Cisco partners up to offer e-learning

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By Phil Hochmuth

(IDG) -- Cisco this week announced a new product package intended to nudge enterprises into e-learning, or the use of Internet-based training and educational programs.

The networking firm will supply a solution based on its Enterprise Content Delivery Network (ECDN) products to several providers of e-learning services and companies that host collaboration and training applications. The services based on Ciscoâs ECDN products could help enterprises use e-learning to conduct employee training or customer seminars over the Internet.

The effort to encourage enterprises to use online training and education is a high priority for Ciscoâs CEO John Chambers, who has promoted e-learning inside his own company for educating and training Ciscoâs sales and engineering teams.

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Enterprise customers who use Cisco ECDN products for e-learning include staffing firm Express Personnel, Fort Hays State University in Kansas and Safeway supermarkets.

Cisco has teamed with e-learning service providers Convergent Media Systems, Digital Island, Digital Pipe, RELERA and Verado as part of the new service announcement.

In addition to its service provider partners, Cisco has also partnered up with several application service providers (ASP) and integrators for hosting and installing e-learning applications. These "E-Learning Ecosystem" partners include ASPs Centra, gForce, Ninth House and Saba, as well as e-learning systems integrator iXL.

Cisco ECDN products that will support e-learning services include:

• Cisco Content Distribution Manager - a hardware device for administering e-learning content.
• Cisco Content Engine - a content streaming server.
• Cisco IP/TV Broadcast Server - a server for delivering full-motion video to desktops.
• Cisco IP/TV Control Server - a scheduling server for network-based video content.