ANTenna Blog -- Networking & Communications

Positioned to boost business for channel partners, Cisco introduced new products and services specifically for small and midsize businesses.

With partners gathered in Boston for the Cisco Partner Summit, the networking provider took pains to emphasize the importance of the SMB market to its overall business and the fortunes of its channel partners.

Today's announcement of new product and service offerings results, in part, from Cisco's announcement last fall that it would invest $100 million in its small business initiative. In the interim, the company has not only been working on its solutions for SMBs, but also polishing it's rhetoric. Examples:

Sound familiar? It should to any reader familiar with the bMighty manifesto and any of the others (from the New York Times to Chris Anderson) who have jumped on the SMB bandwagon.

Cisco wasn't along in going multimedia at the event. bMighty friend and columnist Steve Hilton of Yankee Group was there too and posted this video chock full of his musing, observations, and humor about the vibe and substance of the Cisco Partner Summit.

2009 Cisco Partner Summit SMB Perspective by Steve Hilton, Yankee Group VP from Steve Hilton on Vimeo.

Cisco was keying hard on the importance of small business, not to mention hammering away at its own pet phrase "purpose built," but also reached beyond rhetoric to offer some products and services for small and midsize businesses. Among the SMB offerings that Cisco announced are:

• Additions to the Cisco Small Business Pro series that allow partners to build, install, and manage systems for SMB customers, including:
• Cisco ESW 500 Series Switches ($659 to $3,299)
• Cisco SPA8800 IP Telephony Gateway ($600)
• The Cisco PVC300 IP Camera ($794) joins the Cisco Small Business Series
• An expansion of the Cisco Smart Business Communications System with the addition of the Cisco Smart Business Communications System (SBCS) Release 1.5 (from $453 per user), which includes:
• WebEx PhoneConnect
• Cisco TimeCardView
• Single Number Reach
• A new Cisco Small Business Pro Service providing SMBs with 3 years of technical support and coverage for Cisco Small Business Pro solutions.

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