Cisco Introduces New Innovations for Digital Buildings

February 20, 2017

What if the next time you walk into a store to buy your favourite brand of shampoo, the floor literally lights up and shows you the way? Or you enter a shared office space, and the room simply “knows” who you are and adjusts the lights and temperature to your liking?

Businesses want to set the bar with innovation. They want to outsmart the competition. And they want to inspire their customers and employees. They also want to get it done fast and without breaking the bank. Digital transformation not only creates better experiences for workers and guests, but saves money and energy. To make it happen, a multitude of systems that control everything from badge swipes to lighting and air conditioning must work together as if they were one. And it must be secure.

Today, the industry takes a huge leap forward as Cisco announces the Catalyst Digital Building Series Switch. It is the first switch built specifically for the needs of digital buildings by powering and connecting building systems onto a single, low-voltage IP network. This milestone is at the heart of the smart building vision Cisco is defining with its growing list of 23+ ecosystem partners.

The new digital building switch ties into Cisco’s ambitions to change how enterprise networks are built and managed. Cisco is using a new digital network architecture — Cisco DNA — to build more automated, responsive, self-driving networks.

What’s new

1. Supports convergence: for the first time, disparate systems like lighting, HVAC, and badging can be managed on the same switch. This is due to the switch’s support of a key IoT protocol called the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP) —an industry first.
2. Delivers twice the power: the switch supports bigger, brighter lighting fixtures – and can get the power back on within 5 seconds of a power outage. The 60W per-port Cisco UPOE technology delivers twice the power of current PoE+.
3. Simplifies installation: Cisco designed the switch with ease of installation in mind. Technicians use Bluetooth and a mobile app to install and deploy it.
4. Runs noise-free: its fanless design makes it ideal for anywhere that requires quiet – like hospitals, retail shops, hotels, and the workplace.

Find out more: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/catalyst-digital-building-series-switches/index.html