Shenzhen-based Proview had claimed that it owned the rights to the iPad name in the Chinese market.

Apple insisted that it bought the global rights to the iPad name from Proview in 2009, but Proview claimed it owned the rights to the iPad name in China after registering it in 2000. A Chinese court ruled in December that Proview still owned the name in China.

The dispute resulted in iPads being pulled off the shelves in some parts of China. Proview went further and sought a ban on the sale of the iPad in Shanghai, but the move was rejected by the courts.

A court in the Chinese province of Guangdong had asked the two firms to reach a settlement.

“The iPad dispute resolution is ended,” the Guangdong High People’s Court said in a statement. “Apple Inc. has transferred $60 million to the account of the Guangdong High Court as requested in the mediation letter.”

The settlement is good news for Apple because it removes a potential obstacle for the company to sell its iPad tablet in China, which is Apple’s second-largest market after the United States.

Apple had bought the global rights to the “iPad” trademark from Proview’s Taiwanese affiliate for $55,000. However, Proview had argued that its Taiwanese affiliate did not have the rights to sell the rights for the China.

Apple has yet to announce a China release date for the iPad 3, but the Chinese telecommunications equipment certification agency approved the tablet in May.

Apple ran into a similar dispute before it launched the iPhone in 2007. The networking hardware company, Cisco Systems Inc., had owned the trademark since 2000 and used it for its Internet-connected desk phones. After Cisco dragged Apple to court, the two companies reached an undisclosed settlement to pave the way for the launch of the smartphone.

Multiven has accused Cisco of espionage, claiming that the networking giant stole thousands of its files.

The Zurich-based IT services company has had a long and often fractious relationship with Cisco. It has sued the networking giant repeatedly – in the U.S. in 2008 and in Switzerland last year – claiming that Cisco’s bundling of network maintenance service plans amounted to an abuse of monopoly. So far, the suits have proven unsuccessful. Cisco also countersued, claiming Multiven CEO Peter Alfred-Adekeye (a former Cisco employee) had broken into its systems and stolen software. Alfred-Adekeye was even arrested at one point, which he claimed was all Cisco’s doing (Cisco denied involvement).

And now Multiven has filed complaints with both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Swiss Cybercrime Coordination Unit, alleging “the theft of thousands of its proprietary and copyrighted data files from its knowledge base, mysolvr.com”. Multiven also claims that this alleged unlawful access “put undue load on Multiven’s server resulting in a degraded service for its legitimate users and customers”.

According to Multiven, the files were stolen using “automated cyber scraping software”, and an internal investigation traced the attack back to IP addresses assigned to Cisco over in California. Customer and user passwords were apparently not taken.

Multiven is looking for a public apology from Cisco, with a deadline of 5pm PT on March 29. If that’s not forthcoming, it says it will launch a civil suit. Here’s what Alfred-Adekeye had to say in a statement:

“Based on the fact that the source IP addresses of these systematic and premeditated theft of Multiven’s intellectual property by Cisco Systems originated from Cisco’s headquarters in San Jose, California, it is clear that Cisco CEO John T. Chambers and General Counsel Mark Chandler or people under their control instigated these thefts. Per standard operating procedure, we have reported these breaches to law enforcement but we will refrain from seeking a civil redress if Cisco issues a public apology immediately and the assurance that none of the stolen data has been used for its advantage and it has now all been deleted.”

Cisco denies the claims entirely:

“This is yet another false accusation from Multiven, and we strongly reject this claim. The only access that Cisco has ever had to Multiven content is through its website, which is readily available to the general public.

Further, it’s important to note that Multiven’s CEO is currently under federal indictment in the U.S. for behavior – including stealing Cisco software in violation of the federal Anti-Hacking Statute – similar to their own

Cisco Systems has revealed that it would acquire SolveDirect, a privately held enterprise software company based in Vienna, Austria to boost Cisco’s growing portfolio of products for cloud computing environments.The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Cisco is the No. 1 maker of computer networking gear such as switches and routers and has been building up its software business through mostly small acquisitions of software companies that deal in cloud computing, a system that lets companies access their data and apps over the Internet “cloud.” Other tech giants that aim to sell a broad range of products and services to enterprises, such asIBM and Oracle also are expanding their cloud efforts.

Acquiring SolveDirect will help push Cisco’s move into the cloud, Hilton Romanski, Cisco’s head of global mergers and acquisitions, said in a company blog post on Monday.

“The move toward multi-sourcing and cloud services is accelerating the development of large ecosystems of companies that need to share data in a secure and scalable way,” he wrote. “SolveDirect’s cloud-based solutions offer enterprises and service providers a flexible way to integrate with service partners and automate sharing of processes, data and work flows in real-time by eliminating manual practices and bottlenecks, driving significant operational efficiencies.”

Credit: Investors.com

Vodacom South Africa has embarked on a drive to help empower unemployed youth with ICT skills training in a bid to help tackle skills development and job creation within the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

Through its Mobile Education programme in partnership with Cisco and MICT-Seta Vodacom kicked-off a youth development project at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), Port Elizabeth. The partnership aims to train unemployed youth in ICT skills and to further develop them into ICT entrepreneurs.

“This is Vodacom’s contribution towards the creation of skills development and job creation opportunities for unemployed youth. It is premised on concept that the more skilled the youth are, the greater their opportunity for employment. We know that Cisco technical skills are some of the most sought after skills in the ICT industry” Vodacom Chief Officer: Corporate Affairs, Maya Makanjee said

The training will impart skills in A+, N+ and 3G connectivity for a period of six months. The project will train and develop 15 ICT entrepreneurs in each of the nine Vodacom ICT resource centre situated in all the provinces. The total number of trainees will be 135. All participants’ stipend and accommodation will be paid for by Vodacom. On entrepreneurial skills, the training will run for a period of six months and will focus on empowering the youth with business skills.

