Looking back at the year, John Brookbank, Vice President, Americas Distribution for Cisco told us that “2021 was the year of demonstrating perseverance and grit.” Across industries, organizations of all sizes had to redefine “work.” With anything that requires a major overhaul this evolution of hybrid work is going to continue for some time.
“When approximately 75 percent of workers say their expectations for working flexibly have increased, we must push for an environment where we can work from anywhere – at any time,” Brookbank explained. That is where Cisco has put their focus. They continue to double down on redefining work, workspaces, and how we get things done. “While Cisco’s products and services have always been ahead of the game in enabling that opportunity, it was never more relevant or impactful as it was in 2021,” he told us.
But even as we start a new year, Brookbank knows that we are still learning from our past hybrid work experiences. “We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we’re working to make it easier for company leadership to alleviate that uncertainty by enabling a work environment and lifestyle that is inclusive, flexible, supportive, secure, and easily managed.”
Brookbank believes that work will be redefined as something you do, not a place that you go. “Hybrid work is the future. We expect 98 percent of all meetings will have at least one person joining from a home office.” To help companies embrace this evolution, Cisco continues to develop hybrid work solutions to help customers create an inclusive and engaging experience for anyone.
Across the Cisco IT channel, this means there will be a continued focus on driving partner growth and ensuring that they have the tools, trainings, and incentives they need to help deliver hybrid work solutions. “Our focus is on driving partner growth through integrated platforms and XaaS while expanding opportunity in our Routes-To-Market,” Brookbank said. While a majority of global IT leaders are looking to empower their distributed workforce with seamless access and a collaborative experience, Brookbank explained that they also demand high security, control, and governance across devices, networks, cloud, and applications. Cisco has the technology solutions to make these requirements a reality.
“It’s no longer about solving the challenges of remote work or supporting a safe office re-entry; the entire workforce needs the solutions to work whether they are on-site, off-site, or in a mixed-mode on any given day or time,” Brookbank concluded.
