John Chambers wants Cisco to be world's No. 1 IT company

Chambers goal is to be no. 1 IT partner for enterprise IT and ICT-based economic development in terms of the technology content to deliver next generation solutions and not necessarily by revenue or size

News | by Dataquest Bureau

John Chambers, chairman and CEO, Cisco Systems was in India on a two-day visit to promote his company's stake in the country as a technology supplier and to hobnob with the government to ensure Cisco's involvement in key ICT projects in the country.



John met the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and IT Minister Kapil Sibal and other government leaders in IT. His pitch to them was to use technology as an agent to promote inclusivity across many areas in the country.



"We are very much aligned to what your government is aiming to do towards promoting inclusion," said John.
John's second point of advocacy was that of urbanization and the concept of connected communities. He said that by merely doubling the broadband penetration a country can achieve half-a-percent growth in GDP.
John reiterated Cisco's commitment to India and investing in the country for the long run. He expressed interest and support for setting up a manufacturing base in India under the government's NEP (New Electronics Policy) for ESDM (electronics systems design and manufacturing) through the preferential market access rule enshrined in the policy.


The rule ensures preferential market access for products developed and manufactured in India for which IPR resides in India to address strategic and security concerns of the government consistent with international commitments.



John revealed that Cisco was awarded the master ICT contract for the DMIC (Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor) project. This involves setting up the infrastructure for 20 citizen collaboration services and delivering it through the public-private partnership mode.



John Chambers' grand goal is to be the no.1 IT company in the world. What he means by that is about Cisco being the no. 1 IT partner for enterprise IT and ICT-based economic development in terms of the technology content to deliver next generation solutions and not necessarily by revenue or size.

"Yes, it will require us to be profitable and continually invest in leading edge areas. Cisco has proven its role in creating new markets- examples include cable digitization, connected communities, telecom transformation, healthcare solutions for national impact, IP-based energy grid, and many such areas," said John.