The Vodacom youth skills development project focuses in particular on helping nurture skills needed in the ICT industry, with the potential for beneficiaries to be offered practical experience that will include projects such as ICT installation in schools, providing connectivity in schools and rural areas. Trainees will also be used in the technical support for the schools that are part of the Vodacom Mobile Education programme.

Credit: IT News Africa.

Cisco has announced a deal to buy UK-based small-cell specialist Ubiquisys for $310 million as it expand its offering of intelligent services for wireless service providers. The deal is slated to close before August — when Cisco reports its fourth quarter fiscal 2013 results — and the company will pay cash and retention-based incentives as part of the deal. The Ubiquisys team will be integrated into Cisco’s service provider mobility group.

This will help strengthen its mobility business by enabling service providers and operators to enjoy better quality-of-service for their mobile Internet network in indoor locations. Ubiquisys develops small-cell network technology that helps improve mobile Internet services for devices indoors by delivering a strong signal across a short range. That boost helps improve voice and data service, allowing customer to enjoy a better experience and operators to get more from their network.

Ubiquisys works with operators by providing its cell networks, hardware platforms, delivery systems and providing small-cell/femtocell consultancy and advice.

“As mobile service providers around the world increase voice and data capacity to serve the rapidly growing use of Internet-enabled devices, offloading traffic to small-cell networks is a cost-effective way to increase capacity and make better use of spectrum assets,” the Cisco announcement explains.

Cisco explains that, with its existing mobile services and experience with Wi-Fi networks, the addition of Ubiquisys will help strengthen the “intelligence layer” that it provides across wireless networks for service providers.

“Cisco is ‘doubling down’ on its small-cell business to accelerate strong momentum and growth in the mobility market,” said Kelly Ahuja, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco Mobility Business Group. “By acquiring Ubiquisys, we are expanding on our current mobility leadership and our end-to-end product portfolio.”

Credit: TNW

NAIROBI, Kenya, 28th November 2013 – Cloud computing uptake is about to explode in Africa’s major economies, as businesses gain confidence in both the security and reliability of the Cloud. This was the key finding of the Cloud in Africa: Reality Check 2013 research study, released today by World Wide Worx and Cisco. The study was conducted among a small but representative sample of senior information technology decision-makers in medium-sized and large companies in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

Survey Key Findings:

• The most significant finding from the study was that, while South Africa currently leads the continent in Cloud uptake, it is about to be overtaken – dramatically – by Nigeria.
• In 2013, 50% South African medium and large businesses are using Cloud services; while a slightly lower proportion – 48% – are using the Cloud in Kenya. Nigeria lag’s substantially behind, with only 36% of businesses there currently using the Cloud.
• A significant 44% of Nigerian businesses say they will embrace the Cloud in the coming year, bringing the total in that country to 80% by the end of 2014. This compares to 24% of organizations in Kenya and only 16% in South Africa saying they will be taking up Cloud.
• The key to the rapid adoption of Cloud computing in Nigeria and Kenya can be found in the growing confidence that IT decision-makers have in the environment. Even where confidence is not high, distrust in Cloud has almost entirely disappeared.
• The survey showed that 57% of decision-makers across the three countries had high confidence in the security of the Cloud, while a further 34% were neutral – meaning they would wait and see, but were not negatively disposed towards it. Only 1 in 10 respondents did not trust security in the Cloud.
• An even higher level of confidence was expressed in the reliability of the Cloud: 73% of respondents across the three countries expressed high confidence, while most of the rest – 25% – were neutral on reliability.
• Private Cloud is the most popular in 2013 with 25% or organizations surveyed currently deploying this compared to 13% opting for Hybrid Cloud and only 7% of companies opting for the Public Cloud. In 2014, this trend is set to continue with 32% of companies opting for the Private Cloud compared to 18% for Hybrid Cloud and 16% for Public Cloud.
• The most popular category for cloud use today is storage (28% of companies) followed by SaaS (10% of companies surveyed).

“Cloud computing is the next big step in the evolution of computing and the Internet,” says David Meads, Cisco’s Vice President for Africa.

“The broadband revolution sweeping Africa and the continent’s reputation for innovation add up to tremendous appetite for services that will drive this evolution. Looking ahead, the Internet of Everything represents the largest online trend today. As more people, things and devices connect to the Internet in Africa, more data from more places will be introduced across corporate and service provider networks, which will open up new opportunities and increased demand for the Cloud.”

“The fact that no one is expressing doubt about the reliability of the Cloud means that the final pieces of the puzzle are falling into place,” says Arthur Goldstuck, managing director of World Wide Worx.

“Now the Cloud becomes real in Africa.”

Cisco Global Cloud Index Projects Cloud Traffic to Dominate Data Centers

In the third annual Cisco® Global Cloud Index (2012 – 2017), Cisco forecasts that global cloud traffic, the fastest growing component of data center traffic, is expected to grow 4.5-fold – a 35 percent combined annual growth rate (CAGR) – from 1.2 zettabytes of annual traffic in 2012 to 5.3 zettabytes by 2017.

Approximately 17 percent of data center traffic will be fueled by end users accessing clouds for web surfing, video streaming, collaboration and connected devices, all of which contribute to the Internet of Everything, which is the networked connection of people, data, process and things.

“People all over the world continue to demand the ability to access personal, business and entertainment content anywhere on any device, and each transaction in a virtualized, cloud environment can cause cascading effects on the network,” said Meads. “Because of this continuing trend, we are seeing huge increases in the amount of cloud traffic globally within, between and beyond data centers over the next four years.”

