As the wheels of my 6:00 AM flight leave the ground it seems as though more than just the increased G’s of takeoff press me back into the seat. An unsettling feeling seems to surround the airliner’s cabin.
As we rise I see off in the distance an amber glow on the horizon. What is it that the old sailors say, “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning?”
Off to the south, after devastating areas of the Yucatan, Tropical Strom Ida is barreling towards the area of my destination. I have already planned for extra time for airport delays and traffic after landing. In the modern equivalent, I have learned well the old traveling salesman’s lesson that teaches when driving to an appointment you should figure out how long it takes to change a flat tire and build that time into your itinerary.
As the distance shrinks between take off and landing I wonder what additional challenges Ida will throw my way. With the possibility growing that I may not make the meeting start time, I think about how my communications tools will become critical if today’s investment in time and travel are to pay off.
This itinerary is not new to me. I have made this trip many times before. On a normal day I would need to clear the airport by 9:00 to get downtown, find the address, find parking, and make my way to the appointment at 11:00. As this day is shaping up, I am headed for a bumpy landing and unknowable obstacles.
When I exit the terminal I will be confronted by high winds and sideways rains. I envision inverted umbrellas rolling down the street as the wind howls in the concrete chasms of the modern city. I think about my future that will include navigating massive puddles and snarled traffic as Ida’s estimated three inches of rain accumulates to overwhelm drainage systems and roadways. The probability of my long planned itinerary successfully delivering me to my meeting on time slims with each passing air mile.
After a relatively smooth ride we begin our descent. We leave behind the jet stream and plunge into the cloud deck. Almost immediately the bumps begin. The passenger next to me is startled from his sleep. The person behind me grabs the back of my chair. For me it is just one more in a long series of turbulent rides in a career filled with many challenging adventures.
As the flight attendant gingerly makes his way through the cabin collecting potential projectiles and performing landing inspection of the passenger cabin, I take this all in stride. It is time for me to conduct my ritual of strategically arranging my belongings to prepare for a swift deplane.
We are passing through the thick layers of the unstable air. It feels as if we are on a rollercoaster as the massive engines of the 767 plow through 20,000 feet of tropical disturbance. I get intermittent feelings of the exhilaration of near weightlessness punctuated by stomach turning drops. I think back to summer vacation as my sons and I tore through a series of theme parks like adventurers of some ancient time conquering indigenous expanses.
Suddenly as it so often does, the tumult disappears.
As we approach the runway I can see the rain pelting the pavement. The airplane accelerates as the pilot compensates for gusting winds. As the wheel touch ground and we begin to taxi, I grab my Smartphone and await the signal that it is okay to download my email.
What has changed since I left the ground? What new surprises does the day hold? How will my years of business travel experience propel my productivity fair against today’s challenges? How will my advanced communications tools serve me as the minutes before my appointment evaporate and a room full of people assembles to hear my keynote?
I’ll soon find out.
[To be continued …]
Related discussions:
Journey to the Center of the Telephone Self-service Earth 29 September 2009
Self-service Mythic Adventure 18 August 2009
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March 10th, 2010 by Dean Howarth
In our final Olympic post, I thought it would be interesting to do an interview with Chris Gadsby, Avaya's program manager for the Olympics. In that role, Chris was integral for the successful deployment of Avaya’s equipment throughout the Vancouver area, and I hope this interview gives a behind the scene view for the demanding work that the team was completing day in and day out during the Olympic Games.
Thanks to Chris for his time and insight.
- Chris, what is your role for the Olympics? What has it been like working on the Olympic Games in Vancouver?
I am Avaya's program manager for the Olympics. My role is to ensure that our Olympic contracts are fulfilled successfully and to the mutual benefit of our customers and Avaya. I have been delighted to work on the Olympics - truly a career highlight. I live in Calgary Canada and was there for the 1988 Olympics and love to ski so the Winter Olympics have a special appeal.
- How long have you been working on this project?
