NETWORKING major Cisco yesterday launched the Cisco Express - Network on Wheels (NoW), a mobile showcase of Cisco's Internet Protocol (IP) networking technologies.
Packed into a specially retrofitted 40-foot container are products, solutions and services from Cisco and its partners.
Cisco also announced a joint initiative with Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) by which the two will work together to groom selected students to develop expertise in information and communications technology (ICT) and gain valuable exposure to different regional cultures as they ready themselves for the global workplace.
The students will be trained and mentored by Cisco experts, industry partners and NYP staff and will work on industry solutions and innovations on advanced technologies.
The students will work under the Cisco Briefing Centre (CBC) in Singapore and also be a part of the regional Cisco Express project team.
Starting from Singapore, the Cisco Express will travel to 30 cities in Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Taiwan.
The Cisco Express-NoW is designed to extend Cisco's reach to organisations in vertical industries such as healthcare, public sector, manufacturing, tourism, retail and construction; small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs); resellers; schools; and even consumers.
More than 20,000 people are expected to visit the Cisco Express-NoW by the end of the year-long tour.
'The CBC is a fixed demonstration and proof-of-concept laboratory that we use to showcase Cisco's technologies to our large enterprise and service provider customers,' said Cisco's managing director for Singapore and Brunei, Tom Cheong.
He added that due to limitations in distance and time, the CBC cannot accommodate all Cisco customers. 'The Cisco Express-NoW will bring a piece of the CBC to the doorsteps of our customers throughout the region, help educate and train new resellers, and play a role in the communities it visits,' he added.
Mr Cheong added that the collaboration with NYP will ensure that Cisco keeps the Cisco Express-NoW strongly rooted in the community.
