Cisco TelePresence Solution Launches in Algeria

Cisco's Algiers Office Becomes First Business Premises in Algeria to Use Face-to-Face Cisco Collaboration Solution


ALGIERS, ALGERIA--(Marketwire - December 14, 2010) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced today that its Algiers office has become the first business premises in Algeria to offer the Cisco TelePresence™ solution.

The Cisco TelePresence solution offers a live, face-to-face experience that enables people from different offices and cities around the world to meet virtually using the power of the network. Cisco TelePresence meeting participants can share content, create high-quality video recordings of events, consult with experts, and deliver powerful personalized services, all using the network for an immersive in-person experience.

Setting up a Cisco TelePresence meeting is as simple as making a phone call, and when participants sit down at the conference table in a Cisco TelePresence room, other participants appear to be sitting across the table, in life size, no matter where they are in the world.

Highlights / Key Facts:

  • The Cisco office in Algiers has been installed with a Cisco TelePresence System 3000, which is ideally suited for large group meetings, creating an environment for up to six people to meet in one location, and to be "virtually" joined by six additional people, for a total of 12 meeting participants. The Cisco TelePresence System 3000 is suitable for customer engagements, presentations to groups, supply-chain dealings, press briefings, operational or engineering reviews, negotiations, regular team meetings, and other gatherings.
  • The Cisco TelePresence System 3000 integrates three 65-inch plasma screens and a specially designed table that seats six participants on one side of the virtual table. The system, which features cameras, a lighting array, microphones, and speakers, all tuned to optimize the experience, supports life-size images with ultra-high-definition video and spatial audio. A multipoint meeting using Cisco TelePresence System 3000 can support up to 48 locations on a single call.
  • For businesses in North Africa, Cisco TelePresence technology will bridge geographical divides, by enabling highly secure virtual meetings with multiple locations inside or outside the corporate firewall. Ultimately, the solution will help to save costs and boost productivity by reducing travel and will facilitate a greener company environment by reducing its carbon footprint.
  • The "real-life" meeting experience provided by Cisco TelePresence technology is delivered through ultra-high-definition video that reveals subtle facial expressions conveying nonverbal reactions. Spatial audio allows the transmission of every nuance of the conversation and enables participants to interact as they would in person.
  • In Algeria, Cisco TelePresence technology offers more than a virtual meeting experience for businesses. Health care professionals, for example, will be able to collaborate more easily, regardless of location, thereby improving both the timeliness and the quality of care delivered. Patients will have access to physicians and specialists from remote locations. The Cisco HealthPresence™ solution is also ideal for applications of telemedicine such as specialist or radiologist consultations. Likewise, for educational establishments, Cisco TelePresence Classroom will help transform the learning environment, providing a means to bring education to remote locations and also connect with colleges, institutions and tutors from around the world.
  • As other businesses in Algeria adopt Cisco TelePresence solutions, an expert on investment products based in an Algiers bank, for example, will be able to have face-to-face private meetings with customers in Constantine and Tamanrasset without having to travel a long distance. Similarly, a geological data analyst for an exploration company will be able meet face-to-face with several teams in London, New York and Bangalore in one day and still attend to personal commitments.

Executive Quotes:
Karim Dembri, general manager for Cisco Algeria
"In today's climate, when companies are looking at better ways to conduct business efficiently whilst also keeping a firm control on travel costs, Cisco TelePresence technology offers the perfect solution. Cisco employees in Algiers are already enjoying the benefits and cost savings that a Cisco TelePresence solution offers, and we aim to also utilize this installation in our offices as a pilot to allow our business partners and customers across the region the opportunity to experience the power of Cisco TelePresence technology. We are confident that in the very near future many more organizations across North Africa will be deploying the Cisco TelePresence solution."

Den Sullivan, chief information officer for Cisco's Emerging Markets region
"The deployment of Cisco TelePresence technology can now be increased significantly throughout the sub-Saharan African region with the arrival of submarine cables, which now offer high bandwidth at attractive prices. To that end, this year alone we have been able to deploy the solution in our offices in Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. Cisco's vision is to be the leading enabler of ICT and broadband acceleration in emerging markets through innovative, scalable, high-value technology offerings and solutions. Cisco TelePresence will not only transform the way business is conducted in North Africa but also help make vital services like health care and education more accessible to those who need them most."

Links / URLs:

About Cisco:
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, this year celebrates 25 years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in emerging markets is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

Cisco, the Cisco logo, Cisco TelePresence and Cisco HealthPresence are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

Contact Information:

Contact Information:

Press Contact:
Rose Bambi
Cisco
+44 7770 751107
rbambi@cisco.com

Analyst Contact:
Sharon Robinson
Cisco
+27 21 413 4577
sharobin@cisco.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Matt Hardwick
Cisco
+44 20 8824 1970
mahardwi@cisco.com

Journalists in Algeria attend the launch of the Cisco TelePresence solution at the Cisco offices in Algiers.