London, 17 November 2015 – Cisco has today opened a new Central London office located at 10 Finsbury Square, just south of Silicon Roundabout in Tech City, which will play host to over 300 cloud technology professionals in a total 27,320 sq ft and will double the company’s central London office space.

The new London location is in addition to the Finsbury Circus office that was opened in 2009, and will house a major part of its growing base of cloud-based technology division focused on mobility and security, which includes Meraki Networks, one of the fastest-growing business areas within Cisco since it was acquired in 2012.

Cisco’s UK operations started in High Wycombe in 1992, and they have expanded significantly since. Beyond its two Central London offices the UK business houses around 5,000 people in corporate, sales and technical functions across 14 locations, including Manchester, Edinburgh and Chandler’s Ford, with the 267,000 sq ft Bedfont Lakes (Feltham) site Cisco’s UK HQ.

The announcement is the latest realisation of Cisco’s country digitisation commitment to further support UK growth and the country’s wider digitisation plans following news in July this year to invest over $1 billion in the UK over the next three to five years.

Cisco’s digitisation strategy is a long-term commitment to a partnership with national leadership, industry and academia to deliver real outcomes faster and more effectively. It aims to accelerate the national digitisation agenda, grow GDP, create new jobs and invest in sustainable innovation ecosystem across public and private sectors.

Phil Smith, chief executive, Cisco UK & Ireland, said: “To support our continued growth in the UK, we have secured space in this exceptional building giving us the capacity to hire new employees in London in the coming years. At Cisco we are committed to supporting the UK as it undergoes its own country digitisation process. Investment in a sophisticated and forward-thinking IT network ecosystem is important to ensure the UK has the technological backbone to deliver greater connectivity, productivity and security, which are essential to realise the full potential of any digitisation programme, be that for a government, or a business. Digitisation has the potential to create sustainable and positive impact for every area of society as well as drive a stronger economy and foster increased opportunities for the UK on a global stage."

Todd Nightingale, general manager, Cisco Meraki, comments, “The value of IT has always been derived from the intelligence contained in data. But as we see on a daily basis, data is exploding and is increasingly distributed across every part of every organisation and process – on premise, at the edge, and of course in clouds. Harnessing data is an integral part of what powers digitisation, and businesses and governments must understand how to extract digital value from their data sets to get ahead of the competition, reshape markets and change the way we work and live. Today’s announcement therefore is not only important for us at Cisco as we realise our own growth plans in the UK, but it is further recognition of our nation’s increasing importance as a leading hub for digital innovation.”

Today’s news follows a series of pledges by Cisco to support innovation and growth in the UK.

Back in 2011 John Chambers met with Prime Minister David Cameron and pledged $500 million investment into the UK economy, primarily through its British Innovation Gateway (BIG) initiative. This commitment supported the government’s ambition to create a world leading technology centre in East London that would generate jobs, diversify the economy and support sustainable growth. It was also designed to ensure an enduring legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The initial pledge was based on Cisco’s belief that the UK held the potential to become one of the powerhouses of the global technology landscape. This view has subsequently proven itself true over the last 4-5 years.

In July 2015, Cisco committed to investing $1 billion to accelerate UK digital economic growth through multiple projects over three to five years. These included investments in education and skills initiatives, a major extension of Cisco’s British Innovation Gateway programme, and $150m of venture capital investments in Internet of Everything UK start-ups.

So far, this has been realised through the investment in the following areas:

• Entrepreneur/Start-ups – Through the creation of a $150 million facility for UK start-up and venture capital equity investments. It will prioritise the development of applications for the IoE across various business verticals, smart cities, and cyber security.

• Education – The UK suffers from a lack of STEM skills and low productivity. Cisco will develop its local Networking Academy® education program to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. There are currently 293 active academies in the UK, reaching 24,637 students.

• Innovation Centres – A major extension of UK-wide network of innovation centres, established in the British Innovation Gateway (BIG) initiative; IDEALondon, the National Virtual Incubator and CREATE.

• Support for the government’s ‘Northern Powerhouse’ initiative – Designed to redress the historical imbalance in the UK economy; the engine of growth is London and the South-East. The addition of new centres of expertise, funded university collaborations, skills investments and the expansion of Cisco’s industry-leading apprenticeship programs, will support the regeneration of the North. It is also hoped to substantially drive up the Gross Value Added for the region. Cisco Meraki is a cloud-managed networking platform that offers edge and branch networking solutions, including wireless, switching, security and mobile device management products. The solutions include centralised management, Layer 7 device and application visibility, real-time web-based diagnostics, monitoring and reporting.

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