Cisco Collaboration Has Third Leader In Four Months

With two former SVPs of Cisco's collaboration unit out on personal leave in the last few months, the tech giant recently named a third leader, Javed Khan, of the firm's critical business segment, which includes the Webex platform.

Cisco Systems, which has recently experienced turnover within its all-important collaboration segment, has named five-year Cisco executive Javed Khan as the business segment's newest leader.

Cisco's Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Collaboration business Amy Chang decided to take time off to spend time with her family, according to a Cisco spokesperson in March. Chang joined Cisco and the firm's executive leadership team when her business intelligence company, Accompany, was acquired by Cisco in 2018 to bolster Cisco's popular Webex platform. Cisco said at the time of her departure that Chang wasn't leaving permanently and that the firm looked forward to her return.

In the meantime, Sri Srinivasan, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Team Collaboration Group, stepped in for Chang in March and expanded his role to lead Cisco's Collaboration business as senior vice president. However, Srinivasan, unlike Chang, did not become a member of Cisco's executive leadership team.

But by June, Cisco confirmed to CRN that Srinivasan had also left on personal leave. In his place came interim collaboration leader Khan, Cisco's then-vice president and general manager of Webex since 2015, who has since been promoted to senior vice president and general manager of Webex and the new head of the collaboration business unit.

[Related: The 10 Biggest Cisco News Stories Of 2020 (So Far)]

Cisco told CRN on Thursday that Srinivasan has taken on a new role focusing on the firm's work with nonprofit organizations and partners, specifically in Africa and India. He will be the first member of a new group for the company -- the Cisco Community Leadership fellow engagement -- and will help address essential needs for communities overseas, including food and sanitation.

“Our Cisco Collaboration team has built the most trusted platform for remote work, which has become a lifeline for businesses, governments, educators, and frontline workers to stay connected and productive - securely. We’re pleased to announce that Khan has been promoted to senior vice president of Cisco Collaboration and will lead the business going forward.," said a Cisco spokesperson in a statement. “[Khan's] deep experience in enterprise and collaboration are a tremendous asset as we continue to innovate and drive momentum in our business. We thank [Srinivasan] for his leadership and look forward to seeing him continue to make a positive impact on the world working alongside Cisco’s nonprofit partners.”

Cisco confirmed that Chang is still out on leave but will also be returning to a new role within the company.

The San Jose, Calif.-based tech giant in March announced it would be combining its security and applications groups, which includes the collaboration business. In June, Cisco announced the group's leader: former Box executive Jeetu Patel. Both Khan and Srinivasan in his new role will report to Patel when he starts his new role with the company in August, Cisco said.

Cisco's collaboration unit, which includes its Webex videoconferencing solution and rival product to the Zoom platform, has helped anchor the firm since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that squelched IT spending across the globe.

Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins in May said that the company was running its Webex platform at three times capacity that it had before the pandemic in February to manage the dramatic increase in user growth. The platform had well over 500 million meeting participants generating 25 billion meeting minutes in April, more than triple the volume the platform saw in February, according to the company.

On the other hand, Cisco, unlike some of its competitors such as Zoom, may not have the cloud infrastructure that other cloud-based solutions have in place to scale as quickly as they would have liked, according to one Cisco partner that asked to speak anonymously.

"I'm sure Cisco engineers are being hammered by senior leadership to scale up because Cisco is not a cloud platform core provider," the Cisco partner said.

The executive added that the value of Cisco Webex is being diminished because the collaboration tool still doesn't interoperate seamlessly with other tools that customers have within their environments, like Microsoft Teams.

"I think Cisco and others need to embrace interoperability to help end users cross the chasms," the partner said.

Cisco counts 95 percent of the world's Fortune 500 businesses as collaboration customers today.

Cisco to Acquire Isovalent to Fortify Cloud Security Capabilities

Cisco Systems is set to acquire Isovalent, an open-source cloud-native networking and security solutions provider. This acquisition marks a pivotal step for Cisco in enhancing its secure networking capabilities across public cloud platforms.

Cisco did not reveal financial details of the deal.

The integration of Isovalent into Cisco’s framework is projected to bolster the Cisco Security Cloud vision, an AI-powered, cloud-based security platform designed to cater to businesses of diverse sizes and structures.

This union aims to enable customers to detach security controls from multicloud infrastructures, offering robust defense mechanisms against emerging threats across various cloud environments, applications, and workloads.

“With Isovalent, Cisco aims to leverage the open-source prowess of Cilium, creating an unparalleled multicloud security and networking capability. This collaboration seeks to simplify and expedite customers’ digital transformation projects,” Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Security and Collaboration at Cisco, said.

Isovalent, which has been recognized in the inaugural Fortune Cyber 60 awards, brings highly skilled team recognized for its contributions to the open-source technology eBPF. Their expertise has been instrumental in advancing Cilium, a cloud-native solution for networking and security.

The recent introductions by Isovalent, such as Cilium Mesh, Tetragon, an eBPF-based security solution, and Isovalent Enterprise, further solidify their commitment to innovating cloud-native networking and security solutions.

