Market transitions take a solid vision and years of hard work to materialize.  But even early technology adopters can realize significant operational savings with the products available today.  CiscoLive presents a once a year opportunity for customers to meet with many of the world’s top ICT thinkers and innovators—all in one place.  Though the Cisco EnergyWise partner program has over 100 technology partners, not all are shipping products.  Visit the EnergyWise Pavilion or the Technical Solutions Clinic for a deep dive look at what’s possible and what’s coming.  Cisco EnergyWise and the partner ecosystem can make IT professionals heroes.

For an overview of all events, visit the daily show schedule here:  http://www.ciscolive.com/us/week-at-a-glance.php#monday

If you haven’t registered yet and just want to wander the world of solutions, admission is free if submitted in advance.  http://www.ciscolive.com/us/registration-packages/

Cisco EnergyWise Events

• Collaborate with us on Twitter using the #energywise tag or find us on the Smart Connected Communities Institute’s Cisco EnergyWise site.  http://www.smartconnectedcommunities.org/groups/cisco-energywise?view=overview

• See Cisco EnergyWise in action at the Cisco EnergyWise-UPOE Pavilion, booth 2776.

• For the most comprehensive look at Cisco EnergyWise solutions, visit the EnergyWise site in the Cisco Technical Solutions Clinic, booth 2906.

Tuesday

8 AM:  “IT Transformed: The Impact of Energy, Sustainability and LED Lighting Trends”, presented by EnergyWise creator, Matt Laherty.

BRKSPG-1403--This course is intended to provide a survey of energy and sustainability trends and show how these will impact the network engineer. The course will cover: sustainable defined, ICT trends, Smart Grid and Smart Loads, energy profile visibility, net-zero buildings, real-time 3D operating BIM, Converged System Operations Center (SOC), and much more!

Wednesday

8 AM:  “Cisco EnergyWise Fundamentals: The Network as the Platform for Energy Management”, presented by EnergyWise Architect, John Parello.  John has over 20 years experience building products to solve significant customer challenges.

With energy and environmental constraints in mind, Cisco has developed a solution that makes the network a control plane for energy management. Cisco EnergyWise enables the network to monitor and manage network and network connected devices. This includes Switching, Routing, PoE, and Endpoints devices such as PCs, Servers, PDU's and facility equipment. Cisco EnergyWise makes the network a control plane for energy management and gives IT and Facility organizations the ability to manage energy using the network. This session will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of Cisco EnergyWise including principles, configuration, and deployment with a focus on energy and cost savings. Finally, the session will provide information about current and upcoming industry standards to enhance energy efficiency.

Thursday

10 AM:  “Cisco EnergyWise Deployment & Practices”, presented by Luis Suau, owner and operator of the Cisco Innervated Building lab.  No one knows more about turning up EnergyWise than Luis.

          BRKSPG-2403 - The session discusses implementing EnergyWise on a network. The session will cover:           configuration suggestion, implementation issues, Cisco solutions, and partner solutions.

All Week in the World of Solutions (Booth Map):

https://www.ciscolive2011.com/exhibitor/reg/boothmap/boothMap.jsp

Technical Solutions Clinic, 2906:  Several EnergyWise team members will have video links back to the “Innervated Building Lab” in San Jose, CA.  The team can discuss and demonstrate how to capture whole building, sub system and device level power information and project it on to a lobby digital sign, phone or hand held device (and other energy related topics).  The demos use a combination of beta and shipping products provided by:  Cisco, 1e, CA, Cyber Switching, Eaton, FieldServer, Industry Weapon, JouleX, Lenovo, NuLEDs, Schneider Electric, Raritan, WTI and more.

