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One of the things that strikes you about Tony DeSpirito is his infectious enthusiasm for just about everything he’s passionate about; from his road cycling to his work at Schneider Electric. I talked with Tony about Schneider Electric’s participation in Cisco House, just after his return from some of the rowing finals at Eton Dornay and he was predictably effusive.
“It’s been a marketing dream come true, to see the logos of these two great companies (Cisco and Schneider Electric) side-by-side at Olympic Park,” he said. Using case studies and interactive, walk-though experiences, the purpose-built showcase illustrates transformational opportunities for countries, cities and organisations which are available today and in the future.
Judging from the reactions of global CEO’s, Embassy staff and Heads of State who have visited Cisco House, it’s been a great success. “Many were already aware of Schneider Electric, but they left Cisco House with a sharpened awareness of an entity much larger, much more advanced and much better able to solve large and small-scale problems for individuals, corporations and nations through its partnerships with companies like Cisco.
“Take smart cities and even Smart Grid – no single company has an end-to-end solution. It takes an ecosystem of like-minded companies to solve problems like improved energy efficiency, reduced waste and reduced emissions on a significant scale. That’s why I’m proud of what we’re able to demonstrate at Cisco House – which is a smart building, where we’re measuring over 100 points of data in order to make better decisions to maintain a comfortable, available and sustainable environment.”
Cisco House will remain open throughout the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games. It aims to stimulate fresh thinking around reducing costs, increasing productivity and the creation of new business and service models that deliver competitive advantage to change the way we live, learn, work and play. In the spirit of collaborative working, Cisco is working with five key technology partners as supporters of Cisco House, these include Citrix, EMC, Intel, SAP and Schneider Electric. The partnership demonstrates how partners can work together and create an ecosystem to transform business.
