Bryant Issacs

Bryant uses sophisticated analysis to identify and address hard-to-find intermittent plant issues before they become outages, increasing customer satisfaction and improving uptime. According to Bryant, two key trends in cable are the move to DOCSIS 3.1 for higher bandwidth capacity and the move to virtualized software solutions for things like user interfaces, navigation, gateway functions, video processing, and network functions. Diversity to him refers to “things that make us different from one another.”

What’s the definition of diversity in 2014, and how can the cable industry do better in the area of inclusiveness?

Diversity simply refers to things that make us different from one another. We tend to focus on demographic diversity when we talk about inclusiveness in the cable industry. The industry needs continued improvement in reflecting the demographics of the communities they serve, especially in the executive ranks. Beyond this simple definition of diversity and inclusiveness, we get to the larger issue of the need to welcome and consider the expected diverse inputs of our teams as this will ensure continuous innovation and continued market leadership in our industry.

What’s been your company’s biggest innovation this year?

The ARRIS E6000 Converged Edge Router (CER) which converges video and data capabilities and our advanced gateways are obvious and very visible innovations. For my own business unit, it is the move to a software as a service (SaaS) business model and the supporting DevOps product realization process.

What qualities do you look for when making a new hire?

Beyond obvious technical competence and qualification for the job at hand, I look for individuals who can interact with the larger cross functional organization and adapt appropriately to make forward progress. I also look for key characteristics supporting the value system of our company including: customer first, innovation, teamwork, and results orientation. In an individual, this translates to personal characteristics such as courage, integrity, and drive.

Name one emerging trend in cable we should all have our eye on?

An obvious trend is the move to DOCSIS 3.1 for higher bandwidth capacity. Another key trend is the move to virtualized software solutions for things like user interfaces, navigation, gateway functions, video processing, and network functions.