CA:  818 and 2776, the EnergyWise-UPoE Pavilion:  .  CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA) is an IT management software and solutions company with expertise across all IT environments—from mainframe and distributed, to virtual and cloud. Our products manage and secure IT environments and enable customers to deliver more flexible IT services. We offer innovative products and services that provide the insight and control essential for IT organizations and foundational elements to make the promise of flexible IT and agile business a reality. With over thirty years of experience in IT management, our deep expertise in diverse and complex environments enables us to solve the toughest IT management challenges. We collaborate with our customers to help them grow their businesses, offer new services, become more competitive, and achieve the business goals they have set. Relied on by the majority of the Global Fortune 500 to manage their evolving IT ecosystems, CA Technologies makes business agility possible.  Visit CA in the EnergyWise Pavilion to learn how to manage power across you’re an organization using ecoSoftware & Cisco EnergyWise.  To learn more visit:  http://www.ca.com/us/ecosoftware.aspx

CommScope:  2776, the EnergyWise-UPoE Pavilion:   CommScope has played a role in virtually all the world’s best communication networks. CommScope creates the infrastructure that connects people and technologies through every evolution. The CommScope  portfolio of end-to-end solutions includes everything our customers need to build high-performing wired and wireless networks. As much as technology changes, our goal remains the same: to help our customers create, innovate, design, and build faster and better.  Visit the EnergyWise Pavilion to see new Commscope products in action.  www.commscope.com

Cyber Switching:  2434: Cyber Switching designs and manufactures power distribution products that are value-added solutions, easy to use and innovative.

See an EnergyWise enabled power distribution unit and other products in the EnergyWise Pavilion.  The Cyber Switching team has a long history working with Cisco.  Ask about their EnergyWise enabled Plug in Electric Vehicle charging station…  learn more at www.cyberswitching.com

Eaton:  1846:  Eaton, a diversified power management company, has been providing energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage power for over 100 years. Our highly efficient UPSs support data centers large and small and our innovative software solutions enable IT managers to manage and monitor their environment, both physical and virtual. Our managed PDUs are Cisco EnergyWise certified and our portfolio of products includes racks, enclosures, airflow management and in-row cooling solutions.  Learn more at www.eaton.com/epdu

           
FieldServer, 2906.  A FieldServer representative will support demos in the Technical Solutions Clinic.  They have a unique offering that allows customers to translate legacy building protocols to or from Cisco EnergyWise.  Learn more at www.fieldserver.com

Graybar:  630.  Graybar has specialized in supply chain management services and distribution of high-quality components, equipment and materials for the electrical and telecommunications industries for over 80 years.  Stop by the booth and discuss how Graybar can help you construct an intelligent building using Cisco EnergyWise enabled products.  The secret to Graybar’s success is their ability to monitor technology trends and help customers through significant product and solution transitions.  After you speak with the team, I’m sure you’ll understand why they’re a leader in the industry.

http://www.graybar.com/applications/intelligent-buildings

Industry Weapon:  Various locations and 2776, the EnergyWise-UPoE Pavilion.   Industry Weapon’s software is used for streaming media content throughout the show.  The IW team will be wandering the WOS answering questions.  Industry Weapon's CommandCenterHD platform provides digital media administrators with a centralized content creation, management, and distribution system.  Learn more at www.industryweapon.com

JouleX:  1746 and 2776:  JouleX is the leading innovator in enterprise energy management systems. The JouleX Energy Manager (JEM), provides Global 2000 and government agencies the ability to monitor, analyze and manage all network-connected devices and systems across the enterprise including the distributed office network, data centers and facilities. JEM can save enterprises up to 60% of the energy costs and carbon emissions while providing robust energy usage reporting that supports corporate sustainability initiatives and compliance requirements.   Get a first-hand look at the JouleX Energy Management Software.  JouleX built the first application that takes advantage of the full range of EnergyWise functionality.  For more information visit www.joulex.net

NuLEDs:  2776, the EnergyWise-UPoE Pavilion:  NuLEDs is an innovative lighting fixture and controls company.  NuLEDs built the first network powered and controlled color LED fixture.  See their product in action in the EnergyWise Pavilion or the Technical Solutions Clinic.  Learn more at www.nuleds.com