From a regional perspective, the Cisco Global Cloud Index predicts that through 2017, the Middle East and Africa will have the highest cloud traffic growth rate (57 percent CAGR), followed by Asia Pacific (43 percent CAGR) and Central and Eastern Europe (36 percent CAGR).

Supporting Resources:

• Visit the Cisco Global Cloud Index website

Editor’s Note:

• World Wide Worx conducted a telephonic research study in November 2013 among IT decision-makers in medium and large enterprises in Africa, in order to establish trends in the Cloud arena, to be shared with the media:
  • Methodology: Telephonic interviews with IT decision-makers at 150 medium and large companies in three African countries.
  • Scope: Interviews conducted in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria.
  • Definitions: In Africa, a medium enterprise ranges in size from 50-200 employees, and a large enterprise above 200 employees.

About Cisco:
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

Makerere Univeristy’s Mark Ojangole is one of the winners

NAIROBI, KENYA – This will week Cisco recognize the finalist winners of the 2013 Cisco Networking Academy NetRiders International Skills Competitions with an all-expenses paid trip to Cisco headquarters in San Jose, California.

NetRiders competitions give NetAcad^® students an opportunity to showcase their IT and networking skills during national and regional competitions. There were 19 winners from 15 countries competing in the NetRiders events held throughout 2013 in Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific and Africa, range in age from 19 to 32 years old. The grand-prize champions represent the best of more than 10,000 students from 97 countries.

4 countries in E. Africa participated, 26 from Kenya, 69 Uganda, 43 Ethiopia and 76 from Rwanda and the winner from East Africa was Mark Ojangole, from Makerere University in Uganda

The grand-prize award includes a trip to Cisco headquarters in San Jose, California where winners will have the opportunity to meet with Cisco President Rob Lloyd, tour Cisco offices, visit the Stanford University campus, and experience local attractions in San Francisco and Santa Cruz.

“The need for highly skilled technical ICT resources continues to exist globally. Cisco Networking Academy prepares students for careers in IT, while the NetRiders Competition allows students to apply and showcase both their technical and soft skills on the global stage,” said Omar Shaban, Director, Corporate Affairs and Cisco Networking Academy, Cisco.

The majority of winners have either completed their Cisco CCNA^® certification or plan to complete it within the next 3 months. Stefan Nikolov, the top achiever in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, says, “NetRiders gave me the opportunity to prove my knowledge and skills and increased my desire to go deeper. CCNA is just a step in the path to more complex certifications such as CCNP and CCIE. This knowledge is very important for me, because I want to build a career in networking.”

Global NetRiders Skills Competition in a nutshell

• NetRiders is a global networking contest created by Cisco Networking Academy for students enrolled in the program. It builds on skills that participants acquire as they go through their training. NetRiders contestants apply their IT and networking knowledge to complete simulated activities in which they build, configure and troubleshoot virtual networks.
• NetRiders competitions help students prepare for employment by enabling them to develop practical troubleshooting experience in a time-sensitive environment.
• NetRiders utilizes Cisco Web 2.0 technologies to create an interactive skills contest that motivates students to pursue further technology education and training.It also fosters a sense of belonging to a global community, as participants collaborate with each other across a range of shared activities using Web-based tools.
• More than 10,000 students across 97 countries competed in the global NetRiders competitions in 2013.
• 2013NetRiders finales involved individuals and international teams of Networking Academy students competing in a variety of activities, including a timed theoretical exam, a Cisco Packet Tracer network simulation activity and a Packet Tracer exam.
• Champions from each region were awarded a grand-prize trip to Cisco headquarters in San Jose, California, where they will have the opportunity to meet with Cisco executives and tour Cisco offices, the Stanford University campus and attractions in San Francisco.

Cisco Networking Academy:

• Cisco Networking Academy is a global technology education program that provides networking and technical skills to help students prepare for ICT careers.
• The program is committed to delivering the highest standard of IT education to students of all nationalities and economic brackets, by offering students access to in-demand skills that will position them for employment and career growth.

• Cisco Networking Academy is Cisco’s largest and longest-running corporate social responsibility program. Every year, more than 1 million students at 9,000 academies in 165 countries take courses that prepare them for careers in information technology.

According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast for 2013 to 2018, worldwide mobile data traffic will increase nearly 11-fold over the next four years and reach an annual run rate of 190 exabytes by 2018.

The projected increase in mobile traffic is partly due to continued strong growth in the number of mobile Internet connections, such as personal devices and machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, which will exceed 10 billion by 2018 and be 1.4 times greater than the world’s population (United Nations estimates 7.6 billion people by 2018).

Key Regional Growth Projections
In terms of mobile data traffic growth rates over the forecast period, the Middle East and Africa region is projected to have the highest regional growth rate. Below is how each of the regions ranks in terms of growth rate by 2018:

1. The Middle East and Africa will have a 70 percent CAGR and 14-fold growth;
2. Central and Eastern Europe will have a 68 percent CAGR and 13-fold growth;
3. Asia-Pacific will have a 67 percent CAGR and 13-fold growth;
4. Latin America will have a 66 percent CAGR and 13-fold growth;
5. North America will have a 50 percent CAGR and eight-fold growth; and
6. Western Europe will have a 50 percent CAGR and seven-fold growth.

In terms of mobile data traffic generation, the Asia-Pacific region is projected to generate the most mobile data traffic. Below is how each of the regions ranks in terms of anticipated mobile data traffic generation by 2018:

1. Asia-Pacific: 6.72 exabytes per month;
2. North America: 2.95 exabytes per month;
3. Western Europe: 1.9 exabytes per month;
4. Central and Eastern Europe: 1.64 exabytes per month;
5. The Middle East and Africa: 1.49 exabytes per month; and
6. Latin America: 1.16 exabytes per month.

