Cisco is still very much a networking company–it’s only expanding its horizons, and is actively spilling into some of the newer segments of IT that overlap with its core market.  The cloud is one example, and now there’s mobile.

The Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, trend is one of several that has been sweeping through the enterprise recently, taking advantage of the fact that workers are starting to use their own devices at work, rather than the company issued laptop.  Competitor Juniper Networks is already establishing a presence in this field via a partnership with Samsung, and now it’s Cisco’s turn.

Today the company released details on a couple of updates it rolled out to its software portfolio, specifically for solutions that can tie in with its BYOD plans. Cisco’s Identity Services Engine, a policy compliance tool that now works across mobile, WLAN, and VPN connections. The company has also unveiled Unified Wireless Network Software 7.2, a LAN soultion that can now scale one controller to support up to 30,000 end points.

In addition, two IT support and management tools have been introduced: Prime Assurance Manager and Prime Infrastructure.

Here’s one of the more interesting quotes that went along with the release, from Cisco CIO Rebecca Jacoby:

“BYOD is not just about connecting user-owned devices and allowing guest access. It’s about what you do after that — that’s when things get interesting. Cisco goes beyond that first step to provide companies with a complete solution to tackle the BYOD phenomenon today and tomorrow.”

It seems that all the big players are going after mobile. Cisco and Juniper, along with VMware and others are all getting involved, and Big Blue is no exception. IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices  is spearheading IBM’s outbound strategy in this space, offering more flexibility and security for the BYOD trend.