Raritan:  437 and 2776 the EnergyWise-UPoE Pavilion:  Raritan is a proven innovator of power management, infrastructure management, KVM and serial solutions for data centers of all sizes. In hundreds of corporations worldwide, our hardware and software solutions provide facilities and IT managers with the control they need to increase power management efficiency and improve data center productivity.  Take a closer look at the EnergyWise enabled PDU.  To learn more visit, www.raritan.com

Server Tech:   634:    Server Technology’s experts produce the highest quality rack-mount power distribution and monitoring solutions that manage power capacity, reduce downtime and improve energy efficiency. Server Technology’s extensive selection of Sentry CDUs is 100% performance tested for reliability and accuracy and is adaptable, enabling quick delivery of solutions that meet customer-specific requirements.  To discuss EnergyWise enabled products, visit their booth or learn more online at www.Servertech.com

Schneider Electric: 1435 and 2776, the EnergyWise-UPoE Pavilion: Schneider Electric's motto is "Make the Most of Your Energy".  As an original EnergyWise launch partner and global supplier of electrical products from UPSs, PDUs, to switch gear and more, visit Schneider Electric to learn how the facility and IT worlds are converging.  They will also have a unique EnergyWise demo.  To learn more visit http://www.apc.com/site/apc/index.cfm/ww/

Verdiem:  2776 the EnergyWise-UPoE Pavilion:  Verdiem delivered the first IT Energy Management solution for Cisco EnergyWise. Verdiem enables customers to centrally control and reduce the energy used by PCs, Macs, and EnergyWise-enabled devices such as IP phones by up to 60 percent. Customers achieve the quickest ROI – 6 months or less – at the lowest TCO.  Stop in for a look at PC power management tools.  To learn more, visit, www.verdiem.com

WTI:  524:  WTI products provide Out of Band console port access and remote power reboot & metering for Cisco routers and switches. WTI is a leading designer and manufacturer of console servers and smart pdu solutions for networks at local and remote sites. WTI devices are included in the Cisco Borderless Network Portfolio and compatible with Cisco EnergyWise.  Take a closer look at the EnergyWise enabled PDU.  For more information, visit www.wti.com

Billions (in Canada) and Trillions (around the world) of dollars are being spent each year on the development and renewal of our infrastructure. Roads, bridges, homes, and [commercial, industrial, and institutional] buildings make the physical fabric of our communities. A small, yet growing portion, of this global spending goes to the systems that make this infrastructure work; such as security, mechanical, electrical, and transportation systems.

These systems have always been part of the DNA of the underlying infrastructure for our communities (nothing new there). However, the difference is that they are becoming smarter and more capable to have a profound impact on the performance of the infrastructure. Where historically these systems were subservient to the bricks, beams, and concrete they were housed in; it now seems they are being elevated in importance. The intelligent systems have now the ability to make our infrastructure come to life - and provide greater value to those that depend on it.

The great enabler of this shift is the world of information and communications technology (ICT), and more specifically the Internet and IP networks. Networks become the new addition to the DNA of our infrastructure. We have seen already numerous examples where connected and smarter infrastructure has the ability to positively impact economic, social, and environmental sustainability. My blogs have covered several of these examples, and please keep reading them as there are more to come.

The trend of smarter and more connected infrastructure is unstoppable as every sensor, device, system (and user) will become a node on the Internet and its worldwide networks. We [as in leaders in the construction, design, development, ICT industries, and many other stakeholders] have now the stewardship to channel this transformation into a direction that is repeatable and sustainable. Together we have the ability to (re)build the fabric of our communities through the intelligent use of technology and innovation. As we see this technology and innovation converge with bricks and mortar, we will end up with infrastructure that meets our, and our children’s, rapidly growing expectations in a resource constraint world.

At Cisco Plus in Canada on Wednesday May 16^th, a selected group of leaders in the infrastructure industry (architects, engineers, developers, builders) will gather to discuss the implications of “clicks and mortar”, and the opportunities it will provide to all that are interesting pursuing them. The future is here, let’s now optimize and monetize it, together.

