-- This post is guest authored by Russ Fradin, CEO of Dynamic Signal. -- The way we consume information is different today. That's because mobile devices, over the past decade, have dramatically changed how we communicate. We text. We get alerts. We play, record and share video. In fact, 85 percent of adults now get their news from their smartphone. Shouldn't employees also receive important information from their company on their mobiles devices, too? Dynamic Signal and Cisco makes sure you do. We're an Employee Communication and Engagement (ECE) Platform that ensures that organizations always get timely and relevant content to workers, wherever they are, with our mobile app. That's why we're announcing a new, powerful integration of Dynamic Signal with Cisco Spark. Together, we connect organizations via mobile devices with their most valuable asset - their employees. Cisco Spark ensures that knowledge workers (employees whose jobs involve handling or using information), who typically are employees collaborating on various projects, can quickly and easily share information. But what about other workers in an organization who are more geographically dispersed, and often aren't on laptops or desktops? For example, let's look at a major banking institution. Half of the employees work in the corporate headquarters and collaborate using Cisco Spark. Life is good. They're armed with the information they need to succeed. The other half of the workforce, like the bank tellers, who might not use Spark, but still require critical information to do their jobs, may not have the same easy ability to access that information. Dynamic Signal ends this "information access inequity" by delivering needed content to all employees - via whatever delivery pipeline they prefer - whether it's via Cisco Spark, the company intranet or, as is more and more frequently  these days, delivered directly to them on their mobile devices. With Dynamic Signal, communicators have the ability to deliver the same content to both the knowledge workers and the dispersed workers -  keeping every employee engaged, informed, and productive. The entire organization can now be aligned around a singular vision, mission, goal. Every employee gets what they need, in the manner they prefer, through a streamlined and modernized communication process. The Dynamic Signal Platform integrated with Cisco Spark enables employees to access content in whatever manner is most convenient to them. Organizations can also now better measure employee engagement, and then optimize their communication strategy, so they can reach employees even better and more efficiently. It's simply a modern, streamlined solution - both for the organization and the employee. This is the power of Dynamic Signal, now magnified with our integration with Cisco Spark. Cisco and Dynamic Signal are a natural fit. In fact, Cisco has invested in Dynamic Signal because it sees this power of connecting all employees, wherever they are, and however they access information. "We recognize the urgent need for Employee Communication and Engagement Platforms among our own customers and the world at large, so we're thrilled to invest in Dynamic Signal, and further our commitment to meeting the business needs of the enterprise," said Rob Salvagno, Cisco Vice President and Head of Corporate Development and Investments. Cisco Spark enables employees to create, share, and collaborate. Dynamic Signal ensures all employees have the information they need to succeed. Together, we are changing how work gets done. -- This post is guest authored by Russ Fradin, CEO of Dynamic Signal. -- ... View more

Ask leaders of higher education across North America about their biggest challenge. You’ll get a consistent answer: student retention. The impact of a student dropping out can be staggering for both the institution and the student. The school has invested in that student’s educational development. And the student often leaves burdened by loans without the earning potential needed to address them. For schools, a key to improving student retention lies in leveraging big data analytics. Specifically, using data to identify the students most likely to drop out and finding a way to intervene before it’s too late. But intervention isn’t easy. How do you identify which students are most at risk? How do you know which students are slipping away? How can administrators provide support to students at crucial points? This is the exact problem that Involvio, a Cisco Spark integrator partner, solves for institutions around the world. Involvio offers a compelling combination of mobile applications, AI, and communication capabilities designed to improve student engagement and retention. And it’s all built on Cisco Spark APIs. Involvio’s app integrates with leading student information and learning management systems to simplify student access to services. Schools can customize the app with branding, programs, student activities, sporting events, financial aid, public safety, housing, and more. The app can identify which students are taking advantage of particular services and how engagement is increasing—or fading. With this information, Involvio can programmatically check up on students. By comparing current engagement to that of students who have dropped out, Involvio’s AI builds rules that help predict which students may be at risk and automate critical intervention processes. Here’s where Cisco comes in. Schools communicate with students through the Cisco Spark platform. Staff can initiate a high-quality video interaction from within the Involvio app, such as connecting an advisor with a student at a time when she or he needs it most. Personal interaction could make the difference between a student staying or dropping out, so video connectivity is critical. Busy students can find it challenging to set up walk-in appointments. And at-risk students may consider an in-person meeting intimidating. Video on a mobile device is more comfortable for the student, while providing both student and advisor with an opportunity to get to the root of the problem. (All while capturing rich utilization data). With a Cisco video device such as a Cisco DX80 or Cisco Spark Board in an administrator’s office, the images are crystal clear. Combining Cisco Spark technology with Involvio’s app provides the best remote interaction possible, reinforcing the school’s brand and showcasing its ability to more effectively interact with students in today’s mobile-enabled world. Involvio’s solution can not only help higher education address student retention challenges, but also help students have a more fulfilling experience by keeping them engaged. Cisco is proud to play a key role in enabling this solution. - Justin Ramirez, Head of ISV Ecosystem Business Development ... View more

