<p>Cisco is developing a "platform" to simplify IT operations over the next five years by better aligning applications and business processes.</p><p>"We are in the process of building a platform in the next five years that will simplify how IT is delivered in our vision of potentially becoming the leader in IT," said Rob Lloyd, Cisco president of development and sales, in a TelePresence roundtable session with technology reporters. "We think the network can compress much of the complexity that exists in handing off infrastructure to applications and business process."</p><p>RELATED: 15 Useful Cisco Websites</p><p>The platform will provide a consistent set of network service calls, requested and delivered through northbound and southbound APIs, to streamline the capability of an application to call a network service, such as encryption or QoS, Lloyd said.</p><p><a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/82170">Keep reading...</a></p>