Digitalization, big data and IoT were no doubt the hottest topics at this year’s ICCFED, the conference gathering world’ leading enterprises to contribute advice at to the development of Guangdong.

“"We propose to accelerate the Start-up Ecosystem in Guangdong,"” said Hilton Romanski, Senior VP and Chief Strategy Officer of Cisco Systems, “through this ecosystem the province can gain more insight into the market and lead the digital transformation.”

This is the first time for Cisco and its representative, Hilton Romanski, to attend the ICCFED. The enterprise signed an MoU with Guangdong in 2016, and invested huge in the Smart City Project in Guangzhou as well as the Tonghu Science City in Huizhou this year in 2017.

“We’re lucky to have witnessed the development and accomplishments of China and Guangdong’s IT initiatives in the industrial sectors,”" said Hilton Romanski in an interview with Newsgd.com, "“Cisco is dedicated to driving development through innovation and accelerating transformation.”

Governor Ma Xingrui with Mr Hilton Romanski, senior vice president and chief strategy officer of Cisco Systems. [Photo ICCFED office]

Newsgd.com: What advice did you have for Guangdong government this year and why?

Hilton Romanski: My advice is to drive growth and innovation through the Start-up Ecosystem, which consists of five critical groups: entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, university and research institutions, large companies and government institutions.

This Start-up Ecosystem is the foundation underpinning many most recognized companies around the world, such as Google, Apple and Cisco. By accelerating a similar approach, Guangdong will be better positioned to gain insight into where the market is headed and what’s needed in order to help lead digital transformation for its people, cities and businesses.

Newsgd.com: What do you think of Guangdong’’s efforts in developing smart cities? And what changes will Cisco bring to the province?

Hilton Romanski: Cisco is currently building a smart city project in Guangzhou’s Panyu District. During our interactions with the Guangdong Provincial Government and Guangzhou Municipal Government, we had a sense of how forward-looking the province is. As the project is pushing forward, We also feel first-hand “Guangdong Speed”.

To construct Panyu as a smart city, Cisco has brought in its ecosystem partners outside of China, including Singapore, Europe and the United States. We collaborate to expand upon innovative technologies, such as autonomous driving and clean energy, and to build new business models and change the entire industry.

The project eventually aims to improve the living environment of Panyu, and to provide intelligent, green and safe “smart city” amenities for its citizens.

Mr. Hilton Romanski, Senior VP and Chief Strategy Officer of Cisco Systems arrives at White Swan Hotel. [Photo ICCFED office]

Newsgd.com: What specific development plans does Cisco have in Guangdong?

Hilton Romanski: We signed a framework agreement with Guangdong in November 2016, and identified seven areas for cooperation, including smart manufacturing, smart cities, wireless network, cloud computing, tech company incubation, IT talent training and innovation leadership development.

Under this framework, Cisco China innovation headquarters in Panyu will focus on the IoE/IoT innovation opportunities. We will leverage our resource advantage in networking technologies and work together to create an R&D center for innovative applications and build an IoE cloud platform.

We will also team up with our local and global partners to accelerate transformation and innovation, create a high-standard system of smart industries, and build a world-class industrial park with an annual output value of over RMB100 billion--the Cisco (Guangzhou) Smart City Project.

(By Jasmine Editor Wing Simon)