Cisco services help enterprises set infrastructure, operations priorities

Cisco has unveiled a new Lifecycle Services (LCS) offering that’s aimed at enabling enterprise customers to get the most out of their networking and technology investments.

LCS is being delivered by Cisco’s Global Customer Experience (CX) team, which includes some 20,000 employees that focus on supporting organizations as they choose, deploy and operate the technologies they need to achieve their business goals.

Cisco CX and its partner organizations offer a suite of services to help customers optimize their network infrastructure, security, collaboration, cloud and data center operations – from planning and design to implementation and maintenance.

From a networking perspective, lifecycle services can help enterprises design and architect a network infrastructure and help install, configure and run the environment.

The idea with LCS is to shift the focus of IT from dealing with constant challenges to focusing on the business outcomes of technology investments with measurable observations.

“LCS lets you start with your desired outcomes, then helps you identify and execute IT initiatives aligned to those outcomes, which allows you to demonstrate measurable results,” wrote Alistair Wildman, senior vice president of Cisco Global Customer Experience, in a blog about the new LCS. “You also get Cisco experts with advanced tools, automation, and AI/ML insights to accelerate time-to-outcomes.”

Cisco experts work with customers to identify and develop IT optimization and transformation strategies. “We then work with your team and partners to prioritize, implement, and drive the adoption of these strategies so that you achieve tangible business outcomes.”

At the beginning of an engagement, together with customers, Cisco identifies outcomes aligned with key performance indicators (KPI). “Using telemetry and high-touch discovery, our experts analyze your IT environment and identify strategies to achieve your desired business outcomes,” Wildman said. Then Cisco and partners make recommendations, help customers prioritize IT initiatives, and build an execution plan.

LCS includes different options for working with enterprises:

• Advise Me: Cisco advises the customer on how to achieve their desired outcomes.
• Do It With Me: Cisco works alongside the customer to help achieve their desired outcomes.
• Do It For Me: Cisco works with the customer all the way from recommendations to execution.

“We and our partners work with you to remove roadblocks to ensure the execution of prioritized initiatives – aligned with the way you work,” Wildman wrote. “To demonstrate progress consistently, we track, measure, translate, and report KPIs at regular intervals using Automated Dashboard and Quarterly Business Reviews.”