Key Global Mobile Data Traffic Drivers
From 2013 to 2018, Cisco anticipates that global mobile traffic growth will outpace global fixed traffic growth by a factor of three. The following trends are driving mobile data traffic growth:

• More mobile users: By 2018, there will be 4.9 billion mobile users, up from 4.1 billion in 2013.
• More mobile connections: By 2018, there will be more than 10 billion mobile-ready devices/connections—including eight billion personal mobile devices and two billion M2M connections, up from seven billion total mobile-ready devices and M2M connections in 2013.
• Faster mobile speeds: Average global mobile network speeds will nearly double from 1.4 Mbps in 2013 to 2.5 Mbps by 2018.
• More mobile video: By 2018, mobile video will represent 69 percent of global mobile data traffic, up from 53 percent in 2013.

Global Shift to Smarter Devices

• Globally, 54 percent of mobile connections will be ‘smart’ connections by 2018, up from 21 percent in 2013. Smart devices and connections have advanced computing/multi-media capabilities and a minimum of 3G connectivity.
• Smartphones, laptops, and tablets will drive about 94 percent of global mobile data traffic by 2018. M2M traffic will represent five percent of 2018 global mobile data traffic while basic handsets will account for 1 percent of global mobile data traffic by 2018. Other portables will account for 0.1 percent.
• Mobile cloud traffic will grow 12-fold from 2013 to 2018, a 64 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Impact of Machine-to-Machine Connections (and Wearable Devices)
M2M refers to applications that enable wireless and wired systems to communicate with similar devices to support global positioning satellite (GPS) navigation systems, asset tracking, utility meters, security and surveillance video. A new “wearable devices” sub-segment has been added to the M2M connections category to help project the growth trajectory of the Internet of Everything (IoE). Wearable devices include things that are worn by people such as smart watches, smart glasses, health and fitness trackers, wearable scanners with capability to connect and communicate to the network either directly via embedded cellular connectivity or through another device such as a smartphone via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

• In 2013, M2M connections represented nearly five percent of mobile-connected devices in use and generated more than one percent of total mobile data traffic
• By 2018, M2M connections will represent nearly 20 percent of mobile-connected devices in use and generate almost 6 percent of total mobile data traffic.
• In 2013, there were 21.7 million global wearable devices. By 2018, there will be 176.9 million global wearable devices or a 52 percent CAGR.

Impact of Faster Global Mobile Network Connection Speeds
The average mobile connection is expected to nearly double from 2013 to 2018. Mobile connection speeds are a key factor in supporting/accommodating mobile data traffic growth.

Source: Results from Cisco Global Internet Speed Test (GIST) (part of the Cisco VNI program) and other independent speed tests. The Cisco GIST application has more than one million global users. These projections include cellular connection speeds only (not Wi-Fi) and are based on extrapolations from historical mobile network connection speed data.

4G Mobile Adoption and Traffic Growth
Many global service providers are deploying 4G technologies to address consumer and business users’ strong demand for wireless services and content. In many emerging markets, service providers are creating new mobile infrastructures with 4G solutions. In some mature markets, service providers are supplementing or replacing legacy 2G or 3G solutions with 4G technologies.

• By 2018, 4G connections will support 15 percent of all connections, up from 2.9 percent in 2013.
• By 2018, 4G connections will support 51 percent, or 8 exabytes per month, of total mobile data traffic, up from 30 percent, or 448 petabytes per month, in 2013.
• 4G traffic will grow 18-fold from 2013 to 2018, a 78 percent CAGR.

Wi-Fi Offload Traffic Surpasses Cellular Traffic
“Offload” refers to traffic from dual mode devices and supports cell and Wi-Fi connectivity, excluding laptops) over Wi-Fi and small cell networks. Offloading occurs at the user or device level when one switches from a cell connection to Wi-Fi and small cell access. The Cisco VNI Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast (2013-2018) mobile offload projections include traffic from public hotspots and residential Wi-Fi networks.

• More mobile data traffic will be offloaded onto Wi-Fi from mobile-connected devices (17.3 exabytes per month) than will remain on mobile networks by 2018 (15.9 exabytes per month).
• By 2018, 52 percent of global mobile traffic will be offloaded onto Wi-Fi/small cell networks, up from 45 percent in 2013.

Global Mobile Application Analysis: Video Remains on Top
Mobile video traffic will increase 14-fold from 2013 to 2018 and will have the highest growth rate of any mobile application category.

• By 2018, mobile video will be 69 percent of global mobile traffic, up from 53 percent in 2013.
• By 2018, web and other data applications will be 17 percent of global mobile traffic, down from 28 percent in 2013.
• By 2018, streaming audio will be 11 percent of global mobile traffic, down from 14 percent in 2013.
• By 2018, file sharing will be three percent of global mobile traffic, down from four percent in 2013.

Cisco in its latest Visual Networking Index has said that Within five years, more IP traffic will come from devices other than PCs.

Cisco Systems officials are saying that global Internet traffic will continue to climb fast between now and 2018, a trend that the giant networking vendor has found over the past nine years of the annual report it issues on the subject.

During the five years between 2013 and 2018, most of the traffic will come from devices other than PCs, wireless traffic will surpass that coming over wired networks, and high-definition video will generate more traffic than standard-definition video.

In addition, Cisco’s ninth annual Visual Networking Index Global Forecast and Service Adoption report found that machine-to-machine (M2M) connections by 2018 (7.3 billion globally) will almost be equal to the number of people projected to be on Earth by then (7.6 billion), the number of global network connections worldwide will hit 21 billion—up from 12.4 billion last year—and every person in the world will have an average of 2.7 networked devices, up from 1.7 per capita in 2013.
The end will result will be an annual run rate of 1.6 zettabytes of global IP traffic by 2018, more than all the traffic has been generated between 1983 and 2013 (that was 1.3 zettabytes). The 1.6 zettabytes—which is equal to more than 1.5 trillion gigabytes—will mean an average of 132 exabytes generated per month by 2018.

