A key trait of innovative small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) is agility-making decisions quickly, shifting direction with a customer, and swiftly working out the details with colleagues. But at the end of the day, what it all comes down to is having the right technology-to enable responsiveness, increase overall productivity, and keep SMBs competitive.

And that becomes especially important when you look at statistics around mobility. The mobile worker population is expected to reach 1.3 billion by 2015, and 71 percent of SMBs now functioning as work-from-anywhere businesses (according to IDC's Worldwide Mobile Worker Population 2011-2015 Forecast. At the same time, this move to mobile has refocused SMBs' attention on security.

On-the-go SMB workforces need to be able to work and collaborate securely, whether onsite or mobile. And, since SMBs generally don't have dedicated IT departments, they need technologies that are easy to use and manage, all while fitting within a tight budget. This kind of enablement is what allows small businesses to be agile.

In response to these challenges, Cisco has introduced a host of new small business technologies designed to support the requirements of nimble SMBs that are looking to get an edge. These offerings deliver new capabilities around security, collaboration, and mobility.

• Cisco? ISA500 Series Integrated Security Appliance: Named as2012 Outstanding Hardware Solution by IT Nation, this all-in-one security solution keeps businesses running in case of ISP network failure with highly secure Internet, wireless, dual wide-area network (WAN), and site-to-site and remote VPN access with unified threat management (UTM) capabilities.
• Cisco SPA302D Multi-Line DECT Handset and Cisco SPA232D Multi-Line DECT ATA:An affordable and reliable on-premise mobility solution provides the convenience of a cordless handset with an ATA voice gateway that includes an integrated DECT base station for both voice over IP (VoIP) and public switched telephone network (PSTN) calls.
• Cisco SPA500DS Expansion Module: A digital attendant console that attaches to the SPA500 Series IP Phones, further enhancing Cisco's collaboration products.

• Cisco RV215W Wireless-N VPN Router with 3G/4G: Easy-to-use wireless router packs in security features and enables seamless mobile connectivity with a wide variety of options including 3G and 4G via a USB data card. This allows connectivity when wired access isn't available.
• Software updates to Cisco WAP121 Wireless-N AP and Cisco WAP321 Wireless-N Selectable-Band AP: New firmware upgrades enable single-point setup to simplify deployment of office-wide wireless networks and deliver superior Wi-Fi connectivity.

To learn more about our latest small business products, visit our website. And, watch for additional blogs in the coming days that will zero in on related topics to provide more context around how you can help maximize productivity in a secure environment, however you define your workspace.

We'd also love to hear from you about your SMB challenges. What are you hoping to tackle this year from an IT perspective?