To generate a long-term investment of expertise and
technology, the Province of Ontario and Cisco signed an agreement.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed outlines
Cisco’s and the Province’s intention to cooperate in developing initiatives
that will help drive key economic development goals and support technology
research and development (R&D).
Cisco outlined an investment target of up to $455 million
over the next five years to support R&D, focused on key strategic areas for
Cisco, including core routing and switching, collaboration, data centre
virtualization and cloud, and video;
Ontario has committed $25 million to this project to
support Ontario’s leadership as a global centre for the development of
transformative communications technologies.
“Cisco is among the many global technology leaders
who continue to recognize Ontario’s innovation and the talent of our highly
skilled workforce. Cisco already conducts R&D in the province in
technologies critical to their success, and this investment and the MOU
announced today are a vital part of our economic strategy to help Ontario turn
the corner,” said Sandra
Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade.
Ontario and Cisco Canada intend to develop a
collaborative framework to focus on key activities to help further the
province’s transformational vision and increase productivity by driving
innovation and sustainable economic development in strategic areas of health
and wellness, energy, smart+connected communities, education and economic
cluster development.
The collaboration with Cisco is the latest in Ontario’s
ongoing initiatives to partner with private industry to facilitate solution
innovation and commercialization, increase research and development and make
better use of the province’s broadband capacity.
Ontario and Cisco also announced they intend to work
together to invest in R&D-focused job development to drive skills
development, economic competitiveness and product innovation.
Ontario and Cisco have agreed to work together to explore
opportunities to advance strategic objectives including:
Advance the state of telemedicine and help improve access
to health and wellness services for remote, rural and First Nations communities
Improve the state of collaboration and education for
clinicians, hospitals and administrators; Enhance the quality and operational
excellence of health and wellness services
Advance the innovative cluster of Ontario companies
focused on increasing energy savings through converged solutions for security,
building automation and IT services
Explore innovative solutions in energy management; Drive
environmental sustainability through greater use of Information and
Communications Technology (ICT)
Promote the development of environmentally sustainable,
smart+connected communities that generate economic growth and better
opportunities for citizens who work and live in those intelligent communities
Develop innovative approaches to the cost-effective and
sustainable delivery of Government services; Enhance opportunities for
collaboration among Ontario companies through an intelligent community
infrastructure
By
Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com