I have been working on the project for about 2.5 years. At the time I was working on an internal project and I was asked whether I would be interested in a "customer facing project" with no specifics being offered. I said yes and was then told it was the 2010 Winter Olympics - I was very surprised and flattered.
- Can you walk us through a typical' day for you during the Olympics?
During the Games period we are focused on network performance. We have a team of product experts working here in Vancouver with our Olympic partners and we start the day early reviewing reports of network performance. We then meet with the extended support team to discuss and manage any items requiring follow up actions and monitoring.
- What have you learned from your experience working on this project?
In real estate they talk about the 3 most important things being "Location, Location, Location" ... In project management it is "Communicate, Communicate, Communicate".
- Avaya has been working with several other sponsors/suppliers of the Olympics and Paralympic, such as Bell, VANOC and Atos Origin. Can you walk us through how these collaborations have worked in practice?
The Avaya equipment was used by Bell, VANOC and Atos Origin to provide various services to the Olympics and they are Avaya's key stakeholders. Traditionally the Olympic Games would be served by several separate networks - the Avaya solution is based on a converged network design whereby all traffic is travelling on a single purpose-built network. This has made close cooperation an absolute requirement. We have collectively adopted a "one team" approach to ensure success. We share the goal of delivering a flawless technology solution and have been very successful in working together.
- Chris, thanks so much for some of your valuable time, very much appreciated. Great work in Vancouver.
In conclusion, Avaya is very proud of our role as the Official Converged Network Equipment Supplier for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver for both the completed Winter Olympics and our continued support for the Paralympic Games, which will run between March 12–21.
Tags: avaya, contact center, ucoms, Unified Comm's, VoIP
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March 10th, 2010 by lhoriuch@cisco.com
We’re proud to announce the
foundation for the Next-Generation Internet: The Cisco CRS-3 Carrier Routing System. This advanced platform is designed to deliver a new wave of video, mobile and data center/cloud services.
Some stats on the CRS-3:
- The Cisco CRS-3 triples the capacity of its predecessor, the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System, with up to 322 Terabits per second,
- This enables the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress to be downloaded in just over one second; and
- Every man, woman and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously; and
- Every motion picture ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes.
Tags: Cisco
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March 9th, 2010 by jearnhar@cisco.com
Cisco CTO Padmasree Warrior (@Padmasree on Twitter) today offers a blog to Fortune.com’s “Postcards” section edited by Patricia Sellers. Warrior writes:
“Today is International Women’s Day. While we’re celebrating the achievements of women, we also need to recognize that in many fields, there are way too few women. This is the case in my domain: engineering and technology. And so, I’m spending today thinking about the future–and asking, How can we use this day to help the next generations of women charge ahead? I can help by sharing 10 career tips that I’ve learned along the way…and by the way, guys on the way up can relate to these too.”
Her tips include:
- Creativity is a journey beyond boundaries
- Build expertise from experience
- The only person that can slow you down is you
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March 9th, 2010 by lhoriuch@cisco.com
We’re in the middle of some interesting times for the Digital Media Systems team. Recently, at the Digital Signage Expo, the largest tradeshow for digital signage in North America, Cisco announced the expansion of our Digital Media Creative Services to simplify content creation for our customers. The announcement generated a lot of interest for Cisco, drawing a busy booth with attendees interested in demoing a variety of our solutions such as Cisco Digital Signs, Cisco Show and Share, Cisco Cast, Cisco Media Experience Engine and more.
We’re also thrilled to announce that Cisco, along with our customers, received two Gold Apex Awards. In the stadium and arenas category, Cisco and the Miami Dolphins’ Sun Life Stadium (previously known as Landshark) earned the gold for deploying Cisco StadiumVision and for the education and healthcare category; Cisco and the Northern Virginia Community College was awarded for the unique deployment of digital signage across the campus as well. Awarded by Digital Signage Expo, the Apex recognizes innovation in the global digital out-of-home industry.
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