Overview
Challenge Response
Creation of the IT industry's first social learning network, the Cisco Learning Network. By bringing together people, technical expertise, documentation, and tools in a community designed to support interaction and learning using social and collaborative tools.
Organizational Background Cisco Innovation Business Impact Customer Impact Enabling Success
To empower Cisco Networking professionals to excel in their job performance and grow their technical knowledge through the creation of a Web 2.0 social community that connects them with IT colleagues, mentors, learning tools and materials, and Cisco technical resources.
Innovative Approach
• • • The Cisco Learning Network is the first social learning community for Networking professionals. It provides a unique venue for Networking professionals to connect with, and learn from each other using collaboration and social learning. The community shares expertise and learning through specialized study groups, wikis, blogs, discussion boards, and self-assessment tools. The Cisco Learning Network is a meeting place designed to inform and support IT professionals in their quest to achieve technical certification and career growth.
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The mission of Learning@Cisco is to ensure that Cisco customers and partners have the right technical expertise, in the right place, at the right time, to support Cisco's vision and global business needs. Learning@Cisco is a talent development organization chartered to meet the market demand for technical talent worldwide.
– Learning@Cisco creates the training, technical certification programs, professional communities, and consulting services needed to train and certify the world's networking experts. – Learning@Cisco's primary customers are external IT professionals working for companies around the world, Cisco partners, and Cisco itself.
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Learning@Cisco produces unparalleled training and certification programs, state-ofthe-art learning products, and the Cisco Learning Network, the first social learning community for Networking Professionals.
Learning and Connection Before the Cisco Learning Network
• Before the Cisco Learning Network existed, certification candidates did not have a place to gather and share information. • Certification study materials and resources were previously spread across many websites and difficult to find. – The traditional web approach (Web 1.0) for sharing information about Cisco certification was ineffective. • The Cisco Learning Network created a social learning environment, enabling the networking community to own their own career development and accelerate it through peer networking.
• Learning@Cisco found new ways to communicate about certification and certification preparation using Web 2.0 approaches including:
– Shared wikis, blogs, study groups, polls, games, and social media communities like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. – Online assessment-based tools provided personalized feedback for those wishing to assess their skills and inform career decisions.
Learning Games for learners
New Approaches to Technical Education
John Chambers, Cisco CEO "The Internet and Education are the two great equalizers in life." Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, VP/GM at Learning@Cisco, is changing the way that Cisco creates and delivers education products and services for Cisco customers and partners. Using the power of social media and Web 2.0 technologies, the Cisco Learning Network engages IT professionals worldwide through a dynamic learning community offering new Educational products such as mobile learning.
Cisco Innovation
• Deliver the right expertise in the right place at the right time
Vision
Create the next generation of loyal customers that will transform the world through the power of the network.
Strategy
Remove barriers to education by creating new learning product delivery models, new learning platforms and talent development acceleration
Execution
Grow education using green, mobile, and global approaches Create personalized learning environments Develop non-traditional learning products with collaboration
Develop a connected social community of Cisco technical professionals to support learning and professional development. Support the talent development needs of Cisco, Cisco partners, and the wider Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in emerging countries.
Community Benefits
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A new platform for Cisco technical professionals to easily interact with peers around the globe. Using a social learning platform (Web 2.0) members connect with sources of knowledge, training, technical information, and colleagues. Member career goals are supported and enhanced due to greater access to Cisco training and certification. An effective method to help Cisco train and certify the technical professionals needed to grow their business globally.
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Cisco Learning Network Innovations
Changing the rules of the game
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Cisco Innovation
The Cisco Learning Network represents a fundamental shift in education delivery for Learning@Cisco and the Networking industry. Prior to the Cisco Learning Network, IT professional training was focused on Instructor-led classes and online products that did not incorporate the user driven, personalized and social features of a learning community. The site is a meeting place for social learning and a community resource designed to reinforce the activities necessary to achieve certification and professional growth. The Cisco Learning Network has helped change the perception of IT e-learning and social communities from a cost center to a strategic asset that directly connects with customers and drives business success.
How Learning@Cisco Built a Social Learning Community
Building a community of learners
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Cisco Innovation
Member registration on the site was a key requirement in building the community. Providing incentive for people to become members, not just visitors, helped to foster an environment of professionalism, accountability and community commitment. Registered members can build their reputations as networking experts and accumulate points for participation in forums, study groups and more, adding to the overall knowledge and value of the community.
