Cisco established a presence in Saudi Arabia in 1997 and has since seen its operations in the region grow considerably, today representing a product and services business that is one of the four largest in Cisco’s Emerging Theater within Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia (EMEAR). During discussions with leading business representatives in the Kingdom Mr. Chambers will highlight Cisco’s continued commitment to collaborate with indigenous organizations and local government to help further accelerate development in information communications technology (ICT) energy, critical national infrastructure, healthcare, defense and national security, and the service provider market.
Today, Cisco has approximately 200 employees in Riyadh, Dhahran and Jeddah, a 430 plus partner organization ecosystem and more than 460 Cisco Certified Internetwork Experts. As the company continues to align with the country agenda Cisco’s focus is to also create more job opportunities for the growing number of Saudi nationals entering the workforce. Furthermore, approximately 20 percent of Cisco’s current workforce in Riyadh is female with the company offering a variety of flexible work options to suit varying needs and provide adequate work-life balance.
The diverse training initiatives driven by Cisco in the Kingdom toady also demonstrate an ongoing commitment to develop the local ICT sector through transferring the global networking expertise and knowledge and qualifying the Saudi youth to address the growing demand for the networking experts in the local market. For example, in partnership with educational institutions, government administrations and community based organizations throughout the Kingdom; the Cisco Networking Academy is delivering ICT education through in-classroom learning combined with innovative cloud-based curricula and tools to prepare students for careers in the 21st-century global economy. With 90 Networking Academies and 262 instructors that have educated more than 50,000 students since inception in 2004 of which 34 percent are female, the program continues to grow. Today, Cisco Networking Academies in the Kingdom teach 18,749 students annually, of which 42 percent are female.
During his visit to the Kingdom, Chambers will outline the phenomenal opportunities that are expected to be created for businesses and individuals as we enter into the era of the Internet of Everything (IoE). Cisco defines IoE as bringing together people, process, data, and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before—turning information into actions that create new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries.