Cisco announces digitisation programme for Ireland aligned to government ambition to create an inclusive digital nation

Cisco today announced the launch of a programme which aims to help accelerate the digitisation of Ireland in support of the nation’s Project Ireland 2040 plan for social, economic and cultural development. Cisco is creating 100 new highly-skilled jobs, including 30 software development roles to help further the company’s capabilities in AI, machine learning and IoT in Galway in the West of Ireland.

“Ireland is at a pivotal point, with nearly one million additional people anticipated to be living and working in the country by 2040. Technology has the power to help the nation accelerate its digital future and advance its social, economic and cultural development. Today’s launch of our Country Digital Acceleration programme is our commitment to helping support the nation’s ecosystem of talent, entrepreneurship and innovation, which are key to creating an inclusive digital Ireland.” Chuck Robbins, Chairman and Chief Executive, Cisco.

Digitisation has the potential to improve everything from quality of life to national productivity, but it comes with shared challenges and opportunities for innovation that are best solved collaboratively. Cisco has an established programme of partnership with selected governments around the world, its Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) programme aims to support the digital goals of the nation by working with everyone from government, industry, academia and the workforce of the future.

In Ireland, the Cisco CDA programme will explore how Cisco can help accelerate digitisation in three key areas; infrastructure, industry, and digital skills:

• Developing infrastructure – Project Ireland 2040 is a strategy for regional, urban and rural development and will be underpinned by infrastructure to support the spatial planning for an anticipated additional one million people living and working in Ireland in the next twenty years. Digitisation provides a tremendous opportunity to not only to support internet connectivity for communities, but also to drive innovation in critical national infrastructure in areas such as road, rail and utilities. Cisco will collaborate with public and private sector organisations to help realise the benefits of digital infrastructure for communities and organisations across the country.
• Innovation in industry – As the Project Ireland 2040 National Development Plan looks to develop a strong economy supported by enterprise, innovation and skills, Cisco will work with government and industry to help support digital innovation in key areas such as manufacturing mobility and cybersecurity.
• Digital skills – To ensure that the workforce of tomorrow is equipped to embrace the opportunity, Cisco is launching an initiative to help provide free access to digital skills training for everyone in Ireland. The courses which include the basics of getting online and an ‘Intro to cyber-security’ will be made available by public institutions such as libraries. With 90% of all jobs anticipated to require digital skills in the next 20 years, the Cisco Networking Academy (NetAcad) is helping arm millions of people globally with skills for employability, including 20,000 people in Ireland so far.

As an expansion of Cisco’s footprint in Ireland, which the company first established in 1999, the 100 new roles announced today will be based across Cisco’s offices in both Dublin, as indirect hires in partnership with N3, and at its cloud collaboration R&D operation in Galway to help accelerate the evolution of the Webex portfolio and further Cisco’s leadership in the voice, video, and chat collaboration space.

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