Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers: Next Horizon of Business Productivity Presents New Opportunities for IT Industry; Interop Keynote Highlights Advancements in Networking Technology.

LAS VEGAS -- Cisco Systems President and CEO John Chambers said today that the next generation of business productivity will be driven by the migration to high-value interactions which presents new opportunities for innovation and growth in the information technology (IT) industry. Chambers also highlighted the significance of integration and adding intelligence throughout the network illustrated by Cisco technology advancements including a new multi-function adaptive security appliance, wireless-enabled integrated services router and wireless location appliance. Chambers made his remarks in the opening keynote address entitled, "Unleash the Potential of Your Network for Growth, Productivity and Customer Satisfaction," at the Interop 2005 trade show.

Chambers described how productivity gains over the last 100 years have evolved in stages -- from a production-based model like the automobile assembly line, to transaction-based activities like transferring money between bank accounts where the value is in the processing of data. Interactions-based activities are about connections such as communicating with a customer service representative live over the Internet, where the value is in exchanging information. This migration to higher-value interactions presents opportunities for the IT industry to develop new technology and solutions that allow organizations to save money, improve productivity, add flexibility and increase customer satisfaction.

High-value interactions are the next horizon that will drive the biggest productivity gains and competitive advantage for businesses over the next decade, said Chambers. Interaction-based activities require a renewed focus on technology investment which presents new opportunities for the IT industry to add value in the process. The challenge for the industry is addressing the evolving needs of organizations while reducing the complexity of their infrastructures.

Chambers discussed the role the network will play in enabling the next generation of productivity and Cisco's continued focus on integration and adding more intelligence into the network.

Chambers highlighted new Cisco technology advancements including its architectural approach to security and how integrating intelligence into the network sets the foundation for organizations to move with speed and flexibility for competitive advantage. Chambers described how the network is playing a bigger role in helping fight cyber threats and introduced the next step in Cisco's Self Defending Network security strategy -- the Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) 5500 Series. The ASA 5500 is a new multi-function network security appliance that addresses the increasing threats to networked businesses of all sizes by helping improve the network's ability to identify, prevent and adapt to threats. (See related press release "Cisco Unveils New Multi-Function Appliance Family for Adaptive Threat Defense" http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2005/prod_050305.html)

Building network security based solely on single-purpose appliances is no longer practical, said Chambers. By taking an integrated approach and distributing security technologies throughout every segment of the network to enable every network element to act as a point of defense, businesses can more proactively respond to a broader range of threats with greater operational efficiency.

To illustrate this point, Chambers demonstrated how the critical security components of the Adaptive Threat Defense phase of Cisco's Self-Defending Network security strategy including Anti-X defenses, Application security, and Network Containment and Control are being integrated into Cisco products to help customers of all sizes more effectively manage and mitigate risks posed to their networks. Products featured in the demonstration included the new Cisco Security Device Manager version 2.2, Cisco's new Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) 5500 Series, as well as other switch-integrated security technologies.

During the keynote, Chambers also highlighted the expansion of the Cisco integrated services router portfolio with the newly-introduced wireless-enabled Cisco 800 series and Cisco 1800 series integrated services router models and highly secure wireless services. These new additions provide increased mobility, security and flexibility to small and medium businesses, enterprises, and service providers. (See related press release "Cisco Systems Expands its Integrated Services Router Portfolio with New Models and Services" http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2005/prod_050205.html)

Chambers also previewed the new Cisco Wireless Location Appliance 2700, the industry's first easy to deploy solution for simultaneously tracking thousands of IEEE 802.11 enabled wireless clients from directly within a customer's existing wireless local area network (LAN) infrastructure.

A webcast replay of Chambers' Interop 2005 keynote will be available at: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=12539&s=1&k=743D1207A943BF87D5DE7B669A87DC7E

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