SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 9, 2014) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced the launch of Cisco® Small Cell Enterprise Select, a program that will enable mobile network operators to effectively scale small cell deployments for enterprises that are in need of cost-effective mobility solutions.
According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index™, while only 4 percent of global business Internet traffic was mobile in 2013, by 2018 it will reach 14 percent. With the industry already challenged by in-building connectivity and employee mobility, the Cisco Small Cell Enterprise Select program provides a mutually beneficial model for partners, mobile operators and enterprises to enable a seamless, scalable and intelligent solution.
With Cisco Small Cell Enterprise Select, Cisco has invested in a service methodology that allows mobile operators to certify Cisco partners and support demand generation and market opportunity for in-building services, enabling wide-scale deployment of enterprise small cells with lower cost of customer acquisition and deployment.
By engaging a partner ecosystem that has been enabling enterprise mobility for over a decade, the new model enables enterprise customers to engage with a single trusted partner to provide in-building solution that delivers true mobility, regardless of whether it's over Wi-Fi, 3G and/or long-term evolution (LTE).
Key Highlights
The Cisco Small Cell Enterprise Select is composed of the following key elements:
- Enterprise In-building Partner Expertise: As part of the evolving Cisco Partner Ecosystem, Cisco channel partners will be certified to sell and deploy in-building 3G/LTE services in collaboration with a mobile operator, resulting in faster delivery of small cells to enterprises. Cisco's extensive channel partner network has existing relationships with enterprises worldwide, and understands their customers' need for in-building mobile solutions. Cisco is working with mobile operators to bring all parties together and go to market. Channel readiness includes training, program bundles that incorporate value-added services and incentives to make the program cost effective for enterprises.
- Enabling Technology: The program is built on the Cisco Small Cell Solutions, which features Cisco Quantum™ Self-Optimizing Network (SON) capabilities of the Cisco Evolved Services Platform. This technology provides real-time dynamic adjustments between local small cells and the macro-cellular network for self-optimization at scale. The Cisco Small Cell Solution includes a portfolio of Cisco Enterprise Universal Small Cells (USC) that can take advantage of existing power, real estate and backhaul provided through the enterprise Wi-Fi infrastructure with either Cisco USC 7000 Series standalone access points or convenient Cisco USC 5000 Series modular plug-ins for the Cisco Aironet 3600 and Cisco 3700 Wi-Fi access points. Cisco USC can be activated and configured by the selected mobile operator through centralized Cisco USC CloudBase software, allowing for zero-touch provisioning and assured-service delivery.
- Increased Service Offerings: Cisco partners enable the creation of additional services and enterprise value over and above existing offerings, further increasing the marketability of small cells. Cisco partners have been helping to roll out indoor location-based Wi-Fi services for more than a decade and are now adding indoor-licensed small-cell services to their repertoire, built on a common underlying architecture, analytics engine and application partnerships to create a rich portfolio of new services.
- Benefits for the Mobile Operator: Cisco Small Cell Enterprise Select allows mobile operators to meet requirements for in-building cellular connectivity with unprecedented scale. The model enables a far lower cost per user for acquisition and deployment, allowing mobile operators and channel partners to shift to a new and often untouched enterprise small cell marketplace. By taking advantage of a global partner network, mobile operators can deploy and service more small cell access points than they could on their own, at significantly lower operational cost.
Supporting Quotes
Brian Ortbals, Director, Advanced Technology, World Wide Technology
"Our business at World Wide Technology is to enhance our customers' profitability by simplifying the complex, and Cisco Small Cell Enterprise Select allows us to do just that. Our enterprise customers have been asking us, directly, for an affordable in-building mobile voice coverage solution, and the Cisco program provides the technology, infrastructure, and support to deliver a best-in-class solution, cost effectively."
Brendan Adams, Head of Marketing and Strategy, Block Solutions
"Block is committed to helping our enterprise customers keep their employees seamlessly and securely connected at all times, even on their own mobile devices. Other indoor mobility solutions that we've researched have been costly and complicated to deploy. The Cisco Small Cell Enterprise Select allows us to install a solution as easily as we have been installing Wi-Fi for years, and we're looking forward to the opportunity to offer new communication and location-based services to our customers."
Ed Chang, Vice President, Small Cell Technology Group, Cisco
"We're approaching the small cell market in a new and unique way that will keep costs down while allowing deployments to scale, creating the environment needed for enterprise small cells to cross the adoption curve chasm. Cisco and our partners have the radio frequency expertise, enterprise relationships, and the self-organizing network technology mobile operators need to quickly and easily deploy small cells indoors."
Supporting Resources
Tags/Keywords
Cisco, World Wide Technology, Block Solutions, mobility, mobile Internet, Wi-Fi, Small Cell, SO Wi-Fi, Visual Networking Index, VNI, software, hardware, service providers, mobile operators, access, coverage, capacity, spectrum offload, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, analytics, data, licensed, unlicensed, converged, data-in-motion, Ed Change
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