Cisco Systems Inc. released its FY 23 Purpose Report this week at its Cisco Live APJC in Melbourne conference in Melbourne, Australia, and I had the opportunity to talk to a group of Cisco executives about its contents.

In this article, I’ll focus on the report’s context, how the company will set the stage for the next generation of workers, and how the company is handling sustainability today and in the future.

In the report, Chief Executive Chuck Robbins writes: “Through a powerful combination of their technology, their people, and their purpose — to power an inclusive future for all — they have helped customers and communities all around the globe, and this year, we’re celebrating an amazing milestone.” The company says it has reached a goal it set in 2016 — to have an impact on 1 billion people by fiscal 2025 — a year ahead of schedule.

This isn’t the typical report that one might find from a publicly traded company, but I do think it’s important for Cisco. In 2020, amid COVID and a litany of social issues, Cisco evolved its purpose from being the company that “Empowers the Internet Generation” to “power an inclusive future for all.” The Purpose Report holds Cisco accountable to itself and its stakeholders, demonstrating that the purpose statement is more than just words.

An important point to note about this milestone is that Cisco has diligently calculated this number to ensure accuracy. When Cisco first set this goal, I asked Cisco management how they would track the path to 1 billion people, and they were crystal clear: The people would have to be directly affected by Cisco and its activities. For example, if it was to fund a company that positively affected a billion people, Cisco would not count that in its calculations.

“When they talk about purpose, and when they talk about taking care of their customers — but also larger communities — we’re acknowledging that businesses can do good and do well,” Guy Diedrich, Cisco’s senior vice president and global innovation officer, said in the briefing. “The two are not mutually exclusive.” To back up that claim, Diedrich said that, in fiscal year 2023, Cisco made $461 million in cash and in-kind contributions — directly or through the Cisco Foundation — including $387 million via the Cisco Networking Academy.

“NetAcad now is operating in its 26th year,” he said. “We operate in 190 countries and have trained over 20.5 million students. We’ve just made a very recent announcement, agreeing to train another 25 million over the next 10 years.”

For those unfamiliar with NetAcad, it’s been an incredibly important component of Cisco’s ability to change the world positively. I’ve talked to many NetAcad grads, many in poor countries with little work available. NetAcad gave them the skills to find jobs within their country or with foreign countries. This is particularly important for many women where their home country would not consider them, but a global foreign organization would.

The company is also working with 100 historically black colleges and universities in the U.S. to introduce STEM and learn skills that can help students land their first jobs. There was an interesting discussion about security and AI in the briefing. Ambika Kapur, senior vice president of security marketing, and DJ Sampath, vice president of AI products, shared how Cisco will use a mindful and systematic approach to security and the use of AI.

The technology is interesting for me — it’s what I think about every day. And the training of the next generation of workers is critical and will doubtless make a difference. But I’m interested in what Cisco and its peers are doing to Improve the world, including sustainability.

How can the company ensure the world is around for the next generation and succeeding generations? Kirk Smith, senior director of customer experience product management, shared sustainable services the company is launching. “Cisco is committed to a sustainable future,” he said. “And they want to make sure that we’re also able to help their partners and customers reach their sustainability goals as well.”

In line with that thinking, the company launched a range of sustainability services for real-time energy measurement, expert consulting, and insights for improved sustainability, including Campus — via Meraki and Catalyst — in August and a sustainability priority assessment advisory service in November. It also announced the limited availability of an energy optimization assessment advisory service in November.

In January, Cisco will release Lifecycle Services Energy Optimization Management for Data Centers. Smith shared a success story about Egypt Telecom. “They were being pushed through regulation and new stakeholder expectations to define their sustainability path,” he said. “We engaged with them with the priority assessment, and in a short six weeks, they went from not knowing how they were going to progress against those goals to having a plan that they could articulate to stakeholders and implementing against that plan and being able to measure progress.”

Sustainability will ensure their future, and Cisco is making great strides to be a more sustainable company and help its customers reach their goals. Cisco is also focused on many other areas, also covered in the report, including human and worker rights, sourcing minerals responsibly, health and safety, responsible AI, inclusiveness and many more.

The report is long. And it covers more than I can write about in this space. You can read the full report here. A good way to summarize the report comes from the note from Robbins in the report introduction: “Cisco has made a difference for more than one-eighth of the world’s population — a testament to what they can achieve when people and purpose intersect in service of communities.”

I applaud Cisco for its efforts. It proves that a company can have wide-ranging impacts beyond selling its products. It can influence policy, change attitudes and help protect the planet’s future.

Zeus Kerravala is a principal analyst at ZK Research, a division of Kerravala Consulting. He wrote this article for SiliconANGLE.

Photo: Cisco

• Expo City Dubai is embracing a circular approach for COP28, collaborating with Cisco to repurpose hardware and infrastructure that was originally deployed for Expo 2020 Dubai.
• Expo City is also taking part in Cisco’s Takeback and Reuse Program, which provides the opportunity to return hardware that has reached end-of-use, at no cost.

DUBAI – Cisco’s secure networking technologies are powering Expo City Dubai, the venue for the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

With more than 70,000 delegates expected, including heads of state and world leaders, non-government organizations, youth groups and more, Expo City Dubai is leveraging industry-leading IT infrastructure, while contributing to a circular economy.

