May 6 – Cisco has signed-up as the official information technology network hardware partner for Australia’s bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, it has been announced.
Ben Buckley, the chief executive of Football Federation Australia (FFA), described the Cisco TelePresence system as “the way of the future” and explained that it would assist interaction with the Europe-based consultants that are helping with the bid, as well as improving internal communications.
One of the benefits would be cost efficiency, especially reduced travel expenditure.
Buckley suggested the technology will also help reduce the perception of Australia as being a distant country.
“Technology such as this helps the world to shrink,” he said.
FFA will also use Cisco WebEx for web conferencing.
“The relationship enables us to better connect with FIFA and the world through the use of state-of-the-art technology, as we continue the bidding process to bring the FIFA World Cup to Australia in 2018 or 2022,” said Buckley.
“The support of Cisco strengthens our efforts and helps us to spread the message about our bid both domestically and internationally.”
Les Williamson, the vice president of Cisco Australia and New Zealand, said: ”We are excited to be a part of delivering leading-edge collaborative capabilities and technology to the FFA’s bid to bring the FIFA World Cup to Australia.”
Cisco are the second blue-chip company to back Australia’s bid after Qantas agreed a deal in March.
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