Today's new Cisco Empowered Branch offerings include: -- Cisco 1861 Integrated Services Router (ISR). Offers a compact all-in-one unified communications solution and highly secure routing platform enabling anytime, anywhere access to business-critical information resulting in more effective communications and collaboration. -- Cisco Catalyst® 2960 Series Switches with LAN Lite Cisco IOS® Software. Reduces the network total cost of ownership by simplifying the migration from non-intelligent hubs and unmanaged switches to fully scalable managed switches with entry-level security, quality of service (QoS) and availability. -- Cisco Intrusion Prevention System Advanced Integration Module (IPS AIM). Scales security performance and threat-prevention, helping branch offices defend critical business processes against attack and disruption while protecting privacy and supporting policy and regulatory compliance. -- Cisco IOS Performance Routing (PfR) and High-End Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) Network Module. Accelerates business-critical applications and minimizes WAN bandwidth expenses with application-aware routing and WAN traffic optimization. -- Wireless LAN Controller support for IEEE 802.11n. Ensures smooth migration path to new wireless technologies and services, while preserving existing investment. -- Cisco Unified Messaging Gateway. Cost-effectively scales Cisco Unity Express, Cisco Unity and legacy voice messaging services to very large organizations.
"With the emergence of new business applications and a more collaborative global business environment, our customers are putting a greater emphasis on their remote offices," said Marie Hattar, senior director of network systems at Cisco. "Cisco Empowered Branch allows them to take advantage of new business opportunities by providing them with a network platform that addresses all their application and service needs today, yet continuously evolves to provide service innovations required for the future." Enhancing Communications Capabilities to Enrich Business Productivity and Collaboration The Cisco 1861 Integrated Services Router is a simple, easy-to-manage platform specifically developed for small enterprise branch offices. It combines Unified Communications and a highly secure router solution for up to eight users. Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express 4.2 and Cisco Unity Express 2.3 and Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) 4.2 are options for the Cisco 1861 ISR helping streamline operations and lower total operating costs. The Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switches with LAN Lite Cisco IOS Software combines scalable and simplified management with entry-level security, QoS and availability features. These allow for reliable Fast Ethernet connectivity for small wiring-closet and branch office networks. The new Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Lite switches lower the network total cost of ownership by simplifying network configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting through capabilities and tools such as time domain reflectometry, Cisco Network Assistant, and CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution while enabling an easy migration path to full Cisco IOS capabilities, as needed. Integrating Advanced Security into the Cisco ISR With the ever-increasing complexity and sophistication of security threats, every point in the network can be at risk. The Cisco Intrusion Prevention System Advanced Integration Module (IPS AIM) for the Cisco modular ISR is designed to identify, classify and help stop malicious traffic to protect remote branch networks from threats originating from the Internet and to reduce wide-area network (WAN) link overload from infected hosts at the branch. Also recently announced was the Network Admission Control (NAC) network module for Cisco 2800 and 3800 ISRs which allows smaller branches to enforce security policies. Together, these advanced security modules help growing businesses future-proof their networks. Accelerating Applications and Minimizing WAN Bandwidth Expenses with Application Intelligence Businesses that use multiple WAN connections face complex implementation challenges when trying to optimize traffic across multiple WAN links, while maintaining maximum network availability and application performance. The new Cisco Performance Routing (PfR) software allows organizations to intelligently optimize network routes by monitoring the Internet traffic, performance bottlenecks and overall conditions and match them to application needs. The new high-end Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) Network Module (NME-WAE 522) for the Cisco 3800 Series Integrated Services Router enables customers to consolidate costly branch servers and storage into data centers, and deploy new applications centrally while still offering LAN-like performance for remote users. Used together, these two new solutions take applications and network optimization to a new level. TELUS Communications, a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, is a Canadian telecommunications leader with a strategic focus on delivery of converged data, IP networking, voice and wireless services to customers across the country. The company continues to invest heavily in technology to enhance services for its customers to drive business growth and maintain a competitive edge. "TELUS is encouraged by the potential that the Cisco Integrated Services Router offers for delivery of multiple converged services on a single device. For the managed services provider, there is great potential for simplified network management and ultimately better cost effectiveness," said David Fuller, TELUS senior vice-president, solutions and products. "The Cisco ISR enables an integrated approach that helps us deliver operational efficiencies and also serves as a platform for us to add new services rapidly as the needs of our business customers evolve." Unified Communications Enhancements for the Branch Office The Cisco Unified Messaging Gateway provides intelligent routing for voicemail messages and exchanging subscriber and directory information among up to 10,000 voice mail systems. Cisco Unity Express 3.0 simplifies the management of enterprise-wide voice messaging systems, provides new security mechanisms, offers advanced messaging features such as call recording and extends Interactive Voice Response (IVR) self-service capabilities for improved customer service at the branch. The Cisco E-911 capability with Survivable Remote Site Telephony 4.2 enhances safety and security of branch employees by enabling faster emergency response. Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express 4.2 further enhances branch services with extensive new voice security features, extension mobility within the branch and the addition of call center capabilities through interoperability with Cisco Unified Contact Center Express 5.0. Next-Generation Wireless Access for Branches with IEEE 802.11n The IEEE 802.11n draft 2.0 standard has the potential to offer five times the performance of current wireless networks. Cisco is delivering next-generation, high-performance wireless to the empowered branch through an IEEE 802.11n software upgrade for the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Module (WLCM) for the 2800 and Cisco 3800 Series ISR, which supports the Cisco Aironet® 1250 Series Access Points. Pricing and Expected Availability The Cisco 1861 ISR is available now starting at a U.S. list price of $3,995. The Cisco Catalyst 2960 LAN Lite Series Switches are available now starting at a U.S. list price of $995. The Cisco Unified Messaging Gateway is scheduled to be available in November 2007, starting at a U.S. list price of $9,000 for 250 nodes. The Cisco IPS AIM is scheduled to be available in November 2007, starting at a U.S. list price of $3,000. The Cisco PfR software is available now; service provider services or higher IOS feature set is needed. The Cisco Wide Area Application Services Network Module NME 522 is available now, starting at an introductory promotional U.S. list price of $6,950. For more information on the Cisco Empowered Branch, visit www.cisco.com/go/EmpoweredBranch About Cisco Systems Cisco (
Contact Information: Press Relations: Ray Hadulco Cisco Systems, Inc. 408 853-6054 rayh@cisco.com Analyst Relations: Rebecca Noriega Cisco Systems, Inc. 408 853-5819 rnoriega@cisco.com Investor Relations: Marisa Ross Cisco Systems, Inc. 408 527-9830 mariross@cisco.com