Expo City Dubai is reutilizing more than 95% of existing hardware infrastructure spanning Cisco secure networking, data center and collaboration technologies, initially deployed for Expo 2020 Dubai, while introducing new wireless innovations and Cisco’s Customer Experience Consultancy Services to meet the unique connectivity requirements of the Blue and Green Zone areas at COP28. Expo City is also taking part in Cisco’s Takeback and Reuse Program, a zero-cost simple, secure and sustainable way to return end-of-use gear to Cisco, supporting a circular economy.

Eman Al Awadhi, Vice President – Network and Cyber Security, Expo City Dubai, said: “As the former site of the 2020 World Expo continues to evolve into a model for the cities of the future, the team at Expo City Dubai is managing the convergence of information technology and operational technologies with sustainable best practices. They are proud to continue this journey with Cisco, as they work together to ensure a safe, secure and connected site.”

Mary de Wysocki, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Cisco said: “Cisco led the transition into the digital age decades ago. Today, their world needs a new transformation where public and private sectors act to reduce emissions, support nature-based and technology-based carbon removal solutions, and transition to clean energy. Global forums, like COP28, that facilitate this collaboration are a key part in building a low-carbon society. They are proud to work with customers like Expo City Dubai who prioritize circular business practices.”

Reem Asaad, Vice President, Cisco Middle East and Africa, said: “We are proud to support COP28 and the UAE as the host country. As part of their collaboration, Cisco has provided professional and technical services to design, implement and support the network infrastructure at Expo City, enabling attendees and the host nation to connect seamlessly and securely.”

Asaad added, “Today’s announcement is another key milestone in their journey to support the UAE’s vision of unlocking the value of digitization in support of the country’s sustainability efforts.”

Cisco has a long-standing focus on sustainability with an ambitious goal to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 2040—a goal that is approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) under its Corporate Net-Zero Standard. Together with their customers and partners, Cisco is working to empower decisions now that can help bring about a more sustainable future.        

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that securely connects everything to make anything possible. Our purpose is to power an inclusive future for all by helping their customers reimagine their applications, power hybrid work, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals. Discover more on The Newsroom and follow us on X at @Cisco.  

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.    

Media Contact
Cisco
Rasha Zaki
razaki@cisco.com

What Higher Ed IT Leaders Should Know About AI and Cybersecurity

There’s no question that artificial intelligence has become a powerful tool for both cybersecurity attacks and defenses, potentially increasing the volume and velocity of attacks while speeding the detection and analysis of malicious activity. How will AI change the way organizations are impacted by cybersecurity threats in the coming year? In this interactive discussion, we’ll talk about AI-enabled attack techniques in use today, what threats to watch on the horizon, and how institutions should prioritize their cybersecurity strategies accordingly.

Our expert panelists are Karen Renaud, a computing scientist at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow specializing in human-centered security and privacy, and Merrill Warkentin, ACM Distinguished Scientist, W.L. Giles Distinguished Professor, and the Rouse Endowed Professor of Information Systems in the College of Business at Mississippi State University.

Sponsored by Cisco

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 01:52:00 -0600 en text/html https://campustechnology.com/webcasts/2023/09/cisco_aiandcybersecurity.aspx

emirates computers recognized by cisco as a telepresence authorized technology provider

Emirates Computers announced today that it has achieved the TelePresence Authorized Technology Provider (ATP) status from Cisco.  This designation recognizes Emirates Computers as having the fulfilled the training requirements and program prerequisites to sell, deploy and support Cisco TelePresence.
Cisco TelePresence Meeting solution is a revolutionary new category of products that create live, "face-to-face" meeting experiences over an Internet Protocol (IP) network, empowering users to interact and collaborate in ways they could not before.  It combines the reach, intelligence and reliability of the network with the simplicity of a telephone interface to deliver an entirely new way for people to meet and collaborate. Cisco TelePresence Meeting is the first application of Cisco TelePresence technology.
“We are happy that Cisco chose us to be a TelePresence Authorized Technology Provider. Cisco has constantly been innovating to offer customers the latest and best technology. Our team is dedicated and committed to providing the best service, support and technical expertise in promoting Cisco TelePresence in this region,” said Mr. Dani Diab, Vice president and General Manager - Emirates Computers Abu Dhabi.
"Cisco TelePresence is an innovative, new application that changes the entire realm of communications and collaboration," said Mr.Richard McLeod, director of unified communciations for worldwide channels at Cisco.  “Our TelePresence ATP partners, such as Emirates Computers, will help Cisco drive the technology across the chasm by delivering the sales, technical and lifecycle services capabilities customers need to successfully deploy the entire solution.”
 The Cisco Authorized Technology Provider (ATP) Program is a key part of Cisco’s emerging technology go-to-market strategy.  The program helps define the knowledge, skills and services that channel partners need to successfully sell, deploy and support a subject technology.  As markets mature and technologies progress along the adoption curve, some ATP programs may migrate to Cisco Specializations. 
 

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 10:00:00 -0600 en text/html https://www.albawaba.com/news/emirates-computers-recognized-cisco-telepresence-authorized-technology-provider No result found, try new keyword!Looking at the universe of stocks they cover at Dividend Channel, on 1/4/24, NetApp, Inc. (Symbol: NTAP), Cisco Systems Inc (Symbol: CSCO), and Marvell Technology Inc (Symbol: MRVL) will all trade ... Tue, 02 Jan 2024 00:57:00 -0600 https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/ex-dividend-reminder:-netapp-cisco-systems-and-marvell-technology