The projects that were accelerated under its “Ugnayan 2030” program for 2022 will focus on job creation, GDP growth, and talent upskilling, technology Cisco said on Wednesday, April 27.
Although the projects to be included in Cisco Philippines’ localized Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program are yet to be finalized, Cisco Philippines managing director Zaza Nicart said the company is already in talks with several government agencies.
When considering on which projects it will invest on, the company said it believes in looking at the target outcomes of government units instead of introducing projects which are already in the post-development stage.
In a media roundtable, Cisco Philippines shared updates on the innovations and use-cases the company has undertaken through Ugnayan 2030 since its introduction.
PLDT Inc., in collaboration with Cisco Philippines, explored manufacturing and educational solutions during a joint private 5G trial which are now being incubated for future implementation.
The company’s Strategic Emergency Response Vehicle (SERV) project was also recently tested at the wake of Typhoon Odette’s devastation, prompting the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to tap Cisco and launch SERV’s communications capabilities.
When SERV went operational, it connected the local government units (LGUs) in Bohol to other agencies from the cities, and provided free WiFi connectivity to the local public.
In the healthcare sector, Cisco Philippines collaborated with the Department of Health in boosting the latter’s scalability through capacity building, allowing health workers to facilitate larger volumes of virtual consultations, and access medical information on the field with electronic medical records.
With Cisco’s Meraki platform, the department was able to design a vaccine distribution solution that expedited the vaccination program, and use sensor technologies to facilitate the program’s storage and distribution.
“We launched Ugnayan 2030, our local CDA program, two years ago with the idea to build not just a campaign, but an open platform wherein existing, ongoing, and upcoming ICT-related plans can be enacted on — whether it be through access to Cisco technology, knowledge-sharing, or stakeholder engagement, regardless of sector or industry,” said Nicart.
Aside from tailor-fit solutions, the company also connects government agencies to more than 1,200 projects it has invested on in many countries.
For example, Cisco partnered with Deutsche Bahn and a few other institutions to launch Medibus, a mobile vehicle equipped to provide a range of services like primary care, medical examinations, vaccination campaigns, and Covid-19 antibody testing.
In the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine, Medibus has been deployed to provide aid to refugees at the border of Ukraine and Poland.
“The model is based on high degrees of trust and deep engagement across ecosystem partners in the public and private sectors. Through CDA, we can support our community leaders in addressing key societal challenges by harnessing strategic co-investment and relentless co-innovation,” said Cisco senior vice president and global innovation officer Guy Diedrich.
Following the discussions with various government agencies, Cisco Philippines will be announcing which projects will be slated for this year.
