“If there’s anything this pandemic has taught us,” said Cisco CIO Jacqueline Guichelaar, “it's how important technology is. Technology is the connector. It's what allows the world to continue to function as we all navigate through this situation.” 

Not that it’s been easy. 

Guichelaar oversaw the scaling of Cisco’s own remote working capacity from 20 percent of the workforce to 100 percent — all in a matter of days. “Despite the fact that we have a killer network and robust security,” she said, “it was still really hard.” 

So, she relates strongly to the challenges facing other technology leaders in this unprecedented time. 

In Part Two of our remote work podcast, Guichelaar discusses everything from network and security issues to maintaining the all-important human connection under stressful conditions.   

In case you missed Part One of our series, we focused on remote management and communications strategies with Mika Cross of FlexJobs and Cisco CIO Stella Low. 

See also: The Perfect Meeting: It's Not Just a Myth

Listen in to hear how Cisco is managing “collaboration without compromise” with a keen eye on security and privacy. And read the full article accompanying this podcast here.

See also: CIO Insights with Jacqui Guichelaar Episode #1