It was not so long ago that people would often have to make difficult choices about their work. Your dream job might open up 3,000 miles away. Your new job means leading a team on the other side of the world. Your day is spent on the road meeting with customers, not in an office. In the past, working men and women have been forced to choose: Do I uproot my family to take advantage of a new job opportunity that could bring greater financial security? Will I need to travel a majority of the time to effectively lead my team? What will I lose during hours of travel time? Companies faced similar choices: Are we missing out on talent because they are not local? How do we connect different locations and geographies effectively?  Can our dispersed teams be more productive and more connected? If we require an employee to move, do we risk losing the employee? Can we afford the increasing relocation costs?

And then the Internet changed everything.

Smart people with great tools found new ways to work together. You no longer have to be in the same room to work with your colleagues. Cisco has been at the leading edge of this new approach to the traditional workplace. Through sophisticated connectivity platforms, people now collaborate, create and produce in a way that defies the previous limitations of geography. Campuses and workspaces are connected globally with a push of a button. And in this new and secure collaborative workspace, employees are happier, the planet is healthier, and companies and their employees are noting increased productivity inside and outside the office.

With connected collaborative workspaces that are secure and reliable, we have the flexibility to work from multiple locations and be effective. Whether we work in geographically diverse locations, from home or on the move, companies and their employees can now work in the most collaborative and effective environment possible, regardless of location.

At Cisco, we help companies work better, smarter, and more effectively. We are constantly seeking ways to make collaboration easier and more productive. Next week, we are bringing together some of the smartest minds for our Collaboration Summit, where we will examine the evolving workplace of the 21st century, including how mobility and the cloud are changing the way we work.

The world has become more interconnected, more mobile, more innovative and more complex. We are focused on perfecting the workspaces that allow companies to empower employees to contribute and collaborate whether they're behind their desks, in a conference room, on a plane, at a hotel or home. That flexibility allows people to do their best, achieve their highest potential, and be part of a team.

The Internet of Everything is -once again -changing everything. Global business is the new normal. The nature of work continues to evolve. It is an increasingly rare luxury to have all the key players in the same room to make decisions and run programs. With smart, simple, and secure workspaces, Cisco is proving that you don't have to.