Introducing Cisco Spark

At the Enterprise Connect conference in March 2015, Cisco's Rowan Trollope introduced Cisco Spark. The solution was previously previewed as Project Squared just five months earlier. Cisco Spark is a totally new type of communications solution that embraces real-time communications (video) and asynchronous communications (messaging). This type of solution, which TalkingPointz refers to as Any-Time communications could represent a natural evolution from unified communications because it better addresses workflow. UC tends to delegate workflow to email, which results with un-unified communications as conversations become scattered across multiple tools.

[caption id="attachment_24747" align="alignright" width="275"] Cisco Spark[/caption]

Cisco Spark is a freemium service and represents a significant shift for Cisco. It's a new type of tool that could cannibalize other revenues. It is a freemium model that although sold through channels represents a direct offering from Cisco to customer organizations.

From Rowan Trollope on a Cisco blog post:

Cisco Spark makes teamwork simpler and we know this because our customers who began using Project Squared just five months ago are seeing increased productivity and even changes in behavior. Teams are feeling more connected and have a greater sense of community.

I know Cisco Spark makes teamwork simpler – I use it every day to run my $4B business. I get more work done, faster, and more effectively than ever before. I’m in constant contact with my leadership team, and I can make decisions quickly that impact the business.

Two years ago, when we set out on a mission to make collaboration technology simple and ubiquitous, we were helping galvanize the movement to agile by breaking down hierarchies. We wanted to bring the same amazing technology down to every worker, every desk, every room, and every pocket. Keeping the best technology – like Cisco TelePresence – only for the top of an organization makes no sense especially if you want to transform your business from the work structure of the industrial age to that of the digital age.

I believe we are in the midst of a revolution in the way we work. Only collaboration technology can truly transform businesses in terms of how people communicate, how workers get jobs done, and how teams come together to share information, create, and innovate.

This two page report provides information on Cisco Spark.