Cisco’s Remote Access, Case Study Example

Cisco is the notorious routing and systems organization that have utilized advanced strategies for both business-to-business and the consumer. Cisco unique product offering was expected available to be purchased to different business. Building a brand in a business-to-business setting has some outstanding contrasts than doing so in the customer market because it markets to distinctive gathering of people. Marking inside business-to-business gives off the impression of being more focused on connections of various groups. This is exhibited when the organization Cisco created organizations with Sony, Matsushita, and US West. Building a brand in a business-to-business additionally obliges mindfulness or instructive building exercises. Cisco propelled a TV promotion battle to teach the buyer. In those commercial ads, the truths about the force of the web where uncovered to viewers in an arrangement of inquiries. The intended interest group in a business-to-business is little and centered. In 2003, Cisco focused on corporate executives and IT leaders to offer their items.

Within this case study, Cisco outlines their importance in helping to provide more secure connection in remote access, to be used in small businesses, and by their employees. The solution how deploy costs is routed in their simplified virtual office, in which amplifies the Cisco steered intranet, by means of secure VPN Internet connects, into thousands of their employee’s homes, and now the small offices. This detailed analysis depicts the arrangement of the Cisco Virtual Office result inside Cisco’s own particular system, a propelled endeavor environment that is one of the biggest and most intricate on the planet. As of mid-2008, Cisco had more than 15.000 inner clients for the Cisco Virtual Office result. This deployment is yielding the profits of expanded productivity of their employees, and occupation fulfillment; IT cost investment funds, and decreases in Cisco’s ecological effect. Clients can draw on Cisco IT’s true encounter here to help comparable undertaking needs. The number one significance in deploying the virtual office, is that it develop a comprehensive office environment where employees are able to access network services regardless of their location. It also ensures that employees who work from home have the significant bandwidth available even when others are using a home network. The deployment costs savings significance is that their virtual office solution is one of the most advanced, largest, and complex environments in the world. (Cisco, 2008) They have reduced their deployment costs with zero-touch deployment, accordingly 5% for automated configuration of IP telephony, and 10% for automated router configuration. (Cisco, 2008)  Not only was their deployment cost savings nominated for an award for its contributions to lowering the company costs, but also has applied more of the Cisco services. The model deployment is of much importance in providing global management services of availability, security, and reliability of their VPN service.

As for the corporate experience, the benefits that Cisco found is that it provides the best security, by minimizing risks in the network, through their multilayered security features. It allows for the control of the network in the hands of the executives, which gives the power to disconnect a terminated employee from the network within seconds, and lose its access, and private keys when it tries to access the Cisco network. It simplifies VPN management of the security environment, which provides analysis and automated decision-making responses to network threats. The Zero-Touch deployment decreases Cisco’s involvement in the configuration of the router, as well as provides better deployment scalability, no matter the amount of users on the network. The Cisco network is able to add more and more users to the network while maintaining a low cost of ownership.

For the users, the experience of being able to use their Cisco IP phone, for phone calls of any nature, able to video conference, share data, all through the same network as if they were the office. Users are able to utilize and work from home, without the hassle as before. In aspects of reducing costs for the company, it is also making an environment impact by lowering their overall impact by reducing the number of cars on the road, which effectively impact the level of carbon dioxide that emits in the air. This has been an important topic in the IT world, as more and larger companies are focusing on ways to be sustainable, and a major is implementing telecommuting, or a teleworking position.  This has found to have “emphasis on the role of the different IT artifacts in reducing the adverse environmental impact of human activities” (Nishant, Thompson, and Goh 2013). That translates to a reduction in gasoline consumption, CO2 emissions, and saves money spent on gas.

The chart outlined in the case study, implicates that in their reduction in the overall miles travel, gasoline consumed, and CO2 emissions, the employer and the employee saved $13.5 million. The employee would also save 3.8 million gallons in gasoline consumption; 77 million miles traveled, and 37.6 thousand tons in CO2 emissions reduced. (Cisco, 2008) The benefits of the deployment work both for the employees and the employers, as it reduces overhead costs and allows for a company to follow a more sustainable approach to IT. Cisco deployment is helping to encourage employers to implement more telecommuting positions. In which research has found, “Telecommuting can benefit both employers and employees by providing cost savings for employers while increasing the quality of life for employees, in addition to having a direct positive environmental impact for the society at large” (SHRM, 2013). The significance in implementing this solution into thousands of small businesses and home is that it also helps in the employee-employer relationship, in which when positive is beneficial to the company.

Along with deployment saving costs, their solution has also helped with their own employees in improving job satisfaction and retention. Shared in the case study is the fact that the deployed solution increases job satisfaction, as it will allow the employee the ability to work from any virtual location. The increased attention to telework, telecommuting, and other virtual positions have placed the advanced in technology in the spotlight. With the Cisco Virtual Office solution, they are able to let thousands of employees work at home at any location while seemingly being the office. The ability to not have to go in every day, and have limited face to face interaction, has been proven to increase job satisfaction. Research has shown, “the workplace is rife with opportunities for interruption and distraction, which in turn generate stress and reduce job satisfaction”  (Fonner, Roloff, 2011) Employees who work in the office, have to participate usually in meetings, which other interaction which cause fatigue, stress, and the inability to produce the quantity or quality work. Having the ability to work from a virtual location has been shown to create a better boundary control and the capability to reduce the distractions and interruptions that create a positive environment.

Other benefits that the deployment had on the employees satisfaction, was the ability to use and support multiple devices, such as linking up desktops and laptops, and other devices into once device that makes streamlining easier. In job retention, is wrapped in the availability for employees to have the tools necessary to be productive at home, which is increase their flexibility in their work schedules, a good balance of work and life, trust and empowerment from employees, and increase satisfaction.  All these factors help in employees wanting to return to work as they are able to work satisfied, and in a positive environment. This is beneficial not only to the employee, but mostly to the corporation that saves money on having employee’s telecommuting, and also providing quality and increased quantity work.

References

Cisco. (2008). How Cisco IT Provides Remote Network Access for Small Offices and Teleworkers. Cisco Case Study. Retrieved from http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ciscoitatwork/downloads/ciscoitatwork/pdf/Cisco_IT_Case_Study_Cisco_Virtual_Office.pdf

Fonner, Kathryn L., Roloff, Michael E. (2010). Why Teleworkers are More Satisfied with Their Jobs than are Office-Based Workers: When Less Contact is Beneficial. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 38: 4, 336-361. Retrieved from http://www.fyiliving.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/whyteleworkersare.pdf

Nishant, Rohit, Thompson, S.H. Teo., Goh, Mark. (2013). Understanding the Environmental Impact of Sustainable IT: An Empirical Examination. Pacis. Retrieved from http://www.pacis-net.org/file/2013/PACIS2013-094.pdf