Executive Thought Leadership

Cisco's Focus on Government Sector

Today more than ever before private industry and governments face tremendous pressure to increase efficiency and productivity and to decrease operational costs. Cisco Systemshas a long history of helping its customers successfully adapt to the demands of our rapidly changing world.

Governments must serve their citizenries in a timely manner, defend peace and provide humanitarian relief, and fulfill the requirements for providing a strong military. Equally, governments must improve the top line and offer both near and long-term return on investments. Addressing these challenges requires global mobility, organizational agility, and recognition that information and its on-demand availability is a strategic advantage.

In response to these challenges and the increasing importance of government on all levels, Ciscohas established the Global Government Solutions Group (GGSG), a new team dedicated to developing a business strategy to provide solutions and services specifically for government's core business.

News@Cisco asked Gregory Akers, senior vice president and chief technology officer for the Global Government Solutions Group, to talk about the government market and the approach Cisco takes to serving it.

Q: What is different about selling to the government now than in the past?

A: Gregory Akers: Much like our enterprise customers, the government sector is made up of many different customers with their own unique requirements. Today, this customer segment requires us to go beyond addressing its IT infrastructure. We must provide focused solutions aimed at government core business, helping it serve and protect its citizenry.

Also, global governments require coordinated and secure information sharing among agencies and on an as-needed basis to improve efficiency, reduce recurring costs, and deliver on-demand services to their constituents. They are looking for ways to transform and enhance their capa-bilities and integrate disparate systems within a simple, interoperable network infrastructure.

Q: How is Cisco addressing the government market?

A: Gregory Akers: To serve this growing market as effectively as possible, Cisco is making a significant investment in the GGSG, whose focus will be on government core business needs and development of solutions for U.S. as well as global government customers and systems integrators. The investment in GGSG is multifaceted: the Government Systems Unit (GSU), whose primary focus is to adapt Cisco products to respond to the unique requirements of government; overall broadening of our service and support offerings; and focused business development initiatives in the areas of defense, space, civilian agencies, U.S. homeland and global security. Cisco also has a long history of supporting state and local governments, and GGSG will continue to support and enhance solutions at these levels.

Cisco and systems integrators, working together, are uniquely positioned to provide the government customer with enhanced capabilities through a network-centric approach, horizontal integration, and technology innovation. Given that systems integrators play such a significant role in our success in the government market, the Federal Channels Organization is focusing on developing stronger relationships with these important partners.

Q: What kinds of technologies are governments deploying?

A: Gregory Akers: Government customers have the same concerns as enterprises do, such as security and upgrading to IP networks, so they need much of the same technology. But when you think of the full range of issues governments are involved inrom next-generation space system architectures and technologies to air, land, and sea defense-you can see that their requirements can go well beyond a typical corporate scenario. And Cisco has the technology and expertise they need.

Let's look at security as an example. Cisco consolidates video and alarm networks and takes advantage of quality of service, VPN, and wireless LAN technologies. In the realm of cyber security, Cisco offers multilayered security products that stop intrusions at the network edge.

Addressing government (public sector) challenges requires global mobility, organizational agility, and recognition that information and its on-demand availability is a strategic advantage.

As governments transform the way they operate, they are faced with the opportunity and challenges of creating advanced data, voice, and video integrated networks. Cisco is well-positioned to help them achieve improvements in business processes, operating costs, and the delivery of services to their citizens.

An intelligent network infrastructure, or what we call a network-centric approach, enables efficient data collection, correlation, and prioritized distribution. The goal of network intelligence and end-to-end information availability is to facilitate the decision-making and selfsynchronization in any type of government operation. Secure Intranets and web portals encourage cooperation and speed the decisions because the users are sharing information and collaborating in real timeveryone has a common operational picture.

Cisco's intelligent network solutions are ideal for costeffectively utilizing advanced voice, security, optical, and wireless technologies. Mission-critical data can be extended to military and government users securely in near real time, delivering information and enhanced logistics and supply-chain management.

Cisco offers the advanced technologies and expertise needed to solve governments' integration and productivity issues, both business and technological.

Global Government Solutions Group (GGSG), dedicated to developing a business strategy to provide solutions and services specifically for government's core business. GGSG will serve U.S. and global government customers and systems integrators and support U.S. state and local governments.