According to Cisco, that’s equal to 8.8 billion screens simultaneously streaming the final game of the FIFA World Cup in UltraHD 4K, 5.5 billion people binge-watching the fourth season of the HBO series “Game of Thrones” on-demand in HD video, 4.5 trillion YouTube clips and 940 quadrillion text messages.

Most of that will come from devices other than PCs for the first time in the Internet Age, according to Thomas Barnett, director of service provider marketing at Cisco. By 2018, 57 percent of traffic will come from devices from tablets and smartphones to TVs and M2M connections (a key part of the burgeoning Internet of things).

That’s almost double from 2013, when non-PC devices generated 33 percent of IP traffic.

That can be seen in the projected growth of traffic that will be generated by WiFi- and mobile-connected devices (61 percent by 2018). WiFi will account for 49 percent, and cellular 12 percent, with fixed traffic being 39 percent. In 2013, fixed accounted for 56 percent of traffic, and WiFi 41 percent. WiFi will not only generate more traffic through users, but also from broadband carriers offloading some of the workloads from their networks.

The transition of most IP traffic coming from non-PC devices will be a marked change but not an unexpected one. The PC industry over the past several years has seen a continued decline in global sales of PCs as more attention has turned to tablets and smartphones, and Barnett said he doesn’t see that changing.

“Tablets are going to have continued strong growth,” he said, noting that new PC form factors are “morphing more and more like tablets.”

Video will continue playing a significant role in IP traffic, making up 79 percent of it by 2018, up from 66 percent last year. UltraHD 4K will be 11 percent of that. In addition, global broadband speeds will reach 42 Mb/s b 2018, a jump from 16 Mb/s by the end of 2013.

Source: eWeek

According to the latest Cisco® Visual Networking Index™ Global Forecast and Service Adoption for 2013 to 2018, global Internet Protocol (IP) traffic will increase nearly three-fold over the next four years due to more Internet users and devices, faster broadband speeds and more video viewing. The Middle East and Africa (MEA) region continues to be the fastest-growing IP traffic region from 2013 – 2018 with five-fold growth and a 38-percent CAGR.

With the FIFA World Cup 2014 now well underway, tens of millions of people are viewing games and/or highlights via the Internet. Video streaming and IP broadcast of the World Cup is anticipated to generate 4.3 exabytes of Internet traffic, which is three times the amount of monthly traffic generated by (this year’s World Cup host city). In addition, Internet traffic generated by the 60,000 people in a stadium and traveling to games is forecast to surpass the average busy-hour traffic ***from all 94 million smartphones in Brazil.

To place the World Cup in context, global IP traffic is expected to reach 132 exabytes per month by 2018, which is the equivalent to:

• 8.8 billion screens streaming the FIFA World Cup final game in Ultra-HD/4K at the same time;
• 5.5 billion people binge-watching “Game of Thrones” Season 4 via video-on-demand in HD or 1.5 billion watching in Ultra-HD/4K;
• The season 3 premier of “House of Cards” streaming in Ultra-HD/4K on 24 billion screens at the same time;
• 940 quadrillion text messages; and
• 4.5 trillion YouTube clips.

Cisco VNI MEA Highlights:

In Middle East and Africa:

• IP traffic will grow 5-fold to 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 38%.
• Internet traffic will grow 5.5-fold from 2013 to 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 41%.
• IP video traffic will grow 7-fold from 2013 to 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 48%.
• Internet video traffic will grow 8-fold from 2013 to 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 50%.
• HD will be 19.6% of IP Video traffic in 2018, up from 6.9% in 2013 (82.3% CAGR).
• Mobile data traffic will grow 14-fold from 2013 to 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 70%.
• There will be 2.0 billion networked devices in 2018, up from 1.3 billion in 2013
• Fixed/Wi-Fi will be 60% of total IP traffic in 2018.
• There will be 3 million Internet households (5.1% of all Internet households) generating more than 100 gigabytes per month in 2018, up from 438,224 in 2013

Global Traffic Projections and Service Adoption Drivers

• The composition of IP traffic will shift dramatically in the coming years. By 2018, the majority of traffic will originate from devices other than personal computers (PCs) for the first time. Wi-Fi traffic will exceed wired traffic for the first time, and high-definition (HD) video will generate more traffic than standard-definition video.
• Mobile and portable devices other than PCs will drive the majority of traffic by 2018. In 2013, 33 percent of IP traffic originated with non-PC devices. However, by 2018, the non-PC share of IP traffic will grow to 57 percent.
• Wi-Fi and mobile-connected devices will generate 76 percent of Internet traffic by 2018. Wi-Fi will be 61 percent, and cellular will be 15 percent. Fixed traffic will be only 24 percent of total Internet traffic by 2018. In comparison, Wi-Fi was 55 percent; cellular was 4 percent; and fixed was 41 percent.
• Global broadband speeds will reach 42 Mbps by 2018, up from 16 Mbps at the end of 2013.
• Online video will be the fastest-growing residential internet service growing from 1.2 billion users to 1.9 billion users by 2018.
• Desktop and personal videoconferencing will be the fastest-growing business Internet service growing from 37 million users in 2013 to 238 million users by 2018.
• The Internet of Everything is also gaining momentum, and there will be nearly as many machine-to-machine (M2M) modules as there are people by 2018. For example, smart cars will have nearly four M2M connections per car.

