Cisco will work with Japan on mass-scale digitization program

Cisco is collaborating with the government of Japan on a massive digitization project that will include many industry verticals including government, education, healthcare and business. The goal of the program is to drive mass-scale digitization, stimulate Japan’s economic growth, enhance its quality of life and help the country in its recovery from the global Covid-19 pandemic.  

This initiative falls under Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA), which was launched in 2018. The program will focus on areas such as improving secure network platforms for the Japanese government and for critical social infrastructure. It will also build a cybersecurity development program to help fill cybersecurity jobs in the country which are currently hard to fill because of a shortage of talent.

Interestingly, the CDA will also help the Japanese build the underlying core infrastructure for 5G. That includes helping with connectivity, speed and latency of 5G networks.

The CDA will also work on digitizing schools and the country’s education department. In particular, Cisco will work with Japan to deliver high-speed broadband internet to students and ensure every student has access to one digital device.

On the enterprise front, the CDA will work with enterprises, including small and medium businesses, to help them adapt to the changes brought on by the pandemic. For example, many companies need help moving to a more distributed workforce. It will also help Japanese companies improve productivity by collaborating on artificial intelligence, edge computing, data analytics and IoT.

In healthcare, the CDA will help private, public and non-profit organizations develop remote healthcare programs and digital healthcare.

Cisco’s CDA program already works with governments in 40 countries, including India, Saudi Arabia and the Cayman Islands. The CDA team is headed by Guy Diedrich, global innovation officer at Cisco Systems.