961G and Cisco IP Phone 7941G are introduced providing higher-resolution, improved text and graphics. In addition, you will find Cisco success stories and major events that highlighted in the press. Plan to join us for the monthly Webinars: October 26, 2005 Cisco’s New IPC Management tools November 16, 2005 Cisco Connected Real Estate (managing Real Estate assets) Mark your calendars for the Fall Deep Dive series: November 11 and 18 December 2, 9 and 16 We are completing the Deep Dive topic list; please let us know the topic you would like to hear! Thank you for your interest in Cisco, we look forward to hearing from you! Safe travels! Fran Fran Blackburn Cisco Systems, Inc. IP Communications Consultant Liaison Program Manager Phone: 970-231-3391 [email protected] – Consultant HOTLINE CLP team members also here to assist you: Charlotte Woods: 901-753-3324 Denise Brittin: 972-813-1367 Page 1 of 12 Copyright © 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. Your resource for access to Cisco AVVID news and information surrounding Cisco IP Communications Contents HELLO FROM FRAN................................................................................................................................1 CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................................ 2 FEATURE STORY: CISCO’S NEW IPC MANAGEMENT TOOLS...................................................... 3 PRODUCT UPDATES ................................................................................................................................4 IPC VERTICAL SUCCESS STORIES ...................................................................................................... 6 CISCO IN THE NEWS ............................................................................................................................... 7 IPC IN THE NEWS ................................................................................................................................... 9 NORTH AMERICA NEWS .............................................................................................................. 10 NORTH AMERICA AVVID ACCESS – October 26, 2005 Webinar ............................................. 10 11 am Eastern, 10 am Central, 9 am Mountain, 8am Pacific.......................................................... 10 APAC NEWS ........................................................................................................................................ 11 TECHNICAL TIPS................................................................................................................................... 11 CUSTOMER IMPLEMENTATIONS........................................................................................................ 12 Cisco.com holds multiple customer stories available for review...................................................... 12 EVENTS ................................................................................................................................................... 12 CTCA, Canadian Telecommunication Consultants Association..................................................... 12 Cisco DEEP DIVES return in the Fall!............................................................................................... 12 CONSULTANT RESOURCE.................................................................................................................... 12 Page 2 of 12 Copyright © 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. Your resource for access to Cisco AVVID news and information surrounding IP Communications Feature Story: Cisco’s New IPC Management Tools Introducing: CiscoWorks IP Communications Operations Manager & Service Monitor More and more businesses today are migrating voice communications applications to their data network in order to reap the productivity and cost-saving benefits of a converged network. Unlike legacy PBX vendors that emphasize hybrid solutions, which ultimately limit the capabilities of the network, the flexible and scalable IP Communications System from Cisco provides customers the most immediate and comprehensive productivity-enhancing and cost-effective communications possible. As IP communications and data networks converge, network management has become essential. The converged network must be secure and resilient while providing significant and immediate productivity gains for voice and data management as well as end users. The IP communications solution must be easy to provision and easy to manage, increasing the IT staff productivity gains. In addition, because the IP communications solution is more than just voice and data, but rather a suite of voice applications, it is imperative that the IP communications management solution provide a dashboard view into the status of the entire solution. Cisco Systems recently announced the new CiscoWorks IP communications management solution that consists of two applications to meet these needs. The CiscoWorks IP Communications Operations Manager provides a unified view of the entire IP communications infrastructure and presents the current operational status of each element of the IP communications network. It continuously monitors the current operational status of different IP communications elements, such as Cisco CallManager, Cisco CallManager Express, Cisco Unity, Cisco Unity Express, Cisco IP Contact Center, gateways, routers, and phones, and provides diagnostic capabilities for faster trouble isolation and resolution. The IPC Operations Manager is the single dashboard view of the entire solution. CiscoWorks IP Communications Service Monitor provides a low-cost, reliable method of monitoring and evaluating the quality of IP communications-based telephony to optimize the user experience. It continuously monitors active calls and provides real-time notification if the voice quality of a call fails to meet a user-defined quality metric. By identifying the problem quickly, the Service Monitor makes it easy to debug in real time rather than long after the problem has occurred. Page 3 of 12 Copyright © 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. Your resource for access to Cisco AVVID news and information surrounding IP Communications The Service Monitor uses the Cisco 1040 sensor to collect information on active phone calls. The Cisco 1040 plugs into the span port on a switch and receives Power over Ethernet (POE) for operation. The 1040 sensor then configures itself and starts collecting information on phone calls. The Service Monitor provides alerts in real-time for calls that have exceeded user-defined thresholds— displaying mean opinion scores (MOS) and probable causes for the event. Together, the CiscoWorks IPC Operations Manager and the Service Monitor provide the tools needed for efficient and effective management of the entire IPC Solution. For more information, see our flash presentation at www.cisco.com/cdc_content_elements/flash/ipcomm/index.html Product Updates Introducing: Cisco IP Phone 7961G and 7941G The Cisco IP Phone 7961G and the Cisco IP Phone 7941G are now orderable, providing enhanced functionality for both managers and business workers, and integrating new features within our proven industrial design. The Cisco IP Phone 7961G and Cisco IP Phone 7941G include higher-resolution (320x222), 4-bit grayscale displays, enabling improved text and graphics display, along with a host of innovative productivity-driven applications to boost employee productivity, improve customer satisfaction, and greatly augment business processes. Both the Cisco IP Phone 7961G and Cisco IP Phone 7941G offer IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE) as a powering option. Features Include: • Higher resolution pixel-based 4-bit grayscale display for vivid text and graphics display • Back-lit buttons (six on Cisco IP Phone 7961G, two on Cisco IP Phone 7941G) for directory numbers or Speed Dial access. Dynamic tri-color buttons provide straightforward call state identification • IEEE 802.3af inline power (Class 2) plus continued support for Cisco inline power (may optionally use local power supply) • G.711 and G.729a audio compression • Background screen image selection. To learn more about Cisco IP Phone 7961G, click here. To learn more about Cisco IP Phone 7941G, click here. Page 4 of 12 Copyright © 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. Your resource for access to Cisco AVVID news and information surrounding IP Communications Introducing Cisco MobilityManager Server & Mobile Connect Service Adding to the industry-leading broad portfolio of Cisco IP Communications Solutions, The Cisco MobilityManager server and Mobile Connect service applications are now orderable. Cisco MobilityManager is the application server software that will deliver Mobile Connect, Mobile Voice Access and other mobility services. Cisco MobilityManager