The program runs under the name 'Deutschland Digital' and focuses in particular on innovation, security and education. "We want to help ensure that German industry remains internationally competitive in the long term. To do this, we also need to take people with us, because digitalization affects society as a whole," says Oliver Tuszik, Head of Germany at Cisco. The investments include start-up financing for specific digitalization projects, research funding, the expansion of the Cisco Networking Academy programme, direct investments in a venture fund and additional personnel and infrastructure expenditure.

Innovation workshops are to be organized regularly together with SMEs. Under professional guidance, the companies will develop solutions for specific digital challenges and suitable business models together with Cisco, selected start-ups and other partners.

Investments in start-ups and venture funds in Germany are also to be expanded. The focus will be on security, cloud computing and Industry 4.0/Internet of Things (IoT).

A research initiative will translate the legal requirements in Germany into a software architecture for cloud offerings. The aim is to develop a scalable technology that automatically meets data protection requirements but still offers all the advantages of the cloud.

An "IT Security Competence Center" is to set up a network of customers, partners, research institutions and start-ups to investigate specific IT security issues and develop technical solutions.

An expansion of the 'Networking Academy' is also planned. The 'Networking Academy' is a free partnership offer for educational institutions such as vocational schools, which provides extensive learning materials for teachers and students on IT topics. The plan is to increase the annual number of graduates from 35,000 to 80,000 in three years. The central element will be a learning module specifically for the German market, which will primarily cover the Internet of Things for non-IT professions.

"Deutschland Digital" is part of Cisco's global "Country Digitization Acceleration" initiative. In Europe, Cisco has already announced investment plans in the UK, France and Italy.