Cisco recently unveiled Cisco Unified Service Delivery, a solution to help service providers build a foundation for cloud services, while they transform the delivery of consumer and business applications to any place and device. Service providers worldwide can now take advantage of this new solution to combine the power of Cisco's data center portfolio and Unified Computing architecture with the capabilities of the Internet Protocol Next-Generation Networks (IP NGNs).

"The unification of the data center and the IP Next Generation Network is a natural progression not just in the evolution of networking -- it also builds the foundation for innovative service providers such as Terremark and iTricity to enable them to optimize their networks toward delivering new revenue-generating cloud-based services," said Kelly Ahuja, senior vice president and general manager, service provider routing technology group, Cisco.

"As service providers take proactive steps at transitioning to cloud services and becoming part of the value chain of data center virtualization, they are looking at two key factors, profitability and increasing revenue," said Ray Mota, chief strategist for Synergy Research Group. "The Cisco Unified Service Delivery solution is designed to increase speed to new revenue, simplify service delivery, provide a more secure experience and reduce costs while addressing data center longevity and efficiencies."

With Unified Service Delivery and a next-generation IP network, a service provider can deliver video, data and video services from the data center, enabling it to substantially optimize resources, assure quality, significantly reduce operational costs, and deliver a better, more expansive and more secure virtual experience for their customers. The Unified Service Delivery extends Cisco's data center portfolio and is a critical step in the company's service provider Data Center 3.0 strategy, helping providers build a foundation for cloud services.

Consumers and businesses are demanding new services and more from their network experiences. In fact, the increased demand for connected experiences has contributed to a projected 46 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in global Internet traffic, as estimated by the most recent Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI). Launching new services poses challenges for service providers as traditional approaches do not quickly or cost-effectively accommodate such growth profitably.

To address these service challenges and to enable service providers to take advantage of cloud-based services, Cisco is introducing its Unified Service Delivery. This solution combines the capabilities and benefits of the service provider data center with the Cisco IP NGN architecture to help service providers better optimize resources, reduce operational costs and deliver a highly secure virtual service experience for their customers.

"Cisco is uniquely suited to provide the infrastructure to make the Unified Service Delivery solution a reality and also provide the commitment and stability to be the partner of choice for service providers, for many years to come," said Ahuja.

Cisco Unified Service Delivery incorporates leading data-center products such as the Cisco Unified Computing System and the Cisco Nexus Switch, with a new data-center optimized configuration of Cisco's flagship router, the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System, and Cisco's wide range of IP NGN products.

Two new Cisco 10-gigabit modules and a Cisco 40-gigabit forwarding processor for the flagship Cisco CRS-1 platform are being introduced. They are designed specifically to extend virtualization from the data center through the IP NGN core and to address the needs of peering and interconnect applications for a service provider's data centers. The Cisco CRS-1 platform and its new modules permit providers to virtualize traffic and network operations on a per-service or per-customer basis with a smaller Cisco CRS-1 footprint. This system design allows service providers to quickly adapt to changing customer needs, accelerate service delivery, permit better utilization of resources, and increase the return on investment.