Cisco to kill off Linksys brand

Stuart Corner
Sunday, 29 July 2007 13:36

Opinion and Analysis

He added "We are going to play across all areas but I would not be doing consumer if I did not see the virtualisation of processors, of storage and even applications over time into the home and you not caring where it is. We think that will happen."

We are already seeing the first examples of this: remote backup services, software as a services, collaborative applications. Another development will be femtocells: small cellular base stations installed in the home that are an integral part of the network but for the exclusive use of the home's occupants and backhauled into the network over the home's broadband service.

Through IP telephony and virtual private networks, people are already able to work from home with almost the same functionality at their computer that they have in the office.

Of course the one thing that will compromise this vision is inadequate speed and excessive cost of broadband access services. And no matter who you believe about the adequacy or otherwise of broadband in Australia today, it is very clear that the goalposts will have to keep moving if Cisco's vision is to be realised.

For example its foray into virtual reality videoconferencing with life size images on huge high definition screens is not about this business as a standalone market: Cisco is looking way ahead to when we wil be able to do this from our homes.