When you are visiting Cisco Plus, please attend also the Business Session “Managing Unprecedented Change with Business Transformation” by Sandy Hogan (Cisco Vice President of Americas Business Transformation) on Wednesday May 16^th at 11am EST.

Greetings Smart+Connected Community Members,

The Institute would like to introduce the new community manager, Ann Marcus. Ann will be your contact for the online community, content, and engagement activities! Ann was involved in the early development of the Institute and is excited to be back working on the project.

I will be moving on to a new chapter in my career pursuing another opportunity in the technology sector. I have greatly enjoyed my time here working in the community and connecting with you, it's been a real pleasure to work amongst the innovators making this realm a reality!

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Ann if you have ideas or thoughts on ways the Institute can better serve you and nurture the dialogue about urban sustainability and innovation made possible by IT.

I hope you'll join me in welcoming Ann,

Best wishes,
Rachel Medanic

The facts on the usage and growth of social media continues to amaze me. The latest I heard was that almost 900 million people have registered accounts on Facebook (launched in 2004) and that more than 30 billion pieces of content are shared on the social network site each month. Twitter (2006) sees its membership grow by more than 1 million every day, and there are already half a billion people using the site generating nearly 200 million tweets daily, producing more than 8 Terabyte data every day (and consider that each tweet is only up to 140 characters). One hour of video is uploaded to Youtube (2005) each second. And when I write this, I am sure these facts already are obsolete. That’s Big Data, right there.

These are just a few great examples of how the consumer is driving tremendous transformation of the Internet and the networked world we live in (the consumerization of the Internet). Add in the third Internet evolution: it’s industrialization and the birth of “the Internet of Things”. It’s not just people anymore that instigate the tremendous traffic and transactions on the Internet. The IP enablement of systems and devices have extended the nodes in our networked world. More “Things” use the infrastructure to communicate—in addition to phones, tablets and computers, we see sensors, meters, power stations, street lights, busses and cars, home automation, media, gaming, signage, health systems, and many more devices in manufacturing, retail, security (and so forth) all become part of the fabric that makes the foundation of our smart and connected world.

In the next years, more than 15 billion devices will communicate over networks and the Internet—and some ICT executives predict the number will exceed 50 billion by 2020. The subsequent data volume, according to McKinsey Global Institute, is expected to grow 40% annually and will increase 44 times between now and 2020; surpassing 1 Zettabyte in U.S. Internet traffic annually by 2015 (50 times that of 2007, and roughly equivalent to 50 million Libraries of Congress).

Like cars on roads and water through pipes, all this data has to flow uninterruptedly and securely through a resilient infrastructure. The need for IP networks (and broadband) is exponentially growing and our latest generations expect full (and affordable) access to it. The enabled communication between people and people, people and machines, and between machines and machines already is providing unprecedented ways for increased productivity and value creation. Now, let’s take it further: add to all this data and constant flow of transactions the notion of intelligence and analytics. Let’s leverage the power of smarts to even further drive value back into the community, to its users, and every device and process that is reliant on it. Big Data will become rapidly Bigger as intelligence is added to it through advanced analytics and computing.

Companies in the telecom industry work frantically around the world to keep up with the rapidly growing demand. Faster hardware needs to replace the still young yet already outdated infrastructure in our existing communities. It’ll be a refresh cycle that may never finish nor slow down. Here is where new communities can substantially benefit.

New communities (like Rampart Avenir Communities) have the opportunity to lay the foundation for 1 Gb or even 10 Gb to the edge of the Internet fabric (in our homes, to our modes of transportation, and simply to every connected device). Sure, today this seems excessive, but the capital cost to do it right upfront will dwarf to the cost to upgrade later (as in a few years from now). With everything connected from inception; speaking native IP languages; where oversight and management is provided by integrated operation centers; where compute power is everywhere (cloud and fog computing); and where open access is available to everyone that wants to and can benefit from it—we truly can set the new standard as to how we can further enhance and transform environmental, economic, and social sustainability in an increasingly competitive and flatter world.