 Cisco VNI Forecast Implications for Service Providers

• Service provider networks must adapt to the increasing number of devices, such as tablets, smartphones and M2M connections, that will need to be authenticated to gain access to fixed/mobile networks with enhanced security and intelligence required.
• The evolution of advanced video services, such as HD/ultra HD video, may create new bandwidth and scalability requirements for service providers. Residential, business and mobile consumers continue to have strong demand for advanced video services across all network and device types with quality of service, convenience, and price as key factors for success.
• Continued business video adoption, such as HD and web-based video conferencing and business VoD may prompt greater growth in network virtualization and leveraging the Internet for video transmission with network ramifications for service providers and over-the-top providers.
• 4G network growth and service adoption may grow faster as mobile users continue to demand similar service and content experiences from their fixed and mobile networks.
• IP networks must be intelligent and flexible enough to support the constant introduction of new/updated applications for fixed and mobile networks. Many service providers are actively collaborating with application developers to differentiate their services.

“Our first Cisco Visual Networking Index nine years ago established the zettabyte as a major milestone for global IP traffic. Today, we are firmly in the ‘Zettabyte Era’ and witnessing incredible innovations and shifts in the industry. The reality of the Internet of Everything (IoE), the increasing demand for network mobility, and the emergence of 4K video are among the key trends highlighted in this year’s forecast that represent significant opportunities for service providers in East Africa” – Sabrina Dar, General Manager, Cisco East Africa

Cisco today unveiled a host of new capabilities and services that give security professionals extensive intelligence and analysis on potential compromises and solutions to protect against, respond to and recover from attacks.

Cisco announces the addition of AMP Threat Grid to the Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) portfolio, which integrates innovation acquired through last year’s acquisition of ThreatGRID. This integration provides the latest malware threat intelligence and dynamic malware analysis capabilities, both on-premise and in the cloud, that strengthens Cisco AMP’s continuous analysis and zero-day detection capabilities. In addition, Cisco is introducing Incident Response Services that equip Kenyan organizations with teams of information security experts that leverage threat intelligence and best practices for readiness and response from network to endpoint to cloud.

As dynamic as the modern threat landscape is, there are some constants; adversaries are committed to continually refining and developing new techniques that can evade detection and hide malicious activity. This is evident by the 250 percent increase in malvertising attacks as cited in the Cisco 2015 Annual Security Report. Additionally, the report continues to show that enterprises are in a persistent state of infection, showing 100 percent of networks analyzed had traffic going to websites hosting malware.

AMP Everywhere
New threat intelligence, dynamic malware analysis and retrospective security capabilities for Cisco AMP enhance protection across the attack continuum. AMP Threat Grid provides dynamic malware analytics and threat intelligence.  AMP Threat Grid analytics engines provide security teams with breach detection against advanced malware, allowing them to quickly scope and recover from a breach by providing context-rich, actionable threat intelligence.

Unique to Cisco AMP, the solution continuously records and analyzes file activity at and after initial inspection. If a file exhibits malicious behavior after the fact, retrospective security rolls back the tape to see the origin of a potential threat, the behavior it exhibited, and provides built‐in response capabilities to contain and eliminate the threat.

Cisco Security Incident Response Services: Threat Protection Expertly Applied

There is a widening gap between the availability of expert security practitioners and the industry’s needs, as companies lack both funding and manpower to adequately protect assets and infrastructure. Chief Information Security Officers are increasingly looking to external experts for security guidance.

Leveraging threat intelligence from the Cisco Talos Security Intelligence and Research Group, AMP and the expertise of the Cisco Security Solutions (CSS) team, the Incident Response Services group works with organizations to identify the source of infection, where it entered the environment, and what data was compromised.  It will support businesses in two areas:

• Cyber Attack Response: Every event is unique and Cisco Security Incident Response methodology provides expedience and allows for flexibility to continuously adjust to the dynamic threat landscape. Whether it’s an insider threat, distributed denial of service, advanced malware at the endpoints or customer data breach, the team guides an organization through identification, isolation and resolution using Assessment, Analysis and Data Mining; Forensic Image Analysis; Infected System Dynamic Instrumentation; Malware Reverse Engineering and Exploit Analysis and Re‐
• Cybersecurity Readiness: As businesses fall victim to increasingly targeted cyber-attacks and data breaches, they need external expertise to assess and promote security best practices as well as to protect corporate data and prepare for the inevitable data breach incident. Cisco Incident Response offerings spans infrastructure breach preparedness assessments, security operations readiness assessments, breach communications assessments among others.

DHL, the world’s leading logistics service provider, and Cisco, the worldwide leader in IT, have jointly released a new Trend Report focused on the Internet of Things (IoT) at the DHL Global Technology Conference in Dubai.

DHL and Cisco Consulting Services are also collaborating on a joint IoT innovation project that will improve decision-making in warehouse operations with near real-time data analytics based on Wi-Fi connected devices.

Ken Allen, CEO DHL Express and Board Sponsor Technology, said: “At Deutsche Post DHL Group we have a deeply held belief in the positive powers of global trade. Yet, as our Global Connectedness Index(1) 2014 revealed, the overall level of global connectedness remains surprisingly limited.

There is huge potential for countries to further increase their connectedness and prosper through trade, integration and technology. We believe the Internet of Things will be a primary enabler of this global transformation.”

The Trend Report, which estimates that there will be 50 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2020 compared to 15 billion today, looks at the potential impact this technological revolution will have on business.

The value at stake, combination of increased revenues and lower costs that is created or will migrate among companies and industries when new connections are made, reveals the huge potential when the Internet and networks expand their connections to warehousing, freight transportation and other elements of the supply chain.

For any organization with a supply chain or logistics operations, IoT will have game-changing consequences, from creating more ‘last mile’ delivery options for customers, to more efficient warehousing operations and freight transportation.

