In the US, this is the time of year when holiday shopping kicks into high gear. From Black Friday to Cyber Monday and beyond, retailers begin their big push to drive nearly a quarter of their annual revenue. And whether their customers are online or inside a traditional store, retailers today have the ability to understand shopper behavior better than ever before. This information -from purchasing patterns and advertising effectiveness to dwell times and foot traffic -allows retailers to provide their customers with a more personalized, richer digital experience that's more likely to result in a sale. It's a win-win. And it's made possible through an intelligent network that manages the data analytics, location information, security, and mobility applications that drive a more enhanced and personalized user experience.

Software plays an integral role in this intelligent network. Whether it's driving data virtualization and analytics, for example, or enabling an application-centric private and hybrid cloud, or providing comprehensive threat protection -software plays a vital role. But even more than that, software enables businesses to be more agile and innovative with market and technology transitions.

When I talk with customers, they consistently tell me that they are looking for three things:

• Flexible, easy-to-deploy solutions that drive real business and technology outcomes;
• Simple and quick ways to procure, use, and leverage technology -through converged and integrated systems and through software ELAs, subscriptions and capacity-based models;
• And -perhaps most important -richer, more powerful user experiences that will help them move more quickly, capture additional value, and drive innovation across their environments.

This is why we are laser-focused on software at Cisco. This is why we are working to bring more agility and flexibility to our customers through an application-centric and cloud-ready infrastructure. We're doing it so our customers can innovate faster, provide richer employee and customer experiences, connect the unconnected, and leverage the network to gain new insights and extend their businesses in new ways. We're doing it so our customers can become the disruptors.

We are working hard to deliver this, and more. You'll hear more about how in my next blog.

In the meantime, what are the priorities for your business, and how can an application-centric and cloud-ready infrastructure make an impact? Let me know in the comments below.