A. The Cisco Managed Services Solution consists of network management software and Cisco Advanced services. This solution is used to provision, configure, and monitor Cisco Integrated Service Routers (ISRs) based managed services.
Q. What are the current Cisco Managed Services Solution capabilities?
A. The Cisco Managed Services Solution is a network management solution for Integrated Services Router based managed services which supports Managed Firewall, Managed NAT, Managed site-to-site IPSec VPN.
Q. What are the main functions of Cisco Managed Services Solution?
A. The solution includes the following functions:
• Zero-Touch Provisioning of the Cisco Integrated Services Router and Security Services Provisioning.
• Configuration Management.
• Fault and Event Monitoring.
Q. What are the advantages of the solution to Service Providers?
A.
• Lowers risk by packaging up the software and services into a single offering that targets a low startup cost and a pay-as-you-grow annuity model to match the Service Provider managed services revenue.
• Lowers risk and decreases time to market through the delivery of a system that is pre-tested and pre-integrated with the life-cycle approach for each managed service.
• Single vendor to provide the full life-cycle management from prepare, plan, design to installation, final deployment and support phases.
• Adds a professional services component around Cisco technology to ensure smoother implementation and to fill gaps in Service Provider expertise and experience.
• Lowers deployment and operational costs through the operational harvesting of intellectual capital. A cisco-led solution produces a cookie cutter, factory model for managed services through the application of learned experience from previous phases and a global customer base.
• Reduces complexity and increases the ROI through a systems approach to a service delivery platform.
• Subscriber retention.
• Provides a solution roadmap to offer our Cisco Service Provider customers the highest degree of industry "solution value" from design to delivery.
Q. What are the advantages to the end customers?
A.
• Allows the end customers to request security services to address their business requirements.
• Provides predictable recurring cost assurance and bundling of services.
• Easy to add new services to the solution with a unified element management layer with advanced applications on top.
• Provide a rich Integrated Services Router (ISR) platform to enable multiple managed service offerings to be created from a single device...Facilitates deploying different indepth security strategy at affordable cost due to integrated security features based on the Integrated Services Router.
• A management solution that can be evolved into a more comprehensive service management platform with other service offerings like voice, enhanced security etc.
• Takes advantage of advanced technology.
Q. What are the details of advanced services offered as part of Cisco Managed Services solution?
A.
• Cisco Advanced Services would be used to complete your MSS requirements related to the Prepare, Plan, Design and Implement phases of the MSS lifecycle approach.
• The Cisco Managed Services Solution Analysis is a required MSS solution plan phase service.
• Advanced partner services may be available in some regions for integration to existing OSS environment and for the implementation of additional solution components.
Q. Why the life cycle approach?
A. The software and the service combination has been designed, pre-integrated and pre-tested based on a managed services lifecycle approach to optimize value, lower risk and decrease time to market.
Q. Do I need to purchase Cisco Advanced Services as part of the Cisco Managed Services Solution?
A. Cisco customers must purchase the Cisco Managed Services Solution software and at a minimum, the Cisco Managed Services Solution Analysis service. Additional Cisco Advanced Services are available to support any requirements to move the managed service project through the Prepare, Plan, Design, and Implementation phases.
Q. What are the deliverables included in the Cisco Managed Services Solution Analysis service?
A. The Cisco Managed Services Solution Analysis delivers the following deliverables.
• Current State Analysis
• Future State Analysis
• Gap Analysis
• Implementation Plan
Q. What are the exact versions of the software in the solution?
• Today it is expensive to add new services to management systems. Cisco Managed Services Solution solves this by providing an integrated and unified element management layer with advanced applications on top.
• A unified element management layer for managed services is a competitive differentiator for the Service Providers.
• The solution reduces Service Provider deployment costs and decreases the time to deploy new managed services.
Q. How is the pricing of Cisco Managed Services Solution?
A. For faster and trouble-free Cisco Managed Services Solution deployment, the solution includes the installation and configuration of the management software. The offering begins with a foundation Element Management System (EMS) for the Cisco Integrated Services Router, with optional managed security packages layered on top of the EMS.
A one-year term software license supports a scalable pricing model to lower Service Provider deployment risk.
It uses a pay-as-you-grow model.
Q. What are the goals of Cisco Managed Services Solution?
A.
• To enable the Integrated Services Router (ISR) platform to provide multiple managed service offerings to be created from a single device.
• Provide an OSS/NMS solutions framework made up of Cisco software + Cisco Services + Cisco Partner Services to enable service deployment and service assurance.
• Provide leadership and consulting to ensure a successful and profitable managed service implementation.
• Reduce the cost of deploying and operating a managed service.
Q. Who is the target of the Cisco Managed Services Solution?
A. The solution targets Tier 1 and Tier 2 Service Provider customers.
Q. What are future plans for Cisco Managed Services Solution?
A. The Cisco Managed Services Solution roadmap defines a service management platform that enables managed security today and will deliver additional IP NGN services including managed voice and enhanced managed security in the future.
Q. Why does Cisco Systems® require customers to buy one-year right-to-use software licenses? Are perpetual software licenses available?
A. The Cisco Managed Services Solution lowers managed service deployment risk by offering one-year term licenses (annuity model) to match the same model offered by service providers to their customers. After making a minimal investment in the Cisco Managed Services Solution base software, Service Provider customers pay only when they add customers to their managed services and deploy the Cisco Integrated Services Router in a managed service. This pay-as-you grow model enables Cisco to share the investment risk with the service provider. The perpetual software model is offered for standalone Cisco network management products but not for the Cisco Managed Services Solution.
Q. Does the Cisco Managed Services Solution support devices other than the Cisco Integrated Services Router?
A. The Cisco Managed Services Solution is primarily targeted for the Cisco Integrated Services Router. Future functionality and roadmaps will focus on enabling support for other managed services based on the Cisco Integrated Services Router The current solution package includes support for a variety of devices using SNMP MIB-2; however, support for all device functionality and other MIBs may be limited. The Cisco Managed Services Solution release 1.0 solution does not support other non-ISR Cisco devices such as the IAD or PIX(ASA).
Q. Does the Cisco Managed Services Solution support third-party devices?
A. No, the Cisco Managed Services Solution requires the Cisco IOS® Software management agent and therefore it supports only Cisco devices.
Q. Does the Cisco Managed Services Solution support network-based VPN services?
A. No, the Cisco Managed Services Solution supports only CPE-based site-to-site IPsec VPN services.
For More Information
For more information about the Cisco Managed Services Solution, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/mss or contact your local Cisco account representative.