Stephen Augustus, Head of Open Source at Cisco, affirmed Cisco’s dedication to nurturing and investing in the eBPF and Cilium open-source communities. “Isovalent’s expertise will augment Cisco’s robust open-source governance and technical leadership, accelerating innovation in addressing intricate cloud-native, security, and networking challenges.”

Cisco plans to maintain and advance Isovalent’s suite of innovations for customers, including Isovalent Enterprise, while actively contributing to Cilium and Tetragon as open-source projects. The formation of an independent advisory board aligned with the needs of the open-source community is also on Cisco’s agenda to guide its contributions to these crucial initiatives.

Upon the acquisition’s closure, the Isovalent team will join the Cisco Security Business Group, slated for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024.

Isovalent says Google (GKE, Anthos), Amazon (EKS-A), and Microsoft (AKS) have all adopted Cilium to provide networking and security for Kubernetes.

Cilium is used by platform engineering teams such as Adobe, Bell Canada, ByteDance, Capital One, Datadog, Schuberg Philis, and Sky.

Isovalent is a globally distributed company with headquarters in both Cupertino (United States) and Zurich (Switzerland) and is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Google, Cisco, M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), and Grafana Labs.

Sustainability, Collaboration, and Cisco: A Channel Leader's Perspective

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Cisco Systems Inc.

By Stacy Betts

As a Cisco channel leader, I recognize the importance of understanding our partners' sustainability endeavors in the Americas, as collaborative efforts and mutual support are imperative in addressing the significant sustainability challenges we confront. In this regard, I had the privilege of conducting interviews with several Cisco partners to discuss their challenges, uncover opportunities, and explore how Cisco can offer support.

Throughout these discussions, a common theme emerged: the need to bring our partners together for collaborative engagement, knowledge sharing, and in-depth conversations on building sustainable business models and offerings. The aim is to ensure not only the success of our partners but also the achievement of our mutual customers' sustainability goals.

Prioritizing sustainability is also a business imperative

A key revelation from these conversations is the recognition that prioritizing sustainability is not just an ethical choice; it's also a vital business imperative. While there may be situations where the choices between speed and convenience conflict with what is morally right, aligning our efforts with the objective of creating an inclusive and environmentally responsible future is not only ethically sound but also central to Cisco's overarching mission.

To help us share insights for the better good, the Americas partner sustainability community now convenes on a quarterly basis with a dedicated leadership team committed to helping customers realize their sustainability objectives. These gatherings provide valuable insights from Cisco leaders on the broader sustainability strategy. They also serve as a platform for introducing the latest Cisco programs and tools centered on sustainability, hosting industry and ecosystem partners to share their go-to-market strategies and offerings, discussing sustainability funding, and encouraging partners to share their own experiences and lessons learned.

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Inclusive engagements

Sustainability is a concept that calls for inclusivity. It acknowledges that no single individual or group can bring about the needed changes on their own. What we require is a concerted effort that actively engages individuals empowered by organizations to create a culture of sustainability.

At Cisco, we strongly encourage everyone to engage with their local communities in ways that hold personal significance. This can take various forms, such as participating in beach cleanups, contributing to habitat restoration, supporting wildfire prevention, or engaging in organic waste and edible food recovery initiatives, among others. These efforts must address both the current sustainability challenges our planet faces today and inspire and educate future generations to carry this work forward.

Partnering for purpose

In addition, leadership plays a crucial role in driving these sustainability efforts. Leaders must lead by example, inspire others to join the cause, and ensure that everyone participates. It is a collective endeavor, and leaders must be at the forefront of the solution, making tangible commitments, both in financial terms and in the way their businesses operate, to become more sustainable entities.

At Cisco, our objective is to facilitate collaboration, create scalable solutions, and enable the sharing of best practices with partners globally. The "Partnering for Purpose" initiative aligns perfectly with Cisco's vision of an inclusive future. I'm thrilled to announce that in fiscal year 2024, Cisco will introduce sustainability offerings across our services portfolio in four key areas: Sustainable Data Centers, Smart Buildings and Workspaces, Internet of the Future, and Industry Solutions and Ecosystems.

Reducing our carbon footprint necessitates a shift in mindset, challenging us to think differently about how we design technologies, support our employees, and help our customers address challenges. For instance, through Cisco Refresh, we remanufacture and certify used network routers, switches, phones, and collaboration products, extending the value of our customers' budgets while reducing the environmental impact associated with old technology. This is a win-win solution for all parties involved.

A Commitment to Sustainability

My aspiration is for all of us to lead happy, healthy lives and enjoy our planet in a way that ensures future generations can do the same. As a leader, I encourage others to integrate sustainable practices into every facet of their lives and endeavors. Building a culture of sustainability requires the commitment of all individuals to make choices today that will protect us from bearing the consequences of poor decisions tomorrow. Whether it's protecting our oceans, nurturing emerging leaders, or running our businesses in a manner that safeguards the future, sustainability is a shared endeavor that benefits us all.

To learn more about what commitments Cisco has made to ensure a better tomorrow, read our 2022 Cisco Purpose Report.

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SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc.

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