Cisco Drives Towards IT Simplicity

Webex meeting summaries are one of several generative AI-powered, simplification-focused features ... [+] that Cisco unveiled at their recent Cisco Live event.

Trying to make sense of all the announcements that came out of this year’s Cisco Live event is no easy task. It is, after all, a highly technical conference that’s primarily focused on bringing important new product updates and strategic company messages to its IT and networking professional customers.

Thankfully, there is a consistent theme that weaves throughout press releases ranging from an extensible full stack observability (FSO) platform to generative AI-enabled Webex enhancements and much more. Ironically, the theme is simplicity.

Like others in the world of enterprise IT hardware, software and services, Cisco has recognized how extraordinarily complex it is to create and manage modern applications and the infrastructure necessary to support them. Importantly, it’s now working to fix that problem.

Sprinkled throughout the company’s latest product offerings are tangible efforts at simplification. From a conceptual, visual and architectural perspective, Cisco is working to make setting up, managing, and troubleshooting applications and infrastructure easier. Most importantly, the company’s latest efforts are designed to proactively ensure that hybrid multi-cloud (or even on-premises) applications run as simply and consistently as possible.

Of course, translating theory and vision into reality isn’t always easy, but Cisco made important progress towards these multi-year goals at this year’s show. The new Cisco Networking Cloud vision, for example, starts to bring together several of the company’s previously independent management offerings into a single, consistent framework and user interface that also supports single sign-on. The idea is to not only create a uniform look and experience for its various management tools, but also to make it easier for IT and networking professionals to move among several tasks, such as network traffic monitoring and automating operations.

The simplicity theme was also apparent in the forthcoming Cisco Secure Access solution, which is a zero-trust network access (ZTNA)-based service designed to automatically create the most secure connection between various types of applications and their sources. As the company pointed out, depending on where a given client device is located and what type of application the end user wants to run, a different type of security solution may be required. Some may require a VPN, for example, while others might need a secure web gateway, cloud access security broker (CASB), or something else. End users can’t possibly remember all these choices, however, so the new Cisco solution automatically makes the right choice in a completely transparent and behind-the-scenes way, ensuring the best and most secure connection.

The company took another step towards simpler (and better) application performance with the latest iteration of its Customer Digital Experience Monitoring (CDEM) solution. Now incorporating the company’s Thousand Eyes network and application monitoring tools, the CDEM solution can not only troubleshoot performance-related issues if problems come up when running certain applications, it can also proactively adjust things like network routes to ensure the best quality experience. Again, the end user doesn’t see anything, but the Cisco software does its magic in the background to ensure that they have a consistent, high-quality application experience.

What’s interesting about the CDEM solution is that it’s based on an open standard set of data measurements known as MELT (Metrics, Events, Logs and Traces), which means that companies can choose to mix and match other compatible solutions that also support MELT. In Cisco’s case, they’re using the MELT data not only for observability but security monitoring as well, allowing a single data set to be used for multiple purposes. It’s an interesting example of how Cisco is leveraging its new tools and architectures to make often complicated IT processes much easier.

The Customer Digital Experience Monitoring solution is just part of the newly extensible Full Stack Observability platform, which the company announced is now generally available. The platform leverages Cisco’s App Dynamics tool to gather network telemetry data both from the client device and backend servers and feeds the information to Thousand Eyes, where insights can be made that allow companies to do things like set KPIs (key performance indicators) for application performance and much more. The observability platform is also extensible, allowing both Cisco and third parties to create industry or application-specific plugin-like extensions. It’s a great example of how Cisco is tying together a number of its technologies into more powerful, more insightful, and ultimately, more useful applications.

On the collaboration side of things, Cisco unveiled several generative AI-powered features in its Webex platform that will make it much easier to stay up-to-date with meetings or get caught up if you’re a few minutes late to a video conference. Appropriately called “Catch Me Up,” the latter feature can deliver you a quick text summary of what’s happened and been said so far. To get a quick refresher on previous meetings that you have either have been a part of or weren’t able to attend, the new Webex will soon be able to automatically generate intelligent summaries that not only cover what was discussed, but the action items coming out of the meetings as well. Frankly, it’s an even better way of staying on top of things than the speedy playback features (1.5x/2x) that Cisco previously introduced.

Cisco plans to use similar generative AI-based summarization capabilities in a future version of its Webex Contact Center solution. The new feature will provide a quick summary of a call to a new agent who may take over the inquiry in the event the call gets disconnected. It also enables an easy way to send a summary to the customer who made the initial inquiry. In addition, by integrating a company’s support materials into the AI model powering these features, you can make all the support center reps as informed and helpful as the most experienced experts in the group. I’m convinced that these kinds of call center features could end up being one of the first killer applications for generative AI in the enterprise so great to see Cisco making these efforts.

Cisco introduced a huge range of additional new products and feature enhancements at this year’s event that I just don’t have the space to cover here. But as the aforementioned examples illustrate, the company is continuing to make progress on the challenging task of making today’s professional IT and networking tools easier to use and more useful.

Disclosure: TECHnalysis Research is a tech industry market research and consulting firm and, like all companies in that field, works with many technology vendors as clients, some of whom may be listed in this article.