Today’s business world is filled with applications that deliver unprecedented ease, simplicity, and speed to users in the workforce. At least that’s what they’re meant to do. The best apps –  those that get the most use and offer the highest return — are those that are most accessible to users. The easier it is for a user to access and implement an app, the more the app can provide the benefits it’s designed to deliver. And that’s where the Gupshup integration with Cisco Spark comes in. Gupshup is a user-friendly platform that enables developers to easily create bots that allow users to interact with their most important business applications. Gupshup’s integration with Cisco Spark means users can use and access business applications without ever leaving their Spark rooms. Let’s look at an example of how this works. Say the users in your procurement department regularly use an automated app to track inventory. Using Gupshup, you can build out a bot that lets your procurement team access this app easily from inside Cisco Spark. Instead of leaving Spark to enter the app, a procurement team member can input a simple slash command into Spark, like /inventory. The bot receives this command and pulls the relevant information from the inventory app to be viewed within Spark. One of the great things about Gupshup is that it’s so easy to use. To get a bot up and running, just follow the simple steps below: Using your existing GitHub account, create a free Gupshup account. Use the Gupshup code template and test screen for rapid code development. With just a few lines of code, instruct your bot to do what you need it to do. Finally, make the connection to Spark by simply copying and pasting your Spark bot access token. And that’s that. Check out Gupshup, get busy building bots, and have fun! Using Gupshup with Cisco Spark from Cisco Spark for Developers on Vimeo. ... View more

At last we have paging functionality using our own IP Phones on our UC systems. Starting with CUCM 9.1, Cisco has entered into an OEM agreement with longime developer partner Singlewire to include their well known InformaCast product with every CUCM install. All orders of CUCM will come with the Cisco Paging Server software DVD which has the InformaCast product and documentation on it. The DVD has an ISO file with OVA for installing in a virtual environment plus all documentation. You can quickly see how when running UC on UCS or a Business Edition 6000, you can create bundled packages of specific UC apps (1 VM per app) on a single server that is a perfect fit for specific verticals. This is going to be extremely helpful when targetting K-12 applications as well as hospitality, manufacturing, transportation and higher ed opportunities. The way it works is that basic paging features are now free with every CUCM product. Basic paging consists of the ability to send point-to-point or group live audio pages to/from Cisco IP Phones. There are an unlimited number of groups/zones to be configured and a maximum of 50 users per paging group. So all users of a system can participate in a variety of paging groups but without upgrading to advanced, 50 users at a time is available. Paging across sites is also supported with a properly configured multicast WAN network. But we aren't just providing the basic functionality with UCM, all advanced features from InformaCast will also be delivered and optional. Since these features are new to many customers, there is a 60 day trial of the advanced features to show customers what they have available to them and to determine if it is a good fit in their environment. Many applications require the high level functionality like that listed below, and the ability to claim these as being available with every UCM order as a single vendor solution is extremely powerful. No other competitor will have a UC product shipping with all of the advanced emergency notification and security awareness features like Cisco UC now has. The advanced features are what will be a great sales conversation starter to set your Cisco UC system apart from the rest. Included with this are features like: Pre-recorded/scheduled broadcasts (school bells/shift changes) Notification to Jabber IM Notification to Social Media Communication with mobile and remote users Triggered notification to/from other systems- M2M input/output (panic buttons, door locks, lights, etc.) Integration to existing overhead paging systems Text and Audio to Cisco IP Phones and other endpoints Broadcasts to IP Speakers 911/emergency call monitoring/alerting/recording Weather Alerting with CAP Dynamically-triggered emergency conference calls And more.. When trying to close a new UC deal, leveraging Cisco’s new paging and notification features can change the sales conversation to something that no one can match for a standard shipping, on-box solution. We can set the new standard that for all applications, mass awareness and security notification features are required with any UC solution. We will be able to respond to RFP’s where no other manufacturer can meet the single vendor/product requirement for voice and emergency notification together. Many customers will be satisfied with paging through Cisco IP Phones but those looking for higher level security and awareness features, advanced notification is highly recommended. Those licenses can be obtained in 2 ways: *Perpetual licenses from SolutionsPlus on Global Price List (SP-INFORMCST-2500=, SP-INFORMACST-1K=,SP-INFORMACST-250=) *Annual Subscription liceses directly from Singlewire- sales@singlewire.com. Quoting Tool: http://www.singlewire.com/quote_gen/quote_form.php For more info: support@singlewire.com and http://www.singlewire.com/ic-learn.html ... View more

Cisco Small and Midsize Business Collaboration Solution: Switch Selection Guide for Cisco Business Edition 3000. This document reviews the capabilities of different series switches from Cisco with comparisons and specs for specific applications concerning the BE3000. Click here to download doc: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6788/vcallcon/ps11370/guide_c07-713756.html ... View more

Cisco Small and Midsize Business Collaboration Solution: Switch Selection Guide for Cisco Business Edition 3000. This document reviews the capabilities of different series switches from Cisco with comparisons and specs for specific applications concerning the BE3000. ... View more

Hi.  What is the date/time format of CDR’s which are exported to a CSV? Here is one example from June 4: 1336099766 ** Partner Question on 8.6.3** ... View more

Hi.  A user has 2 voicemails in their mailbox and the system says their voicemail is full.  What is suggested to expand the user’s voicemail storage? ** Partner Question on 8.6.3** ... View more

This document will take you through the installation and setup process of the Jabber for Windows desktop client to the Webex Connect IM and Collaboration services as well as how to provision an account on the BE3000 for a user to take advantage of the telephony functions within the Jabber for Windows client. ... View more