Cisco drives Polish regional IT

Cisco has linked with the city of Krakow and the Malopolska region on IT initiatives to strengthen the region's economic position. Potential initiatives under discussion include support for building a knowledge economy, increasing entrepreneurial capacity and technical skills, and introducing second-generation e-government services using the broadband network as a platform.

The collaboration furthers the local government strategy of using the potential of information and communication networks to accelerate social and economic growth.

"We want to take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen our region and transform it into a dynamic and sustainable environment for business innovation and cultural expansion with an enhanced standard of living. One of our main priorities to this end is to use ICT to drive productivity and competitiveness in close cooperation with technology leaders like Cisco. We want to be able to take advantage of worldwide technology expertise and best-practice sharing to map the most suitable e-transformation initiatives for our citizens and businesses," said Marek Nawara, marshal of the Malopolska region.

Cisco plans to work closely with Krakow and the Malopolska region to identify ways in which it can support the region in the further development of e-government services and help map out a portfolio for second-generation e-services to address the needs of government employees, citizens and businesses. The three parties also intend to work together on initiatives related to economic development, with a specific focus on accelerating Krakow's ambition to become a European services centre.