According to Cisco’s economic analysis, IoT will generate US$8 trillion worldwide in Value at Stake over the next decade. This will come from five primary drivers: innovation and revenue (US$2.1 trillion); asset utilization (US$2.1 trillion); supply chain and logistics (US$1.9 trillion); employee productivity improvements (US$1.2 trillion); and enhanced customer and citizen experience (US$700 billion).

“Digital disruption is all around us and it’s having massive implications for business. Digitization and the expansion of the Internet of Things is a catalyst for growth, which is driving new economic models and enabling organizations to remain competitive and embrace the pace of change happening globally.

This report clearly demonstrates that digitization and the IoT will deliver long term efficiencies and growth opportunities across a wide range of industries,” commented Chris Dedicoat, president, EMEAR for Cisco.

According to the report, over the next decade, the logistics industry could unlock higher levels of operational efficiency as the IoT connects in real time millions of shipments being moved, tracked and stowed each day.

In warehousing, connected pallets and items will be a driver for smarter inventory management. In freight transportation, tracking and tracing of goods becomes faster, more accurate, predictive and secure while analytics of a connected fleet can help to predict asset failure and to schedule maintenance checks automatically.

Finally, connecting delivery personnel with surrounding vehicles and people can become a way of monetizing and optimizing the return trip to improve efficiency and service in last mile delivery. For customers, this means DHL can provide an even faster, more reliable and cost-effective service.

“The Internet of Things is the connection of almost anything – from parcels to people – via sensor technology to the web and both Cisco and DHL believe this will revolutionize business processes across the entire value chain including supply chain and logistics.

To get the maximum global economic benefit, we’ll need to understand how all components in the value chain converge and this will require a comprehensive collaboration, participation and the willingness to invest to create a thriving IoT eco system for sustainable business processes. The new Trend Report is another step towards making sure DHL delivers the benefits of IoT to our customers” said Markus Kückelhaus, Vice President Innovation & Trend Research, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation.

Cisco Consulting Services and DHL are now also collaborating on a joint IoT innovation project that will improve decision-making in the warehouse operations through near real-time data analytics based on Wi-Fi location data of selected devices. The solution is based on Cisco’s Connected Mobile Experiences (CMX) which uses the high-density wireless network to collect aggregate location data on Wi-Fi connected devices.

The Trend Report “Internet of Things in Logistics” is available online atwww.dhl.com/internetofthings

Apple Inc. and Cisco have announced a partnership, that will see them collaborate on optimizing Cisco networks for iOS devices and apps.

This includes integrating iPhones with Cisco networks, and sharing capabilities on iPads and iPhones.

This is in order to create an improved mobile work experience.

The collaboration was announced through a blog post by Chuck Robins, the CEO of Cisco.

He said they were thrilled about our new partnership, and together, they will enable mobile apps and experiences that deliver the quality and experience we need while meeting enterprise requirements for management and security.

He said the two companies share a common passion to create a vastly improved mobile work experience and they also recognize the enormous opportunity they have to bring together the leading mobile platform and the leading provider of secure networks and collaboration to make the mobile work experience what it should be.

Cisco has unveiled Internet of things packages at its Cisco Systems’ media event held on Oct. 5.

Calling it “bigger than the first wave of the Internet, ” new CEO Chuck Robbins  said the giant networking vendor is planning to grow its presence in the IoT, which Cisco officials have said will grow rapidly to include more than 50 billion connected devices worldwide by 2020.

Cisco intends to be the foundational technology vendor for the IoT, from the networking that connects everything to the analytics, security and platforms that enable enterprises and SMBs to safely and rapidly make near real-time decisions that will drive business growth.

Shakib noted that Cisco has created a framework businesses can use to migrate to a more digital environment, from unified connectivity and security to managing data from the network’s edge to the cloud.

To help accelerate organizations’ adoption of the IoT, Cisco is unveiling four new offerings aimed at the manufacturing, transportation, utilities, and oil and gas industries.

At the same time, the vendor announced a security solution for the IoT that spans all verticals.
In the manufacturing space, Cisco is offering an architecture designed to give businesses the tools they need to connect and manage their machinery and enable such new models as remote access, monitoring and serviceability.

The company announced a partnership with industrial robotics company Fanuc America to develop a way of remotely monitoring Fanuc’s robots in factories to see how they’re performing and to proactively address issues when a robot looks as though it will break down.

Via: eWeek

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Sweden’s mobile equipment maker Ericsson and U.S. networking company Cisco Systems Inc < CSC.O> said on Monday they had agreed a business and technology partnership expected to generate revenues of $1 billion for each company by 2018.

Ericsson and Cisco said in a statement they would together offer routing, data center, networking, cloud, mobility, management and control, and global services capabilities.

“The strategic partnership will be a key driver of growth and value for the next decade, with each company benefiting from incremental revenue in calendar year 2016 and expected to ramp to $1 billion or more for each by 2018,” Ericsson said in a statement.

Ericsson also said it would continue to explore further joint business opportunities with Cisco.

[Reuters]

A new innovation hub is set to opened up in Mombasa.

The project, known as SwahiliPOT will benefit the technology and cultural community thanks to a partnership between SEACOM, Cisco Systems and the National Museums of Kenya.

The hub will be located in an office space donated by the National Museums of Kenya.

SEACOM Managing Director for Kenya Joseph Muriithi said Mombasa has been a pivotal part of SEACOM’s business since they established a point of presence here and wanted to give back to the local community by providing a service where they can experience broadband technology and utilize it to develop business ideas and other income generating project.

The company will provide a 40Mb connection of their high-speed Internet Service for free and will also construct a perimeter wall between its landing station and the fort to secure the sea side.

SEACOM will also host services to the hardware which is being provided by Cisco who were brought on board by the ICT Authority.

