Cisco launches digital acceleration program in the Philippines

Global technology firm Cisco has launched its Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program aimed at boosting digital resilience and digitization in the Philippines.

As part of the CDA, Cisco introduced “UGNAYAN 2030,” a collaboration framework with government leaders, industry, and academia.

The tech firm said UGNAYAN 2030 is strategically aligned with the national digital agenda of the Philippines and is envisioned to launch several key digitization initiatives aimed at growing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), creating jobs, and promoting innovation and next-generation skills development across the private and public sectors.

Cisco said its CDA team collaborates with national and state governments worldwide to accelerate their national digitization agendas and deliver beneficial services to their citizens faster and more effectively.

With UGNAYAN 2030, the company said it aims to create a platform on which existing, ongoing, and upcoming ICT-related plans can be enacted, whether it be access to Cisco technology, knowledge-sharing, or stakeholder engagement.

“There is a lot of talk about digital transformation this year, but there are many missing pieces before we even begin to consider ourselves digitally transformed. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of digital resilience not just for companies, but for the overall economy, and the need to focus on it urgently. This pandemic will not be the last challenge that will turn the world upside down, and we see every day what happens when we are not ready,” said Karrie Ilagan, managing director of Cisco Philippines.

“Institutions from the public and private sectors have written up several plans and created roadmaps for the country’s digital journey, but there is an urgent need to now implement these plans due to COVID-19. Organizations know what to do, but the real challenge is being able to do it. At Cisco, we are committed to work with all stakeholders to play a role in building digital resilience across the country,” Ilagan said.

Cisco said it intends to invest its technologies, infrastructure, tools, knowledge, and expertise to empower crucial stakeholders to enact their digital transformation plans.

It aims to bridge three factors that impede implementation, namely uneven access to ICT resources, weak cross-organizational structure and ICT adoption, and limited expertise and manpower.

Cisco said there are three key pillars and flagship projects that Cisco intends to focus on as part of UGNAYAN 2030:

•     Connectivity in building a high-speed and reliable information highway
•     Collaboration in building an integrated and inclusive ecosystem
•     Cybersecurity

“We’ve never been as busy as we have been this year, but the speed of innovation not just by Cisco but also our ecosystem partners is something we’ve never seen before. I am looking forward to building on that momentum so we can collectively make a lasting impact on the Philippines economy,” said Ilagan.—AOL, GMA News