Communications and networking giant Cisco has announced the next phase of its corporate strategy for China, marked by outsourcing and new public-private collaborative programs. The announcement follows hard on the heels of the $16 billion multi-year China innovation and sustainability initiative that Cisco announced in November 2007, which includes research and development, education, procurement, investment and training.
Included in the announcement is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) with a focus on next-generation Internet and green research and development programmes, leadership training, best-practice sharing and business development investments, and a separate MOU with China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), providing assistance to Chinese businesses in the development of IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) capabilities within the country.
Cisco also announced the establishment of the Cisco China Strategy Board, a cross-functional executive board of senior leaders across Cisco's global business, to evolve and drive the vision and strategy for Cisco in China. The impressively monikered Jim Sherriff will become chairman of Cisco China – and Chairman Sherriff is surely the perfect title for the head of such a close partnership of Chinese and US interests. As chairman, Sherriff is responsible for implementing the company's vision and strategy for China and representing Cisco's global business operations through direct engagement within the country.
"The next stage of our strategy for China reflects the country's importance to Cisco's global growth strategy and to our long-term business model, built upon next-generation innovation in collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies," said the characteristically evangelical Cisco chairman and chief executive officer John Chambers. "Cisco's public-private collaboration within China not only helps accelerate these business efforts, but also helps the 1.3 billion people and growing number of entrepreneurs within the country gain access to social and economic opportunities afforded by the Internet."
The memorandum between Cisco and NDRC aims to broaden and deepen cooperation in the areas of manufacturing and service outsourcing, next-generation Internet, venture investment, training and development, as well as environmentally-focused research and development including energy efficiency, emission reduction and network-based green urban development.
Under the memorandum between Cisco and MOFCOM, Cisco will work with the ministry to help implement the Thousand-Hundred-Ten Project for China's business process operations industry. Through this program, Cisco says it will provide training to improve the skills of employees of China's business process operations companies. By helping to build a strong talent pool, Cisco believes it is contributing to a critical step in the development of the industry, with the goal of improving portions of Cisco's global business process services to the country over the next three to five years.
Formally launched in early 2008 and overseen by Chambers, Cisco China Strategy Board is a cross-functional executive board of senior leaders across the company's global business aligning to drive Cisco's long-term corporate initiatives within the country. This includes oversight of the multi-year initiative in China, exploring further opportunities in public-private collaboration for social and economic development, Cisco's China business operations strategy, as well as small to medium-sized business and consumer IT market development programs.
"One of the key drivers of Cisco's differentiated strategy is our ability to capture market transitions. China is very clearly a market in a dynamic state of transition. As we continue to evolve our innovation, education and sustainability programs within China, we are also focused on our goal of making China one of the company's top three world markets in the next five years," continued Chambers.
Cisco first established operations in China in 1994 and now employs more than 3,000 staff in sales, customer support and service, research and development, BPO, IT outsourcing, Cisco CapitalTM programs, and manufacturing.