South Africa-headquartered technology company, Dimension Data, and worldwide leader in networking, Cisco, have today announced an initiative aimed at dramatically reducing the number of rhinos being poached in South Africa.

The two companies have deployed some of the world’s most sophisticated technology in an unnamed private game reserve adjacent to the world-renowned Kruger National Park to monitor and track individuals from the time they enter the reserve gates, until they exit.

The goal is to proactively intervene and stop people entering the reserve illegally – whether it’s cutting fences, being dropped onto the ground by helicopters, or simply driving in through the entrance gates.

Over time, the technology will be replicated in other reserves in South Africa, Africa, and globally, to not only protect rhino, but conserve other endangered species including elephants, lions, pangolin, tigers in India and Asia, and even sea rays in the ocean.

According to the South African Department of Environmental Affairs’ Report 2015, a staggering 1,215 rhinos were killed by poachers in 2014 alone. This equates to three rhinos being killed every day.

If the rate of poaching continues, rhino deaths could overtake rhino births by 2018, and the rhino could be non-existent in South Africa by 2025.

Dimension Data executive, Bruce Watson explains: “Every day, hundreds of staff, suppliers, contractors, security personnel, and tourists enter and exit game reserves.”

The human activity in these environments is not monitored because, typically, the reserve is in a remote location with basic IT infrastructure and access control, manual security processes, and very limited communication.

“With our Connected Conservation technology, we don’t touch the animals by darting them with tranquilisers to insert sensors into their horns, or insert a chip under their skin. This can be extremely stressful and risky for the animal and we’ve seen a number of rhinos either dying, or going blind, and having to be euthanased.

In phase one, Dimension Data worked closely with Cisco to gather information from the game rangers, security personnel, technology, and control centre teams. The first step was to create a highly secure Reserve Area Network (RAN) and install Wi-Fi hotspots around key points, which is completed.

Phase two of the Connected Conservation project will incorporate CCTV, drones with infrared cameras; thermal imaging, vehicle tracking sensors, as well as seismic sensors on a highly secure intelligent network. Dimension Data has also deployed the Reserve Area Networks (RANs) using Cisco technology which will be one of the first installations of its kind in the world.

Chris Dedicoat, executive vice president of Worldwide Sales for Cisco said: “South Africa is currently home to about 70% of the remaining rhinos in the world, most of which are located in the Kruger National Park, which drove the decision to pilot Connected Conservation. In close collaboration with Dimension Data, the teams moved rapidly to study and build a highly secure digital solution that provides those who are protecting the rhinos with the valuable insights, transparency and visibility they need to make effective and informed decisions against poaching.”

Ericsson and Cisco announced an expansion of their sales partnership to include a new Wi-Fi offering, named Evolved Wi-Fi Networks (EWN). EWN combines Ericsson’s mobile access, core networks and applications with Cisco’s Wi-Fi portfolio to target Ericsson’s customers in the mobile, cable and other industries.

In 2015, Ericsson and Cisco partnered to offer routing, data center, networking, cloud, mobility, management and control, and global services capabilities.

The offering will include indoor small cells and operator Wi-Fi systems that combine Ericsson mobile access networks with Cisco WLAN. Ericsson’s Real Time Traffic Steering feature will enable operators to steer users between mobile and Wi-Fi access networks to deliver the best end-user experience.

Cisco WLAN can also be integrated into the Ericsson packet core network so operators can offer all their core network services over Wi-Fi for multimode devices. Ericsson already offers Wi-Fi calling capabilities over Cisco WLAN.

The design and deployment of the new offering will be handled by Ericsson’s services organization, with full product support from Cisco. Ericsson and Cisco first agreed in November 2015 to partner on product development and sales. To date, over 250 active customer engagements have started to turn into won deals, Ericsson said. More than 60 deals, spread around the world, are in IP (routing and transport) and services.

Credit: TelecomPaper

The Digital Business Day Forum that took place in Kampala on the 29th April, at the Golden Tulip Hotel was a first of its kind to profoundly discuss not whether businesses should be transforming digitally, but rather how quickly this transformation can be achieved.

In partnership with its global partner Cisco, Dimension Data showcased the latest solutions that enable businesses to fast track their digital transformation journey.

The sessions and speakers were relevant for the time and industry, with the approach to subjects from a business background and perspectives from their own companies which made it realistic to the audience and easy to connect with.

With a resounding catchphrase of “You either go Digital or die”, the Forum attracted group executives from Dimension Data and regional executives from the industry who discussed the digital transformation agenda for organizations; emphasizing how, why and when organizations should transform to meet the changing demands of the industry and their clients.

Francis Gituru, the Service Development Manager at Dimension Data re-emphasized the inevitable need for businesses to transform digitally in order to remain relevant. “You either go digital or you die. Remaining unchanged is not an option. You can control your internal elements but you cannot control the bigger picture.”

Mr Ndungu Kahindo: The biggest challenge for us in IT is going to be how fast can Technology move at the same speed as business. #DBDF2018 pic.twitter.com/UAlallXpsE

— Dimension Data EA (@DimensionDataEA) March 29, 2018

Julius Kamau, the Chief Operating Officer at NC Bank rapped the significance and urgency of having an IT strategy to enforce digital transformation in every business “You need to have leadership that is forward thinking and for us, we have a lot of support from our board. It is important for organizations to get the right leadership. The early adopters will be the winners while the late adopters struggle to catch up”.

The Forum equally highlighted how Dimension Data can facilitate local banks to build infrastructure and tap into emerging markets in Crypto Currencies by locking down on Cybersecurity for the digital age, taking advantage of Hybrid Cloud and general digital infrastructure.

The post Digital Business Day Forum Showcases Solutions for Businesses to Achieve Digital Transformation appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.