Giants of the cloud seek roles as angels
Many tech firms now see sustainability as good for business
● A powerful shift in the business strategy of hi-tech giants coalesced at this week’s Cisco Live EU expo and conference in Barcelona. The record 17,000 delegates to the annual event were as likely to hear exhortations to make a positive impact on the world as they were to be bombarded with messages on how to contribute to their businesses’ bottom lines.
Cisco Systems, the world leader in networking equipment that links up the pipes and parts of the internet, is staking a reputation that has built it into a $200bn (about R3trillion) company on its ability to improve the lives of a billion marginalised people by 2025.
While the “tech for good” philosophy is not new among the technology giants, it has been propelled from a feel-good sideshow to the forefront for organisations such as Cisco,
Dell Technologies and Salesforce. The two companies with the biggest user communities in the world, Facebook and Google, have redoubled efforts to counter their negative images as destructive forces in politics, media and privacy.
The extent to which Cisco has embraced the philosophy was evident in the high profile of sustainability initiatives on the expo floor this week. A project inviting delegates to build bicycles in support of local charities, numerous water stands offering waste-free bottle refills and an “impact theatre” showcasing the work of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) in developing countries almost overshadowed an enterprise-focused solutions hall.
The centrepiece of the expo was a hi-tech, immersive “rain wall”, where visitors could pick up a “smart umbrella” and watch videos about Cisco’s social initiatives projected inside the umbrellas.
The videos echoed a media briefing by Chintan Patel, chief technology officer for Cisco in the UK and Ireland. He said the world had reached a “50-50 moment”: half of the world’s population was now online, meaning that half the world still did not have access.
“We all take it for granted, but for the other 50% who don’t have access, we need to find some way to deliver this universal capability. It’s incumbent on us to understand what worked and what didn’t and make the experience of the other 50% much better, and much safer. It’s really about having an inclusive future,” Patel said.
He provided an overview of a broad range of projects in countries ranging from the least developed to the highly advanced. From helping end homelessness in Silicon Valley and supporting foodbanks in the UK to supporting digital skills in Africa, the initiatives covered both the deeply ambitious and the very practical.
Patel told Business Times: “We are big believers as a company and as individuals that we should harness the power of connectivity and technology and deliver it to as many people as possible. But we’re also acutely aware that just providing connectivity won’t be enough. We need to provide the skills to be able to use that technology.”
Cisco’s networking academy, an IT skillsand career-building programme, has trained more than 11-million people globally in the past 22 years.
“Just under one-third were female,” said Patel. “So it plays a big role in how we want to encourage diversity in the tech industry, but also more female participation. Because we know when we get diversity, we get better outcomes for our customers.
“We want people to harness technology, but do it for a purpose. It is not technology for technology’s sake, but to make an impact in both your business and in the communities you live in, to make a wider impact in society. We want to create an inclusive future.”
The unspoken message is that this will be good for business. Many believe the tech giants don’t have a choice.
David Vellante, co-CEO of SiliconANGLE Media and a veteran analyst, said during the conference that Cisco’s meteoric rise over the years and its $50bn annual revenue meant that it had a “responsibility to give back”.
“They’re not a start-up struggling to survive … Many people expect them not only to change the world through technology, but to use their largesse to support social causes. It’s good business. Through sustainability initiatives, you cut costs quite dramatically.
“The second part is, younger workers expect it. They want to work in a place where the leadership is committed to social responsibility and sustainability and is tuned in to these mega waves that are going on, whether it’s the planet, or access to technology.” It wasn’t always that way.
“I think 10 or 15 years ago it was lip service. For instance, they would put a woman or a person of colour in charge of their sustainability effort. Checkbox ticked. When the economy tanked, they closed that down. Now we’re in the 10th year of a boom cycle and organisations can afford it. But now it’s good business.”