The opportunities are endless. Interesting stuff. Let’s talk more about this at the “Analytics, Big Data, and the Cloud” conference in Edmonton this week. It’s not too late to register.

Check out the new video series about Songdo, South Korea, a model city for urban innovation that by 2015 will host 75,000 permanent residents and 300,000 commuters and business travelers.

Episode 1  Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea – A New Approach

Episode 2  Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea – Living

Episode 3  Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea – Work & Business

Episode 4  Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea – Lifestyle & Leisure

Episode 5  Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea – Transportation

Episode 6  Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea – Water Conservation

Episode 7  Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea – Energy

Episode 8  Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea – Education

Episode 9  Cities of the Future: Songdo, South Korea – Roadmap for a New Community

Several Cisco technology partners have converged in the Cisco Network Applications Program lab this week in San Jose, CA.  Cisco Consulting Engineer, Luis Suau, shot the following video yesterday.  It show's David Prantl of Joulex demonstrating a new prototype app that enables a Cisco EnergyWise enabled light fixture (produced by Cisco partner, NuLEDs) to be controlled wirelessly.

LEDs can be used for low energy consumption white light.

LEDs can be used to create a light experience.

They can also act as line of sight wireless access points (more to come).

I hope you enjoy this short clip.  We'll have more to show at Cisco Live 2012 in San Diego.

http://www.smartconnectedcommunities.org/videos/1381

There has been a lot of activity today on vacant land near the city centre of Edmonton. Public and private sector officials, citizens and press gathered in a make-shift tent to witness the groundbreaking of the Boyle Renaissance project. The crowd included renowned guests like the Mayor of Edmonton Stephen Mandel, TV personality Mike Holmes and officials at the Métis Capital Housing Corporation.

The groundbreaking was for a 90-unit residential project that will provide senior-friendly and barrier-free housing for Métis seniors and the disabled. The project is being spearheaded by Mike Holmes’ team, The Holmes Group, and his partners, and will result in an excellent facility that combines the highest quality of design, construction, energy sustainability and innovation.

Two partners joining Mike at the event were Enmax and Cisco Canada. Enmax Energy will provide the necessary infrastructure for district energy and combined heat and power, giving the building an advanced heating and power system that will use cleaner burning natural gas and meet the highest standards of building energy efficiency.

We at Cisco Canada will provide the network infrastructure that will form the “backbone” of the facility. The building will demonstrate the latest capabilities in systems convergence and provide for an intelligent, and connected, future-enabled environment. Over the top of this centralized IP infrastructure, the Boyle Renaissance will include Cisco’s Smart + Connected Communities (S+CC) Control4 Connected Home solution to deliver user friendly capabilities for the future residents of the building.

In the tent that has been put together for the groundbreaking ceremony, we are demonstrating the possibilities and capabilities of the Connected Home solution. The ability to completely control the home and advanced home applications from a single touch pad interface including turning off lights, lowering blinds adjusting room temperatures and changing channels on the TV– was proudly demonstrated by one of the Métis members.

The technology that will be implemented in the Boyle Renaissance project will provide cutting-edge and user-friendly features and functionalities that will enhance the quality of living for the project’s residents; and will make moving around a lot more effortless.

The success of this highly anticipated project (mind you, the first shovel only went into the ground today) is expected to become the model for future construction within the Métis portfolio and the City of Edmonton. I trust it will also spill over in the rest of Alberta and Canada at large.

We are all hopeful that together, we are re-calibrating the standards for 21st Century building development. Cisco Canada and The Holmes Group will continue to partner to push the envelope and move the ancient-old design and construction industry onto new, greener pastures with the latest and greatest innovation in design, construction and technology.

For more on today’s groundbreaking, please read the press release.