San Jose, Calif. -- August 27, 1997 -- CiscoSystems Inc., the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet,today announced an agreement with Taiwan's leading information-technologyorganization to help the Taiwanese information industry to developand deploy networked multimedia technology and applications.
Cisco and the Taiwan Institute for InformationIndustry (III) will form a Networked Multimedia Lab in Taipeithat will concentrate on technology development, training, interoperabilityand on encouraging use of networked multimedia business applications. The facility will assist Taiwanese companies in using internationalstandards to develop multimedia-enabled products and in raisingthe global competitiveness of those products. It also will testand certify Taiwanese computer products as being in compliancewith the Internet infrastructure and multimedia standards, includingfeatures of Cisco IOS software, a platform that delivers networkservices and enables networked applications.
Four major Taiwanese manufacturers announcedthey are the first to collaborate with Cisco and the III on incorporatingmultimedia technology and certifying certain products for standardscompliance -- Acer, Tatung, Sun Moon Star and D-Link.
The III will establish and operate the multimedialab, including recruitment of engineers and consultation withTaiwan companies on implementing multimedia technologies. Ciscowill train and support the lab engineers on multimedia technicalissues, such as multicast and quality of service (QoS); offertechnical advice; help with interoperability testing; and providenetworking equipment and technical documentation. The lab isexpected to be operational by the end of 1997.
The agreement between Cisco and the III wasannounced in Taipei by Gary Daichendt, Senior Vice President forworldwide operations at Cisco. "Cisco has been a leaderin developing and deploying the technologies that support networkedmultimedia applications," Daichendt said. "This jointeffort will not only facilitate technical progress in multimedia,but also will help development of the Taiwanese computer and electronicsindustry by integrating networking capabilities into products."
Chii-ming Yiin, vice minister of the Ministryof Economic Affairs (MOEA), said, "In recent years, the governmenthas aggressively pushed for Taiwan to become the Asia-PacificOperation Center, and we have devoted a lot of effort toward buildingthe National Information Infrastructure (NII). Our government'shigh-level executives are glad that Cisco's top management teamis visiting and bringing their world renowned, high valued-addednetworking technology to Taiwan. The technology transfer willelevate the technical capabilities in Taiwan. In addition, thesuccess of Cisco's worldwide business model is also a relativelygood example to the industry in Taiwan for overall competitiveness."
Gen. Kuo Yun, president of the III, said, "Thecollaboration with Cisco and the Networked Multimedia Lab willprovide further stimulus to the continued growth of the Taiwancomputer industry, as multimedia applications become more widelyused. We are pleased to be working with Cisco, the worldwideleader in networking, in this vital area."
Ya-Kang Wang, director of the Industrial DevelopmentBureau, said, "Our government has been working very hardover recent years to make Taiwan a regional manufacturing centerin the Asia Pacific region, hoping to position Taiwan as the 'islandof technology.' Cisco, as the world's largest networking company,is transferring important networking technologies to Taiwan now,and I believe this will enhance the worldwide competitivenessof domestic companies. Furthermore, the Industrial DevelopmentBureau will work even harder to assist local companies and developapplication software to facilitate development of our industry."
Chao-Yih Chen, director general of Departmentof Industry Technology, MOEA, said, "Advanced progress ofnetworking technologies will become a key strength not to be missedin the twenty-first century. By developing the blueprint of theTaiwan Networked Multimedia Lab, we learned that we are facingstrong competition internationally. We are working closely withCisco to create business opportunities globally for the networkingindustry and believe that Taiwan can maintain a competitive edgein the worldwide market."
Stan Shih, CEO of Acer, said, "Compatibilitywith standards will help Acer customers use networked-multimediaapplications to enhance business productivity. We are enthusiasticabout the benefits that collaboration with industry leaders likeCisco and III will provide."
W.S. Lin, president of Tatung noted, "Weapplaud Cisco's investment in Taiwan and expect to participatefully with Cisco and III in the further development of Taiwan'sinformation-technology industry."
Pu-San Weng, chairman of Sun Moon Star, said,"The results of the Cisco-III alliance will be a vital additionto the expertise of Taiwan companies in producing high-qualitynetwork appliances and consumer electronics products in high volumes."
Helios Liu, president of D-Link, said, "Networkedmultimedia technologies will be vital to the development of aworld-class network infrastructure in Taiwan, and we are pleasedto support Cisco and III in bringing these technologies to Taiwan."
The Taiwan multimedia lab is the latest ina series of activities undertaken by Cisco to encourage networked-multimediaapplications. In March, Cisco, Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp.formed the Networked Multimedia Connection, a cooperative programto facilitate the widespread adoption of networked multimediaapplications in businesses using intranets and the Internet. Cisco also has added numerous multimedia-enabling capabilitiesto the Cisco IOS software platform.
