ADEC Choses Cisco to Advance Emirates Education With State-of-the Art 21st-Century Network

Dubai, 15 December 2013 – Cisco today announced that the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), which develops and implements educational policies and programs to improve education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has deployed Cisco® Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) in its 270 public schools throughout Abu Dhabi.

Cisco WAAS will help ADEC build and grow their expanded network with a set of cost-effective WAN optimization solutions that accelerate applications over the WAN, provide local hosting of branch-office IT services, optimize end-user experiences, and reduce bandwidth and latency problems.

Highlights/Key Facts:

• Three years ago, ADEC began an ambitious project to raise the entire Emirate’s standard of education by investing in a next-generation education IP infrastructure. The Council worked closely with Cisco Advanced Services and Cisco partners to plan and create a scalable WAN foundation that connected all schools and would support future planned voice, data, and video needs. At the same time, ADEC began furnishing computing devices to teachers and administrative staff at every school, and supplying every classroom with a computer, digital “smart board,” and projector. The Council finally decided to install a Cisco WAAS solution to deliver an optimal experience for administrators and teachers as they access HR and ERP business applications from anywhere on the WAN, streamlining processes and enhancing productivity.
• Cisco WAAS provides an elastic “scale as you grow” enterprise-wide deployment model with Cisco AppNav and industry-leading scalability for highly secure acceleration of email, file, web, software-as-a-service (SaaS), video, and VDI applications. It is jointly tested, validated, supported, and verified as a Citrix Ready solution.

Executive Quotes:

H.E. Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Director General, Abu Dhabi Education Council

“Our strategic relationship with Cisco is a significant one because as the Council seeks to develop education and educational institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, we will implement innovative technology solutions to improve education, and support educational institutions and staff to help achieve the objectives of national development in accordance with the highest international standards. We take an extensive holistic approach in selecting solution provider – we look at technology leadership, service and support capabilities, financial health, partner strength, regional commitment, industry reputation, and SLA capabilities. Cisco had all the right components, which is critical for us.”

Mr. Mike Weston, Vice President, Middle East, Cisco

“Given the level of investment and priority that the UAE Government is giving to education in the Emirate, we are delighted that ADEC has opted for Cisco’s technology solutions. As a user and a trusted advisor, Cisco has provided networking expertise for years to forward-thinking organizations that want to maximize the value of their applications, systems, and personnel. We understand how to use the power of an IP network to deliver true innovation that maximizes the value of systems and information. This WAAS deployment places ADEC at the forefront of driving and also delivering technology innovation that will deliver a 21^st-century IT network for education in the UAE.”

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Links / URLs:

• To find out more about Cisco WAAS, go to: http://www.cisco.com/go/waas
• Middle East News: http://www.cisco.com/web/ME/about/news/index.html

About ADEC:

Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) was established in accordance with law No. 24 of 2005, issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE President, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi. The Council seeks to develop education and educational institutions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; implement innovative educational policies, plans and programs that aim to improve education; and support educational institutions and staff to achieve the objectives of national development in accordance with the highest international standards. For more details please visit: http://www.adec.ac.ae.

About Cisco:

Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO, news, filings) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com

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