Telecom Lead Europe: Cisco
announced the signing of a strategy document outlining its research and
development plans with the Skolkovo Foundation.
The R&D strategy marks an important milestone in
Cisco’s multi-year, $1 billion investment in sustainable innovation
within the Russian Federation.
The plan paves way for the company to create a physical
R&D presence in the Skolkovo Technopolis.
The strategy reinforces Cisco’s investment in the Skolkovo
Project, an initiative supported by President Medvedev to create a technology
and innovation hub on the outskirts of Moscow.
“The creation of new high-tech, high-value jobs in the
local economy solidifies the commitment of both Cisco and Skolkovo to drive
innovation in Russia,” said Viktor Vekselberg, president of Skolkovo
Foundation.
Cisco aims to focus on R&D in Skolkovo on high-impact
areas of the business, including video and internal start-ups, using Skolkovo as
the physical and virtual platform for innovation.
The initial memorandum of understanding between Cisco and
Skolkovo was signed in June 2010 and contemplates five concurrent collaborative
phases over the next decade.
As per the MoU, the first phase consists of engaging with
the VC community and talent development; the second phase establishes a
physical presence in Russia; the third phase extends a dedicated Cisco R&D
capability within Russia; the fourth phase focuses on go-to-market models; and
the fifth phase builds a partnering model with local companies.
The signing of a strategy document advances Cisco’s planned
commitments in the concurrent second and third phases.
“We are not only creating employment opportunities for
the brightest talent in the Russian innovation economy, but also expanding
Cisco’s global R&D efforts and building the foundation for our continued
growth,””said Marthin De Beer, SVP Video and Collaboration Group, and executive
sponsor for the Skolkovo project at Cisco.
Recently, Cisco
announced the availability of Cisco Video Surveillance software on its award winning
Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS) platform.
editor@telecomlead.com
