CISCO EXPANDS SMART CITY INITIATIVE IN INDIA
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and global business process management and services corporation, Genpact Ltd. (G) today announced the launch of a Global Center of Excellence in Jaipur, India.
The new partnership serves as part of Cisco’s larger Lighthouse City project, a global initiative designed to deploy next-generation cloud-based technology in cities, set to directly impact citizens and society.
Smart City Technology
The city of Jaipur will gain access to Cisco’s global network and channel program capabilities, which Genpact says will help the city benefit from economic and social transformation as the country embarks on the next phase of the Digital India program. Cisco’s Center of Excellence will be hosted and operated in Genpact’s state-of-the-art facility in Jaipur, serving as an innovation lab for Genpact and its partnering technology firms to rapidly test and deploy the latest smart technology advances from Cisco.
The two firms foresee the Center as a launch pad for new technologies aimed to push Jaipur toward becoming a more responsive, smart and connected city. Cisco’s recently announced a pay-as-you-go Smart+Connected Digital Platform (CDP) that utilizes Internet of Things (IoT) technology, facilitating the communication between billions of connected devices. Cisco’s smart city solutions collect and analyze data from sensors, cameras and other devices, to help cities take action more effectively.
Other Lighthouse Cities
Genpact will use data gathered from Cisco’s CDP, Cisco Connected Mobile Experiences and Cisco Video Surveillance Manager Solutions to develop analytics-driven technology applications in the Center. The applications, which will utilize machine learning, IoT, robotic process automation and other disruptive tech, aim to enhance quality and performance of urban services, along with providing real-time responses to operational challenges.
Jaipur will service as the first smart and connected lighthouse city in South Asia, joining cities in other regions including Hamburg, Germany; Barcelona, Spain, and Adelaide, Australia.
Cisco’s investment in smart cities demonstrates the San Jose, Calif.-based tech giant’s larger shift away from legacy hardware sales to become a leader in emerging markets such as the IoT, the cloud and cybersecurity. (See also: Cisco Releases Smart-Cities Cloud Solutions (CSCO).
