Why we want to work with the new government of Nigeria – CISCO

GLOBAL technology giant, Cisco, has indicated its readiness to work with the new government of Nigeria by way of helping to build a new workforce through training, and also helping to create a new communications and technology environment, using its immense technology experience and global presence.

Speaking to Vanguard in his office at San Jose California a week before the coming of the Musa Yar’Adua administration, Cisco President and CEO, John Chambers told Vanguard that Nigeria remains one of the most important markets in the emerging market theatre, as a result, Cisco would be ready to make all kinds of commitment and investment and optimize it for its operations and mutual benefits between the country and Cisco.

The emerging market theatre is growing between 40 and 50 per cent annually and Cisco wants to remain a lead player in the market.
Specifically, Cisco is ready to deploy its vast security experience to the oil companies in Nigeria, and has already actually entered into discussions with some of the operators to use its remote security surveillance to monitor pipelines across the country. This will be helpful in moments of leakages and breakages, which so often have contributed to dwindling crude output in the country, and consequent rise in price unpredictability in the global oil market.

Is such surveillance possible? This story may suffice. At the Silicon Valley where it is major player, Cisco has forty five big buildings occupied by 19,000 employees. Globally it has 55, 000 workers, and as chairman of the board, John P. Morgridge, put it in 2006 report, “Cisco’s operations on a global basis now reach geographies that we considered previously unreachable. We employ approximately 50, 000 of the best and brightest talent in the world.” Five has since been added.

But what is interesting and relevant here is that all these buildings, the operations in the US and around the globe are monitored at the security office in San Jose, although some monitoring facility is replicated in most of their offices around the globe. Sitting at the Emergency Operating Centre, it was possible to take a trip to most of these operations round the world, either through giant TV screens or computers. The operation is powered by its formidable IP platform.

“The security technology that we are using is being sold to the other companies,” Ned Bagno told visiting journalists from Africa and the Middle East.
A novel feature of this department is the interoperability of the ordinary radio and the mobile phone, using the internet protocol to form a single operational tool. This way, one signal can be received in all the three areas, radio, mobile set, IP phone or the computer, as the case may be.

From a small company that started out in 1984 making different computers to talk to one another, Cisco has become a global giant with earnings last year peaking at $28.5bn. It is a global leader in IP technology with over 7.5million IP phones worldwide; and very strong in networking, wireless technology, and mobility among others.

The successful acquisition of Scientific Atlanta last year strengthened Cisco’s hold on the market and perfectly seals its ability in the “quad play” offering of data, voice, video and mobility, according to Chambers.

Businesses are separated into Enterprise, Service, Commercial and Emerging Market Theatre. But it is in the emerging market that Cisco hopes to position and makes a skill not only by having a good market share but in canvassing its technology to the point that it will be generally accepted by most of the developing world.
Cisco is hailed as the human network because it enables people to make powerful connections – whether in business, education, philanthropy or creativity, Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the internet solutions that make network possible- providing easy access to information anywhere, anytime.

At San Jose, officials pride themselves for being able to provide technologies that are affordable, available, easy to use, and relevant to situations that may arise. This is why the company headquarters have become a kind of Mecca, visited by even the power around the world. The office is visited by business and world leaders, including George Bush and Tony and was only penultimate week, visited by Arnold Schwarzenegger, most of who come around to see how Cisco’s latest technology offering can impact on their economies in the areas of price, relevance, and simplicity and deployment among others.

For instance, a Cisco IP phone is almost network of its own and can support a full fledge business, supporting up to ten computers and can serve as a mobile office as well, with cost highly affordable because of the IP platform. The AP 500 Cisco Mobility Express can support up to 250 users.

One would think that Cisco’s attention would be on the developed markets where it is already a leader. But no, Cisco would rather look at the emerging market which they have labeled a theatre because that is where the growth is, according to research.

Officials confess that ICT per capita expenditure is higher in the developed markets but it is growing much faster in emerging markets. The market is developing at between 40 and 50 per cent and Cisco wants to be in the forefront by growing at above the market rate.

While governments in developing countries are building infrastructures and modern cities, Cisco officials are of the opinion that the more Cisco can co-operate with governments the more the government and people can see the need for information and communications technology, ICT.

One way of doing this is go beyond providing products and services, to rendering some special services tailored to benefit the operating environment. This is why apart from providing very useful tools in the fields of communications and health, Cisco is running academies across the world with a majority in the emerging market theatre. The organization wants to influence their business environment by helping to build up an IT literate community of resource persons.

There are 295 Cisco Network Academies in Africa, 563 instructors, 20, 533 participating students, and 12, 446 graduates out of which 29 per cent are female. In Nigeria, there are 24 Academies, 1, 621 students, out of which 24 per cent are female. Also in Nigeria, Cisco is already involved in joint project with the Federal Government to train teachers. Its contribution as counter part funding to that project is over N4bn.

The intention of Cisco, VP, Emerging Markets, Julian Lighton, explained is to help “build digital human networks that will bridge digital and social divides, and transform productivity in emerging markets.”

Source: Vanguard