Cisco launches new version of its IoT platform

To meet the growing demand for IoT (Internet of Things) solutions, networking and security major Cisco on Tuesday launched a new model of its IoT connectivity platform -- the Jasper Control Center -- offering better analytics and greater security features.

The new Control Center 7.0 addresses the flexibility needs of businesses with a multi-tiered IoT platform that gives them options to meet their specific needs, the company said on Day 2 of Cisco Live, its annual jamboree here that is being attended by some 28,000 people.

"Our Control Center IoT connectivity management platform is the largest IoT platform with over 43 million devices being managed today, and more than 1.5 million new devices being added per month," said Jahangir Mohammed, General Manager of IoT at Cisco.

"What we've learned from enabling IoT success for our 11,000 customers is that companies have different needs at different stages of their IoT journey. So, today we're... providing a flexible model and new premium services that help meet the needs of customers at any phase," added Mohammed.

The Control Center 7.0 offers a new tier of the platform -- Control Center Advanced -- that caters to customers with more sophisticated deployments that need greater capabilities, including advanced security solutions, automation and analytics.

There are also premium services such as the Threat Protection & Smart Security (TPSS) that provides an IoT-specific solution to protect against malware and other cybersecurity threats, and Traffic Segmentation, a solution to support different types of revenue generation models, the company said.

Control Center 7.0 extends the existing platform's capabilities -- including its global reach via support for cellular networks -- to low power devices as well.

It incorporates several Cisco technologies to expand on the platform's existing security capabilities, with users now getting "multi-layered security controls, including closed user groups, two-factor authentication, whitelisting capabilities and more to identify and solve known issues", the company said.

It also offers enhanced analytics, providing reports on historical trends of device behaviour and usage that enable users to take action on issues that impact performance, costs and security.

The platform can be integrated with what has been the focus of this year's Cisco Live event -- the newly unveiled "intent-based" networking solution that was developed with significant inputs from the company's Global Development Centre in Bengaluru.

The new networking architecture, which leverages artificial intelligence and claims to detect security threats with 99 per cent accuracy, will also have a subscription pricing model and has been dubbed as "The Network. Intuitive".

"Intent-based" networking allows IT to move from traditional processes to automating intent, making it possible to manage millions of devices in minutes -- crucial to helping organisations navigate an expanding technology landscape, said the company, which posted revenues of close to $50 billion last year.

In India, the company -- which began operations in the country in 1995 -- saw profits grow 340 per cent in the 2016 financial year on the back of Smart City initiatives and its partnership with Reliance Jio.

Cisco employs almost 12,000 people across its various centres in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Gurugram.

--IANS

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