India is the “chosen one” for Cisco

Sufia Tippu
Thursday, 07 December 2006 10:20

IT Industry - Strategy

Cisco’s next phase of globalization strategy revolves around India. It has chosen India as the site for its globalization center, called “Cisco Globalization Center East” and has also created a new post Chief Globalization Officer (CGO).

Wim Elfrink, a Cisco warhorse, will be the first CGO and will be based in Bangalore.

The announcement was made by John Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, on the first day of his two-day visit to India.

In addition to the role of CGO, Elfrink will retain the position of senior vice president of customer advocacy, reporting to Chambers. He will relocate to Bangalore, India, in January 2007.

 “Cisco chose India as the location from which to expand its globalization vision because India has a highly skilled workforce, supportive government, innovative customers and world-class partners that already have global capabilities,” said Chambers.

According to him, today, India is more vibrant and adventurous in its pursuit of excellence than ever before. Even the local industries have found a new confidence in the country. India's best and brightest have a unique opportunity to compete on a global basis which is a huge positive for the entire Indian economy.

“Also, India's CEOs as well as their government understand the value of communications and IT and how the network becomes a strategic business tool to enable them to compete on a global scale. While IT spending among Indian companies remains low compared with their counterparts in the US, we expect significant growth in this area given their interest to remain competitive, especially in the services sector,” he added.

Elfrink represents the next evolution of leadership for its global development strategy.
 
“Cisco’s globalization strategy, which takes advantage of collaboration technologies, will radically change how people interact and share information, and is a bold step in reshaping the way companies approach the global marketplace,” said Elfrink.