10 Questions To Ask Before Opening A Checking Account

Editorial Note: They earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect their editors' opinions or evaluations.

You need an everyday place to manage your household bills, and a checking account lets you do just that. But with all the different banks and credit unions out there to choose from, there are several questions you need to ask before you open a checking account.

To find the best checking account for your needs, ask these 10 questions to help match you with the perfect balance of fees and features.

The bank or credit union around the corner isn’t your only banking choice anymore. With the rise of online banks, you have quite a few options for where to open an account.

A bank with a physical branch may make sense if the in-person banking experience still wins you over. From the drive-through to the teller who knows you by name, those are features you generally won’t find at an online bank (and for logical reasons).

However, if you’re a digital native of someone who already does pretty much everything online, an online bank could be a perfect fit. With their robust online tools and savvy mobile apps, online banks cater to those who like to bank on the go and don’t need a physical branch for reassurance.

Different banks offer different checking account features, including various incentive programs like loyalty rewards and cash back options. If these features are important to you, you’ll want to look for a bank that offers the type of incentive program that helps you make the most of your checking account.

Banks like Discover Bank, Axos Bank and LendingClub Bank all offer cash back checking account options, including debit cards with reward features. Some regional and national banks provide various cash back, bonus and rewards programs as well. Be sure to review how any cash back is accumulated, and read the fine print to learn about fees or requirements to activate bonuses or other rewards.

Before you open your account, you need to know what type of checking account you need. This will help you compare features between banks on the same type of account:

Interest rates are one of the most distinguishing features of high-yield checking accounts and they can vary widely. While many national brick-and-mortar banks offer nominal interest on personal checking accounts, online banks typically offer more competitive interest rates.

Pay attention to the different interest rate tiers banks offer and any requirements you’ll need to meet to earn those yields. You may have to fulfill specific requirements each month to earn the highest yields on a checking account, like receiving direct deposits or making a certain number of debit card transactions.

Some checking accounts not only have a minimum opening deposit but a minimum monthly balance requirement as well. You’ll have to meet the minimum to avoid a monthly account fee.

Sometimes banks will waive the minimum balance requirement if you meet certain qualifications each month—such as opting to receive your paycheck via direct deposit. Be sure to read the fine print to make sure you’re not opening a checking account with balance requirements that you can’t meet.

Here’s where the competition gets stiff between brick-and-mortar banks and online banks: ATM fees.

If you use an ATM that’s in your bank’s ATM network (you can usually locate these in your bank’s mobile banking app or via the bank’s website), you can likely avoid fees when you make ATM withdrawals. However, when you need money in a pinch, how will your bank charge you for using an out-of-network ATM?

When you use an ATM outside of your bank’s network, it’s common to be charged by the bank that owns the ATM, and you may also get charged by your bank. So, you could get hit with fees twice. However, some banks offer ATM fee rebates to help ease the stress of needing to find an ATM on the bank’s network.

Banks including Axos Bank, LendingClub Bank and Charles Schwab Bank offer unlimited out-of-network ATM fee reimbursement for their checking customers. Other banks may offer to refund a certain dollar amount per month. At worst, you’re stuck with the fees. If you use a lot of cash, you’ll want a bank with friendly ATM fee policies.

From mobile check deposits to making sure your paycheck hits your account, a user-friendly mobile app can make all the difference when choosing a checking account.

Even if you won’t be doing all your banking from your mobile device, it pays to get a look at the app’s functionality. Don’t be shy about digging through bank and credit union websites to see if you can sneak a peek at the different features their mobile banking apps offer. If you’re looking for specific features in the mobile banking app, you can always call the bank’s customer service line or chat with their customer service team on their website.

Also, take a look at the bank’s mobile app star rating on the App Store or Google Play.

Bill payment features through your bank can help you stick to a budget, automate bill payments and avoid late fees. Because this is a popular feature with checking accounts, you have options when it comes to bill pay features.

Many banks have digital partnerships with popular credit card companies and utility providers (like cable and electric companies) and can send digital payments directly from your account. Other banks only send paper checks and you’ll have to make sure you set your bill payment date enough in advance of your due date for the payment to arrive on time.

The last thing you want to do is bounce a check, but even the most diligent people hit a financial hiccup at times. That’s why you want to compare each bank’s features for protecting you should you overdraw your account.

Overdraft protection on your checking account can come in many forms. Some banks offer to make an automatic transfer from a savings account held at the same institution to cover the transaction. Others provide a grace period so you can make a deposit to cover the shortfall.

While a no-fee checking account is ideal, there are plenty of potential fees you could incur as a matter of doing business with your checking account. Knowing how the banks you’re considering assess fees can help you make a more apples-to-apples comparison between checking accounts.

Some common fees for checking accounts are:

Many online banks are super savvy and keep their fees to a minimum to entice you to open a checking account. Don’t be shy about speaking with a human being regarding any questions you may have about checking account fees. It’s better that you’re well-informed before you open your account.

The 10 questions above can help you narrow down your options to identify the best checking accounts for your financial goals and lifestyle. A checking account is just one part of your overall financial relationship. Be sure to look at savings account options with the same bank and how the bank’s other services will complement future financial goals like buying a home and saving for retirement.

Bonds Are a Problem, and One Solution, for Bank of America