• Learning@Cisco community managers report that there is little to no disruptive behavior on the Cisco Learning Network. Members are respectful and positive in their contributions to the groups and forums. • In addition, the forums and study groups are effective gathering sites for those who are in the process of attaining a Cisco certification.
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Certified Cisco Learning Network Users are Loyal Cisco Customers
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Business Impact
The Cisco Learning Network connects Cisco with the Cisco certified community. Users of the Cisco Learning Network are typically certified or on the path to Cisco certification. On the Cisco Annual Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Survey, it was found that in questions measuring customer loyalty, Cisco certified respondents were on average 10% more loyal than non-certified respondents over a three year period.* In addition, a majority of Cisco certified professionals play a role in network-related purchase decisions at their companies. Loyalty correlates to sales. In a 2012 study of Cisco certified professionals, 58% reported that they played a role in purchasing products.** The Cisco Learning Network serves this population of certified customers with resources and tools keeping them connected and Cisco certified.
"The certification track gives the Cisco products an invested leverage." "I wouldn't be as committed to Cisco if I hadn't spent the time getting various certifications."
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*Source: Learning@Cisco analysis of the Cisco Annual Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Survey for the years 2004, 2005, 2006 **Source: Learning@Cisco , 2012 Annual Customer Satisfaction Survey of Cisco Certified Customers
Business Benefits Gained from the Cisco Learning Network
- Connect the Cisco community in their pursuit of Cisco technical learning regardless of their professional or financial status, geography, or cultural background. - Help IT professionals develop their careers through participation in the Cisco Learning Network.
Business Impact
- Expand the Cisco certified community throughout the world to help Cisco expand its global business. - Strengthen customer engagement with Cisco. - Increase loyalty to the Cisco brand through connection and participation. - Crowdsourcing of exam questions.
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A Game Changer for Learners
• The Cisco Learning Network is recognized by industry analysts including Gartner, IDC and others as a pioneer and leader in Social Learning. The Cisco Learning Network is an always on, '24/7' source of learning and peer interaction for networking professionals around the globe. It connects multiple kinds of Cisco communities – including Cisco employees with Cisco customers, partners and certification students. The Cisco Learning Network removes geographic and financial barriers to learning by offering numerous free resources to the community.
Customer Impact
Carol Rozwell, Gartner VP and Distinguished Analyst "Cisco uses the Cisco Learning Network to help answer general questions on technical and business matters, so customers can help themselves get to the right answer quickly through the knowledge of the community."
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Cushing Anderson, IDC VP IDC MarketScape, 2013 "Cisco has continued to expand a unique community to facilitate the career development of Cisco-certified IT professionals, including partners and internal professionals."
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The Cisco Learning Network Helps Customers by Making Education Services Accessible to All
• Removes the financial barriers to learning
Customer Impact
– Site is open to anyone pursuing a Cisco education – Many free learning resources, tools and opportunities including: • Free enrollment and participation in study groups • Free direct access to Cisco community managers • Free attendance to live and prerecorded webinar content • Free attendance for self-study product related events
Learning@Cisco has been recognized as an IDC MarketScape leader in Worldwide IT Education and Training, thanks in part to the Cisco Learning Network, in both 2012 and 2013. IDC highlights that:
– No other IT Training and Education program in the industry has enabled their customers' success through education the way Cisco has with the Cisco Learning Network. – No other Education Services group has built a massive global community of IT professionals focused on career and workforce development like the Cisco Learning Network.
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Cushing Anderson, Program VP, IDC
– "Cisco has an established and robust network of certified professionals. This pool of talent willingly shares its insights, experience, and opinions to help improve the certification experience and richness of its content." – "The development of skill assessments for individuals shows a commitment to Cisco's individual learners. The ability to map a prospective candidate's current knowledge with course offerings and even career options will continue to foster a loyal relationship between Cisco's certification community and its brand." – "Consistent with Cisco's overall commitment to its client satisfaction, Cisco has created a strong link between training and certification attainment and partner readiness to sell or service Cisco clients."
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The Cisco Learning Network has successfully transformed learning into a social activity, an industry first move, enabling Networking professionals to connect with, and learn from each other to achieve technical certification and career growth. The growth of the Cisco Learning Network, supporting over 2 million technically qualified individuals, underscores the community interest in social learning, and successful build out of the network. The Cisco Learning Network has removed geographic and financial barriers to learning, offering numerous free resources to the community. The Cisco Learning Network has gathered people, technical expertise, documentation, and tools in a community designed to support interaction and learning using social and collaborative tools.
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