In one fell swoop, Cisco with the announcement of AON (Application Oriented Networking) has altered the enterprise software infrastructure and application space. Cisco AON is clearly offering enterprises an alternative to the expensive and proprietary information supply chain infrastructure in place at every Global 2000 organization in the world. With AON – the Network now is at the center of information reporting and computing.
Historically, organizations have utilized an expensive and expansive middle-tier of software– software with categories such as Enterprise Application Integration (EAI); Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing; Portal Servers; and Enterprise Information Integration (EII). With AON, Cisco offers an alternative to this for organizations looking to leverage their network infrastructure (Cisco Routers) and provide right-time information processing and presentation. AON with blade server which plugs into the router is able to capture XML-based Data that is flowing across the network from applications. AON’s ability to capture that data puts it not just at the center of Internet Access through its router technology, but now at the center of the information supply chain. With AON in place the network truly becomes the center of computing and offers a highly leveraged way for organizations to get at data in right-time.
Chambers vision of the Intelligent Information Network (IIN) is becoming reality with the introduction of AON. AON is as much of a new product introduction as it is a new computing philosophy. IBM under Gerstner put the PC at the center in the early 90’s and was able to drive ancillary services that produced revenue. Now AON, puts the Network at the Center of computing. Cisco will be a critical supplier of the new Information Network, commoditizing the traditional Information Supply Chain.
