Cisco makes major mobility move with Motion

By Stuart Corner
Friday, 30 May 2008 06:21

Technology

Cisco has moved to capture a key role in the rapidly developing enterprise mobility market with a new architecture that enables mobile applications to be created using an open application interface, implemented via its new Mobility Services Engine which communicates with wireless devices - WiFi, WiMAX, cellular and RFID via there respective networks.

Cisco sees the market for its new architecture, dubbed Cisco Motion, and the products that realise it as being driven by the increasing demands being placed on IT department to embrace an ever increasing range of mobile devices and applications of ever greater complexity.

“The proliferation of mobile devices, the need to unify multiple access networks and the demand for mobility applications has increased the drain on IT resources. Few IT organisations will see an increase in the resources required to meet these impending mobility demands," Cisco says.

Cisco sums up its architecture by saying that “IT must transform the wireless LAN into a mobility network by creating an open network platform capable of enabling the development of a broad variety of mobility applications designed to improve business agility and competitiveness.

"Such a platform requires an open interface to allow third parties to source network intelligence in a consistent way without compromising the security or performance of the production network. To achieve this, IT must abstract the services layer from the network layer. This approach allows for the delivery of mobile applications across access networks, including Wi-Fi, ethernet, cellular, and Wi MAX. Furthermore, this allows for the integration of a broader Internet of ‘things’ including passive RFID and sensor networks by bridging control and provisioning of these physical networks.”
CONTINUED