Cisco Announces Expansion Plans in Colombia

Diego Molano, Minister of Technology Information and Communications from Colombia and Christian Onetto, Cisco country manager at the new Cisco offices in Bogota

Bogotá, Colombia, December 11, 2014.  Cisco announces today a major expansion in Colombia. In order to support the country’s growth through new technologies and encourage the implementation of the Internet of Everything as the foundation for the development of Smart+Connected Communities™, Cisco will expand its operations in Colombia through a US$6 million investment, which includes new state-of-the-art offices in the heart of Bogotá’s business district, the launch of the first Cisco® Customer Experience Room in Colombia and the expansion of the Cisco Networking Academy® program across the country.

The expansion in Colombia reflects the wider effort Cisco is making to help Latin America become more connected and embrace the Internet of Everything.

The strengthening of Cisco’s presence in Colombia aims to contribute to the Colombian Governments and their Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) plans to increase the use of information and communication technologies as well as the development of key applications as tools for improving the quality of life of all Colombians. Plans also include the promotion of Smart City projects and deploying telemedicine and education technologies across the country.

“This expansion plan reaffirms Cisco’s commitment to Colombia. It will benefit not only our customers, channel partners and employees, but also strengthen the supply of products and services for the enterprise market by providing more options for the country to improve its connectivity and its access to innovative technological solutions,” said Christian Onetto, general manager of Cisco Colombia.

The expansion of Cisco’s operations in Colombia is taking place when the company celebrates 30 years globally and 20 years of continuous presence in Colombia.

Specific areas of expansion

New offices: The Cisco expansion plans in Colombia, the largest investment of the company in the country, include the opening of modern facilities with large areas equipped with collaboration technologies, telepresence and demonstration labs so that customers and business partners have the opportunity to experience the most advanced Cisco technologies.

The new offices will be fully enabled at the end of 2014. The offices will have two levels, one exclusively for customers and channel partners with an auditorium for over 100 people, the first Cisco Customer Experience Room, quiet rooms, various rooms with screens for videoconferencing, and a cafeteria to collaborate with customers and allow for networking. It will include as well a center and a Demo Lab data, in which customers and partners will benefit by conducting real-time test environments for the most advanced technologies developed by Cisco worldwide.

First Cisco Customer Experience Room in Colombia: As part of the new offices in Bogotá, Cisco announces the opening of its first Customer Experience Room in the country. This is a unique and innovative space where partners and customers can experience firsthand and in real time Cisco specific solutions.

Visitors will be able to feel the impact of the Internet of Everything in everyday life experiences. This way, customers can have access to Cisco technology through dcloud (Cisco cloud demos) in which they can work in a personalized way with collaboration projects, data center, enterprise connectivity and security, and industry solutions (transport, manufacturing, energy, and oil and gas, among others).

Strengthening Networking Academy: The third pillar of Cisco’s expansion project in Colombia seeks to strengthen its successful Networking Academy training initiative. Through the Networking Academy, Cisco supports 170 countries and has 1,000,000 current students. The Academy has also trained close to 100,000 Colombian students and equipped them with 21^st century skills in information technology and communication, such as critical thinking, solving problems and teamwork to help them take advantage of emerging opportunities in the Internet economy.

Cisco plans to continue the expansion of the program in Colombia with a focus on diversity and reaching out to minorities.

The Cisco expansion project in Colombia will strengthen the joint work that the company is developing with the Ministry of ICT and the Colombian Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications (CCIT) — collaborative work that seeks to provide support infrastructure capable of delivering new services and solving some of the major challenges facing cities today, such as environmental sustainability, job creation and economic growth.

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