Just for Valentine's Day over the next two weeks I will post stories with the beginning title, What I love about Cisco and why.
What do I love about Cisco and why? Today it would have to be Cisco Telepresence; this was one product that really came to the top due to the Cisco marketing machine. Now I have seen its competition from Polycom the RPX and to be honest I really liked the Polycom unit more. The Cisco Telepresence reminded me of the Polycom TPX more than anything. But you have to give credit where credit is due; Polycom could have been the big gorilla on the block a long time ago when they had first purchased the RPX in an acquisition.
Whoever was running the Polycom marketing department during that time, well I hope they are not still there. Whoever is there now might want to start a marketing campaign to promote the product. But Cisco is a pro at putting a spin on any product and bringing it to the masses, that is why we love them so much. If they could start looking at the bigger picture with Telepresence they would do much better. By that I mean a lower price, a price that would enable small and medium businesses to purchase a unit. Some people won't like that idea, but sometimes you need to bring it to the masses and not just the enterprise customers. Cisco has a real winner here thanks to its marketing department.
Cisco Telepresence
Polycom RealPresence RPX
Larry Chaffin is the CEO/chairman and founder of Pluto Networks, a consulting company specializing in VoIP, WLAN and security. Pluto is a channel partner for Cisco, Qualys, Riverbed, Guardianedge, TriGeo and Linksys.
Larry is an accomplished author; co-authoring Managing Cisco Secure Networks, Skype Me, Practical VOIP Security, Configuring Check Point NGX VPN-1/Firewall-1, Configuring Juniper Networks NetScreen & SSG Firewalls, Essential Computer Security: Everyone's Guide to Email, Internet, and Wireless Security, How to Cheat at Microsoft Vista Administration, Microsoft Vista for IT Security Professionals, Asterisk Hacking, 2008 VoIP and Video Conferencing, Infosecurity 2008 Threat Analysis and author of Building a VOIP Network with Nortel's MS5100, along with co-authoring/ghost writing eleven other technology books for VIOP, WLAN, security and optical technologies.
Larry has more than 29 vendor certifications from companies such as Nortel, Cisco Avaya, Juniper, PMI, isc2, Microsoft, IBM, VMware and HP. Larry has been a principal architect around the world in 22 countries for many Fortune 100 companies designing VoIP, security, wireless and optical networks. Larry is currently working on a follow up to Building a VoIP network with Nortel's MCS 5100 Book as well as new books on Cisco Telepresence Networks, Practical VoIP case studies and WAN Acceleration with Riverbed.
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Lower Priced Cisco Telepresence competitor
You mentioned that a lower price to target a larger customer base is a strategy Cisco should consider. There already is a company that has a low priced, telepresence system. Its name is Telanetix and is worth a look.
LifeSize - the answer to Larry's question
Larry,
I agree that Cisco has done a masterful job of creating demand for a telepresence experience with clear, fluid video. Delivering it at a mainstream price isn't easy.
I would encourage you to check out LifeSize - full disclosure, I work there. LifeSize is the answer to everything you wished for in your blog post - full HD video (1280x720, 30 fps) over the open internet at a mainstream price - $6000 for the new LifeSize Express. Telepresence that is accessible for everyone.
Small and medium businesses love this product. About 1/3 of our customers are new to video and they immediately can compute the ROI in saved travel. They see the value immediately and put it to work.
At a much lower cost, it also can have a bigger impact on enterprises. For the cost of 2 Cisco telepresence suites, you could outfit 60-80 conference rooms with LifeSize high definition video. The real benefits come when everyone has access to the technology to communicate better.
What about Support.
All,
While you might be able to find products of similar functionality and quality for a smaller price then Cisco's current sticker price, let not forget a very important service that you are gettting that is built into that Price, support. These products are being roled out to facilitate a very impotant role of bridging the gap between remote offices, and cutting down on traveling expensis. For the product to live upto its potential you need the very best support and there's simply no match for Cisco's.
You obviously don't know
You obviously don't know what telepresence is selling for, as you could certainly NOT get 60-80 for the price of 2 Cisco telepresence, that is simply not true and completely exaggerated. Not too mention, who's going to help you when you install LifeSize and it takes a dump? No one beats Cisco, best products, best support, much better company.