This blog was originally posted by Phil Smith, CEO, Cisco UKI to the EMEAR Network.
From the very first business computers to optical fibres, locomotive and jet engines to DNA sequencing, the UK has been a home to innovation for many centuries.
When Cisco’s CEO John Chambers was in the UK in 2011, he was impressed by the initiatives put in place to keep that long tradition alive; and to see a government with the ambition to provide the tools to do so. When John met with David Cameron during that visit, the Prime Minister outlined his vision for a world-class technology centre in East London that would generate jobs, diversify the economy and support sustainable growth; for his part John pledged that Cisco would take an active role in helping the UK to take its place as one of the powerhouses of the global technology landscape. That pledge said we would make a $500m investment of money, technology and manpower into the UK economy which would foster the environment of technological innovation and entrepreneurship that would drive true economic growth.
Last week John was in the UK and I was delighted to show him how the commitment he put in place three years ago is still strong; if anything, intensified.
We have invested in and acquired innovative British businesses and I’m proud to say that, overall, our actual investment in the economy has worked out much greater than the $500m target we initially set ourselves.
Under the umbrella of the British Innovation Gateway (BIG), from the annual BIG awards, in which we showcase the best and brightest British start-ups; our national virtual incubator nodes connecting many of the UK’s other major digital business and technology clusters, to the Cisco CREATE innovation centres, which look at how the Internet of Everything can change and shape communities around the world, Cisco is championing innovation both within our own business and across the UK as a whole.
With 305 Cisco Networking Academies across the UK and Ireland, since inception we’ve touched the lives of 170,000 students in the UK. To place that in context…read the full post here.
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