Cisco x DICT signs deal to power secure hybrid work for PH!

Cisco and DICT tackled hybrid work and cybersecurity as the Philippines transitioned to the endemic era. The two also forged UGNAYAN 2030 partnership.

Cisco executives and DICT officials

Cisco x DICT to power an inclusive future for all!

According to Cisco, a hybrid setup is the new normal and has become necessary in the business world. Both employers and employees have benefited a lot from it in terms of productivity, performance, and well-being over the last 3 years. 

Bee Kheng Tay, Cisco ASEAN President, and Zaza Soriano-Nicart, Cisco PH Managing Director have joined together in a number of engagements to reaffirm the IT company's commitment to aid Filipino businesses workforces, and communities and make a way for an inclusive future for all in the hybrid work environment.

Hybrid work is a groundbreaking new norm that has shaken up a convention for good, said Bee Kheng Tay.

They also added that 73 percent of global consumers will rely on digital services and will continue to remain even in the post-pandemic era. This is according to the 85 percent of respondents they surveyed around the world who said digital services became a critical part of their daily lives.

The IT firm's data

Now that the hybrid setup is being pushed, 87 percent of ASEAN employees say they're happier, while 91 percent of Filipinos have the same sentiments based on Cisco findings.

Meanwhile, more ASEAN employees have improved performance with  64 percent in terms of productivity and 65 percent in quality of work. In the Philippines, Cisco says that it will be 75 and 79 percent respectively.

Cisco executives continued that Filipino employees can save about PHP 6,300 per week or PHP 327,600 per year as working from home reduces their costs in terms of food and commuting fares. Not to mention that Filipinos can also save time as the traffic on road has worsened these days.

However, this kind of new setup also comes with risks. Particularly cyber attacks. In fact, Cisco's Cyber security report showed that 57 percent of SMEs in PH suffered from cyber incidents last year and over a quarter mentioned that their businesses lost about USD 500K or about PHP 29M.

Apart from cyber threats, connectivity issues and reliability are among the challenges in the country.

To battle these challenges, Cisco has a project known as the "Country Digital Acceleration program" also known as CDA. This is a strategic partnership with the government to accelerate the national digital agendas of a country. As of now, CDA is widely present in 44 nations in the world and has 1,400 active or completed projects.

The signing of the MOU with DICT secretary Uy

Insert UGNAYAN 2030, Cisco and DICT's long-term project launch back in 2020 which aims to build an even better digital resilience so that the Philippines will be ready to face "the gaps" including uneven access to ICT resources, weak cross-organization instruction, and adoption of technologies, and limited expertise and manpower.

"The gap"

Now the project moves to its next phase, the IT organization and the Government (DICT) sign a Memorandum of understanding to power DICT's E-Government Masterplan to ensure " a harmonized, interoperable and integrated government ICT infrastructure".

We are confident of this partnership. The initiative is set to enhance the government’s ability to collaborate more effectively and will help boost the government’s drive toward digital transformation, says DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy

Cisco will be providing tools such as Webex boards, room kits, licenses, and integrated security solutions to strengthen DICT's security posture. 

The project

This in turn will provide a more effective and efficient public service by increasing inter-agency collaboration, and empowering public servants to focus on their mandates by minimizing stress levels done to traffic congestion and complex platforms.

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