Be there

Cisco Systems is holding an analyst day tomorrow, a particular focus of which is expected to be its “telepresence” products for three-screen, high-definition videoconferencing (though the company would prefer you don’t call it that). Of course, a real proof point for that business would be an analyst day to which nobody came -- a completely videoconferenced meeting.

Two weeks ago, Cisco hosted its largest-ever virtual meeting, using its telepresence gear to remotely join workers from San Jose, Calif., to Bangalore, India and several other locations. As is inevitable in corporate personnel meetings, there was cake (it happened to be CEO John Chambers’ birthday). The cake was also sent to all participating office locations -- not by telepresence, though, which would have been really impressive. As a teleworker, I’m glad I don’t have to do any more staff birthday cake “meetings.” I sure wouldn’t want to be conferenced in to one.

Bill Maher once joked (in words I can’t seem to find on the Web anywhere, so, with apologies, I’ll paraphrase) that all business travel could be eliminated by teleconferencing, videoconferencing, Web conferencing and other telecom applications if such travel were really intended to get business done. The fact that people still travel on business despite the advancement of all this technology is proof, he said, of the fact that the real reason we hold conventions and expos and business meetings and the like is to give ourselves an excuse to get away from our families. If true, Cisco will face an uphill battle convincing corporate clients that these quarter-million-dollar products can be used for more than getting together for cake.

More importantly, Telephony magazine is giving you your very own chance to get away from your families this fall. Telephony Live, the 2007 Telecom Summit, will be held in Dallas October 10 and 11. Join a long list of industry luminaries like Time Warner Telecom CEO Larissa Herda, Verizon Communications’ CTO Mark Wegleitner and others (too numerous to mention) in a series of in-depth discussions on telecom’s future. I’m not making any promises, but there might also -- maybe -- be cake. Read more about the event here.

E-mail me at ed.gubbins@penton.com.