With the onset of a global pandemic two years ago, remote work became the norm for a majority of enterprise firms. A significant percentage of the workforce was predicted to return to the office by the end of 2021, but the rise of COVID variants threw a wrench into those plans.

Meeting the challenges posed by hybrid work will be a central focus of “Cisco: Powering Hybrid Work” event, a collaboration between Cisco and theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s livestreaming studio, airing Feb. 15.

Hybrid work discussion will highlight key role of networks

A blend of remote and office work is developing as the likely scenario, and SiliconANGLE predicts that 2022 will be the year that hybrid emerges as the dominant operational model. This will open new business opportunities for firms, such as Cisco Systems Inc., that have looked closely at the hybrid work trend and identified solutions for this new reality.

“All of our customers are exploring how to architect for hybrid work,” said Raakhee Mistry, director of product marketing — enterprise, networking and cloud — at Cisco, during an interview with theCUBE in advance of the event. “This is a great opportunity for them to learn how to prepare their infrastructure for great experiences anywhere, to support smart and sustainable workplaces, and deliver secure internet of things at scale.”

How organizations can handle the challenges of a dispersed workforce will be a central focus during the “Cisco: Powering Hybrid Work” event on Feb. 15. The agenda will include interviews with top Wi-Fi, 5G and switching experts who will discuss how to navigate the transition to hybrid work and opportunities for building a robust network. (* Disclosure below.)

Extending robust networks to the edge

Success of a hybrid work model depends heavily on a robust network. In early February, Cisco debuted new features and product enhancements to enable agile work environments for business.

These include the availability of Wi-Fi 6E via Cisco Catalyst 9136 and Meraki MR57 access points. The access points will use newly available spectrum to match the wired speeds and gigabit performance of Wi-Fi 6E.

Cisco accompanied its announcement with the release of new options in the Catalyst 9000x line of switches, designed to support increased traffic anticipated by the boost in wireless capacity.

Cisco also announced that a private 5G managed service will become available to its service provider partners. This 5G framework will offer adaptable ways to protect networks as organizations continue to make the digital transition to hybrid work environments.

Cisco’s approach to hybrid work is to foster increased collaboration throughout an organization by providing IoT and operational technologies that can scale to meet the needs of a dispersed workforce.

“We will complement this technology in our enterprise Wi-Fi stack with our new private 5G service provided by our service provider partners to deliver more of mobile connectivity to our enterprise customers,” Mistry said. “This all aligns to Cisco’s strategy to help our customers connect, secure and automate in this new world and deliver an inclusive future for all.”

Livestream of the ‘Cisco: Powering Hybrid Work’ event

The “Cisco: Powering Hybrid Work” event will feature interviews to be broadcast on theCUBE. You can register for free here to access the live event. Plus, you can watch theCUBE interviews here on demand after the live event.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch the “Cisco: Powering Hybrid Work” event, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s events on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE Insights podcast

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify, which you can enjoy while on the go.

Guests

During the “Cisco: Powering Hybrid Work” event, theCUBE will talk with Cisco’s Lawrence Huang, vice president of product management, Cisco Meraki; Muhammad Imam, director of technical marketing, Enterprise Networks Business; Masum Mir, VP and general manager of the Cable & Mobile Business Unit; and Greg Dorai, VP of product, secure access, enterprise networking and cloud.

Event Update!

Check out our full event coverage, as well as post-event coverage, and watch the complete event video below:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the “Cisco: Powering Hybrid Work” event. Neither Cisco Systems Inc., the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE