After over 30 years of connecting the UK & Ireland, we're in a great place to help accelerate its digital future. Nearly every Internet connection in the UK touches Cisco technology and we're investing in projects across the nation to support innovation, from smart cities to transport, healthcare and manufacturing, to cyber-security and digital skills.
Find out more below, or read our corporate overview.
As the economy is challenged with opportunity for growth, both for organisations and individuals, new economic modelling from the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), commissioned by Cisco, reveals that a more inclusive digital society could add £168 billion to the economy by 2030.
Whether it’s solving the world’s biggest problems, becoming more productive or helping businesses be more competitive in the face of digital disruption, one thing is clear: nobody can do it alone.
From the moment you wake to the moment you go to sleep, we’re there making every day slightly better. And we’re doing it collectively. Working with the very best everywhere because we know that we’re stronger together, not just as organisations, but as individuals.
We're combining our technology with industry-leading global intelligence and our focus on cyber skills to help make the UK the safest place on earth to be online. And we're not in this fight alone. That's why we're focusing on digital and cyber skills through the Cisco Networking Academy - so the people who use the internet in the UK can become part of its defence. We also work with a wide range of public and private sector partners, including the country's leading security experts, from the National Crime Agency and the National Cyber Security Centre, to GCHQ and the Internet Watch Foundation.
They stop 20bn threats a day, find out more about Talos and how they are thwarting cybercrime in the UK.
With over 120,000 police officers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the police are on the front line in the fight to make the UK a safer place in both the physical and cyber worlds. In November last year, we announced our partnership with UK police to help provide free cyber security training to officers across the UK.
The UK faces a digital skills gap and collaboration between technology leaders, government, and education is crucial. According to the Centre for Economic and Business Research, in research commissioned by Cisco, an inclusive digital society could add £168 billion to the economy by 2030. Access to foundational and lifelong digital skills could contribute £13 billion through efficiency savings, including access to online services like digital banking, ecommerce, and online GP appointments. Cisco actively supports initiatives to make the UK a digitally advanced nation.
Since 1997, the Cisco Networking Academy has been working toward a single goal: fostering the technical and entrepreneurial skills that people, educators, and companies need to change the world for the better. In the UK and Ireland, we’ve trained over 450,000 people across 320 academies with 89% of people who complete our professional certification courses finding a job or education opportunity as a direct result – something we’re hugely proud of.
We know that the best ideas are yet to be imagined, and our digital future will be built by a diverse set of thinkers. We work with the next generation in a number of ways: through our Pathways programme, apprenticeships, internships and our graduate scheme.
At Cisco, we want to connect everything. And that means people too.
We understand the power of human connection and its potential to make a difference in our world. That's why we empower our people to play a positive role in UK and Irish society.
This starts with modelling the right values within our own organisation. We're committed to support each other and work together to create shared success that will benefit everyone.
In addition to team volunteering, we provide each employee in the UK with ten days paid 'Time to Give'. In the last year alone, Cisco employees in the UK and Ireland volunteered 37,700 hours for over 340 different charities, with employee donations and Cisco matching in the UK reaching over $440,000.
Pay parity is also a big part of this. At Cisco, this means we pay our people fairly - regardless of gender - based on roles, location, prior work experience, performance and other business relevant factors. We've now completed two cycles of global pay review including in the UK, both of which revealed a healthy and fair pay practice.
These practices are just part of why Cisco was named number 1 workplace in both UK & Ireland in the Great Place to Work awards in 2024. We're incredibly proud to now be a Laureate of the Best Workplaces awards having been in the lists for over 10 years.
Hear how Cisco employees are using their Time2Give to volunteer for causes that matter to them
Our culture of inclusion is fueled by a thriving Inclusion and Collaboration Community, with over 25,000 people participating in global employee groups. Our I&C community are doing amazing things – from expanding awareness around hidden disabilities, to paying tribute to fallen heroes.
We’re proud to partner with The Trussell Trust, a charity working to end hunger and poverty in the UK by supporting a nationwide network of food banks and providing emergency food and support to people who need it. We’re lending our expertise to address their technical and data challenges and our time through volunteering and fundraising.