Guest blogger: AnnMarie Link, Global Strategic Partner Marketing Manager, Cisco 

When you think about the future of IoT, can you visualize the impact it will have on the world around us? Picture a world where everything is connected, with data from everywhere organized, analyzed, and acted upon within a fraction of a second.

But what really does that mean for you and me?

Imaginea scenario where audio sensors detect noise and trigger a notification on a city official's computer monitor.

The sensors work together with other Internet of Things devices to triangulate the exact location of an incident.  A few mouse clicks later the city official can see that a traffic accident has occurred on a three-dimensional map of the city. A system quickly assesses all available surveillance cameras, analyzing line of sight for each, and pulls up the best visual vantage point automatically.

Armed with a real-time visual understanding of the situation at hand, the city official can make smarter decisions on how to get first responders on the scene quickly, and get ahead of complications such as traffic jams or power outages.

Or, imagineflow sensors on large-scale asset networks such as oil or gas pipelines.  When an issue arises, workers are notified of the exact location of the problem, the moment it happens. Video feeds and additional environmental information will help technicians anticipate any safety risks and put environmental mitigation efforts in motion before arriving at the site.

Those are just a few examples of how data from a wide variety of sources can help people and organizations become more efficient. Enabling analytics that understand the spatial relationships between Internet of Things devices is the Future of Smart - that just happens to be this year's tagline at the Esri User Conference.

The Cisco and Esri partnership has already enabled ArcGIS Pro in a virtualized environment so that ArcGIS Pro can be deployed for a greater user experience. Virtualization helps to eliminate server sprawl, enable efficient use of server resources, and improve server availability.  It also enables data assets to be centrally maintained for security. IDC has found that more IT organizations are seeking the benefits of desktop virtualization. To learn more about their findings, check out this IDC White Paper, Assessing the Business Value of Cisco's Desktop and Application Virtualization Solution.

Cisco has and will continue to partner with Esri to explore real-time visualization possibilities for the Internet of Things. With the amount of data being captured and aggregated by the Cisco Digital Platform (CDP), it's a massive opportunity, and not just for cities. Virtually any field can benefit.

Do you want to hear more?

Join Cisco and Esri at the 2016 Esri User Conference, June 27 through July 1, located in San Diego, to see how we are working to bring real-time visualization and spatial analytics to the Internet of Things.

You'll find us (and plenty of comfy couches) in the Startup Zone, where you can also grab a quick pic with our Cisco Photo Wall. Snap a selfie, share on social media, and a selfie stick is yours to keep!

Truly, there has Never Been a Time to align with the busy, challenging, changing needs of business, no matter where you are or what you do. Cisco is solving real business problems. Check out another example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cv63G38etk

Feel free to connect with me on Twitter and leave any comments below. Let's continue the conversation!