Colombia. In the framework of Cisco's 25th anniversary in the country, the company announced the arrival in Colombia of the Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program, a global initiative of Cisco that drives the digital acceleration of countries through innovation and digitalization.
As part of this program, the launch in Bogotá of the Advanced Technology Center (ATC) is announced, a space that promotes the use of new technologies that help in the modernization and digitalization of the country, through the demonstration of practical uses for the education, health and public sector industries, as well as all our security solutions.
This new Advanced Technology Center (ATC) will promote a digital immersion in Colombia, through a 360° virtual tour to show -with the use of artificial intelligence, automation, data analysis and cloud demos, among others- the most disruptive solutions in the Cisco portfolio.
Given the current pandemic situation, the launch and visits to the ATC will be, for the time being, carried out virtually.
"With this program, we reiterate the trust that CISCO has placed in Colombia during these 25 years, supporting the strengthening of the country's digital transformation. Likewise, the investment made in the Advance Technology Center (ATC) in Bogotá, will allow to leverage entrepreneurship and innovation in this moment of change; as well as identifying new opportunities in the areas of Education, Health and Cybersecurity in the country," said Javier Castro, Country Manager Cisco Colombia.
25 years and a long way to go
During these 25 years the changes were continuous. With Cisco's innovative solutions, Colombia in 2012 was a pioneer in organizing a virtual closed-door meeting between the member presidents of the Pacific Alliance project, in which it is recognized as the first virtual summit of Heads of State of the Latin American region through a teleconference system. Likewise, Cisco scored another milestone by consolidating an alliance of work and innovations with SENA, managing to facilitate the learning of about 9.8 million students registered in 2014 in the institution in all its sections throughout the country, who were able to access classrooms and online resources transforming their experience, thanks to the expansion of virtual programs and administrative services of the entity that no longer had borders with the Internet.
After 25 years in the Colombian market, Cisco has concentrated its efforts on constantly reinventing itself to be at the forefront of digital transformation. Innovation and competitiveness are the pillars on which it builds its position in the market.
"Cisco's job, from the beginning, was to raise awareness of the importance of integrating technology into businesses and communities to transform lives through digital change. The alliances between different members of the ecosystem (private company and government) were fundamental for the technological evolution of Colombia. We have been working for 5 decades for the transformation of society from the Internet and its entire universe of innovations and developments, and we remain committed now, in an era of continuous transformations that go from the digital to the organizational, allowing to build a better society, a better ecosystem of business partners and, therefore, a country with greater digital productivity", Javier Castro added.
In terms of technology, Cisco is the only company that delivers end-to-end infrastructure solutions, demonstrating its leadership in the development of networks and communication systems, a global vanguard that puts at the service of the different industries of the country as a differential of productivity and efficiency that today, from this challenging 2020, it has great significance when talking about rapid and agile revival in all economies.
In this time, the work with the State, government after government, has been another great contribution and success for the technological development of the country. As a proactive actor through the regulations that Cisco has promoted, projects have been developed with entities such as the Joint Cyber Command of the Military Forces and the OAS, in aspects related to cybersecurity and cyberdefense, as well as in the advancement of smart cities having Barranquilla as one of its landing points between the cities that it prioritizes in its Latin America project.
It is also noteworthy that, during the last years, the company has accompanied in the Digital Transformation and Innovation plan of the Government. Likewise, within the context generated by the pandemic, different education programs have been supported by using our WEBEX Collaboration platform in Universities and institutes, allowing the continuity of classes virtually. Another area of work has been Telehealth, facilitating the connection of intensive care units of regional hospitals with hospitals in major cities and being able to allow secure communication between the medical staff nationwide.
Within the area of Education, in particular, we are very pleased to have contributed in the last 20 years, through our Cisco Networking Academy program, with the promotion of knowledge in networks and develop human talent in alliance with schools and universities, in order to solve the lag of formal education in this matter. Hand in hand with our education partners, instructors and academies, new digital talent has been trained to contribute significantly to the new market demand and the development of talent with new IT competencies for the country.
In Colombia, to date there are more than 45,373 students impacted, among which 23% are women and 33,771 students are ready for certification. To date, there are more than 347 and 6% are women. The program has 561 partners - education centers throughout the country. Some of the largest partner institutions are: SENA (National Learning Service), The National University (Medellín Headquarters), The Technological University of Pereira, the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga and the Ministry of Education of Bogotá.
