In my role as Vice President of Storytelling at Cisco, I’m lucky enough to get a front row seat to the company’s most inspiring and impactful stories, and 2021 was a year like no other.
From lending a technology hand to the frontline workers of vaccine administration, to leading the charge on hybrid work, and committing to reach Net Zero by 2040, the past year has been a period of tremendous growth and transformation for our employees, customers, and partners alike.
With so many incredible Cisco Newsroom stories to choose from, pulling together my top 10 list was almost an impossible task. But please join me as I hit rewind – in no particular order – on some of the year’s most memorable stories. And together, let’s celebrate what’s possible when we use technology for good and commit to powering an inclusive future for all.
Cisco helps Sky Lakes Medical Center fast-track vaccine administration
We all remember the excitement and anticipation during the early days of vaccine deployment. I still have goosebumps from watching the story of how Sky Lakes Medical Center, in partnering with Cisco for its compute, storage, call center, and network needs, was able to start administering Covid-19 vaccines to their community within just a few hours of receiving their very first doses.
Talking Inclusivity and Product Design with Maulie Dass
I’m always inspired by people that connect their personal passions to everything they do – especially when they direct that passion for good. In this TechBeat Podcast, Maulie Dass, Senior Director of Cisco’s Global Innovation Labs, shares how her experiences and upbringing has laid the foundation for her activism as well as her work to drive inclusivity into Cisco products and technology innovation.
The smart, sustainable port: where sea, rail, and road meet seamlessly
The criticality of a seamless supply chain has been proven during the past 18 months— there’s no doubt that technology has an important role to play in not only mitigating issues, but also ensuring future success. This article unpacks the delicate supply chain dance of machines, goods, and people that only the precise choreography of digital technologies can enable.
The great hybrid experiment
Cisco’s Chief People, Policy, and Purpose Officer Fran Katsoudas’ open letter in mid-2021 about the company’s latest goal to turn the World’s Best Workplace into the World’s Best Hybrid Workplace has quickly become a rallying cry for the industry at large, as organizations around the world grapple with how best to meet the changing needs of their employees, customers, and partners.
From the traumas of war, a passion for helping others
When the Syrian civil war erupted 10 years ago, it was the beginning of a trauma that would shake the country to its core and spark a refugee crisis that still endures today. But for Syrian-born Rita Butman, a Cisco technical solutions specialist now based in Berlin, it was also an opportunity to discover her life’s passion — for helping other refugees recover from the ravages of war and displacement.
The power of connectivity: Closing the digital divide with next-gen wireless
For those on the wrong side of the digital divide, working, learning, and staying healthy is a constant challenge. In remote areas, the cost of laying fiber cable across vast distances can be prohibitive. But the long range, high bandwidth and low latency of 5G could prove a gamechanger. Combined with superfast WiFi 6 in homes, schools, and businesses, even the most far-flung regions could connect to cutting-edge learning and opportunities — whether on a Native reservation, Aboriginal lands, or in an African village.
A desert city turns to Cisco for safe, secure water
When hackers threatened the water supply in Oldsmar, Fla., it highlighted the critical importance of these utilities — along with their placement in the cross hairs of cybercriminals around the world. The good news is that modernized networks, like the one that Albuquerque, NM is putting into place, leverages IoT technologies and top-flight security solutions to create unprecedented visibility and protection for its IT operations and physical infrastructures. So, operators can be alerted to everything from leaks and impurities to cyberattacks and physical threats.
Cisco’s continued journey to net zero
One of Cisco’s biggest announcements of the year was the commitment to reach Net Zero across all Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions by the year 2040. In this blog, Cisco Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs Tae Yoo explains the impact of environment on society, why it is so crucial right now to address these pressing issues, and how the company is working closely with partners to achieve our Net Zero goals.
Leading Cisco to an even greener future
In a wide-ranging interview, Fran Katsoudas, Scott Herren, and Rakesh Chopra, shared how they are turning their personal commitment to sustainability into professional action at Cisco.
The future of technology empowers global hybrid work success
The responses from a new research study of nearly 40,000 CIOs, IT decision makers and workers who are traditionally based in offices across 34 global markets, reaffirms our belief that with Hybrid Work, technology should remove as much friction as possible, allowing people to do their jobs from anywhere and ensuring successful – and inclusive – outcomes.
Revisiting these stories leaves me with an overwhelming feeling of hope and optimism for the future. There are no shortages of complex challenges to solve but as we’ve seen, when people and technology come together for good, anything is possible.
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