Channel Beat: Cisco Systems Launches New 'Intuitive' Networking System

Cisco Systems Tuesday unveiled what CEO Chuck Robbins dubbed as "the new network" – an intuitive networking system that anticipates actions, stops security threats and continues to evolve and learn. Robbins said the new platform is bringing a subscription-based methodology to its core networking portfolio. Robbins said during a media and analyst event in San Francisco, "Today, I really believe we are redefining the network for the next 30 years."

"In my 20 years at Cisco, I have never been more excited about our innovation than I am about what we’re delivering today … We truly are building the network of the future."

The San Jose, Calif.-based networking leader, launched a slew of new offerings around its Network Intuitive platform, including a new line of Catalyst switches, a revamped IOS software for the digital age as well as security and analytics offerings. Cisco's approach creates an intuitive system that continuously learns, adapts, automates and protects to optimize network operations and defend against today's evolving threat landscape.

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On Tuesday, Lenovo unleashed its first full-fledged data center product portfolio under a new ThinkSystems brand, aimed squarely at displacing data center rivals Dell EMC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Cisco. The new comprehensive data center portfolio includes high performance servers for mission critical big data applications, all-flash data center storage and SAN offerings and a complete of cloud-ready line of networking switches.

The product blitz represents the first major revamp of Lenovo's product lines since its $2.1 billion acquisition of IBM's x86 server business in late 2014.

The new portfolio includes: The ThinkSystem SR950 is designed for mission-critical workloads like in-memory databases, large transactional databases, real-time analytics, ERP, and CRM systems and virtualizes server workloads. It scales from two to eight processors in a 4U form factor.

Lenovo is also offering pre-integrated turnkey solutions under a new ThinkAgile brand. That includes the ThinkAgile SX Series for Microsoft Azure Stack and the ThinkAgile hyper-converged rack level solution.

Savvius has launched a new partner program as the network visibility, and security performance company looks to expand its business from the high-end data center to the small and medium enterprise markets. The new Savvius PartnerONE program has two tiers, with dedicated discounts, deal registration, marketing funds, and partner portal. Partners will have access to the full portfolio of Savvius solutions, the company said.

The launch comes just six months after Savvius appointed new Vice President of Worldwide Sales Patrick Johnston. Johnston joined Savvius from Extreme Networks, where he was director of channel sales. In an interview with CRN, Johnston said one of the first things he put in place was a plan to grow the company by entering new markets and investing in the channel. Johnston said the push through partners would allow the Walnut Creek, Calif.-based company to expand its business from the high-end data center to the enterprise, small, and medium businesses.

He said there is growing demand in those sectors for Savvius' real-time network monitoring, forensics, and long-term security visibility solutions as more companies move to the cloud and embrace IoT solutions. He also said Savvius would continue to expand its partner program through recruiting and adding technology vendor partners, and that they’ve already seen some early success from its channel push, with 10 percent of revenue from the quarter from newly developed partnerships in the channel.

CompuCom has unveiled a new service that will put enterprise-grade network monitoring and reporting capabilities in the hands of small and midsized businesses. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company said it had taken network management services typically consumed at the Fortune 500 level and brought them to every market segment in an affordable and easy-to-consume manner, according to Christopher Opat, senior vice president of CompuCom's cloud technology services.

CompuCom's basic SmartNOC offering will provide conventional, around-the-clock monitoring and incident resolution, Opat said. The enhanced SmartNOC Plus offering will additionally include asset lifecycle management features such as code releases and patch management for operating systems, Opat said.

All SmartNOC services will be delivered by full-time CompuCom employees working at NOCs situated on company-owned real estate, Opat said. Opat declined to provide specific pricing information for CompuCom's SmartNOC program, but said customers will be charged on a per-device basis. Each asset will fit into a certain product segment, which in turn will be converted into a very defined and predictable cost model.