Wim Elfrink
Chief Globalization Officer and
Executive Vice President
Cisco Systems
The only constant is that change takes on a different dimension within the Internet age. In Wednesday’s plenary session, Wim Elfrink, chief globalization officer and executive vice president, Cisco Systems, touched on the changing market dynamics that are shaping that next wave of the Internet age, and the opportunities presented by the advent of smart, connected communities.
There is a dominant trend of urbanization—five hundred million people are expected to live in urban clusters in the next five years and the big cities are only getting bigger, with 100 new cities expected to have more than a million in population by 2025. And as emerging economies grow in size and wealth, they will be a hotbed for innovation and drive demand for smart, connected communities. Additionally, as more and more people get onto the Internet—with 14 billion more users projected to go online by 2010—the world is clearly going to be all about “being connected”, according to Elfrink.
And what would “connect” large, urban communities? Elfrink built a compelling case for technology as an enabler, with communities conversing via an integrated technology backbone. Such a backbone would infiltrate every aspect of urban living—connecting devices we use, the buildings we live in, and the way we interact with each other and the world. Mobility would be the platform and new business models would develop to drive demand and satisfy these needs.
The all-consuming trend toward urbanization on the one hand, and environmental concerns on the other, means a move toward building cities that are “smart” and optimized. With integrated networks forming the nervous systems of such cities, there would be game-changing implications across many aspects of urban societies influencing physical security, transportation, utilities (or energy use), healthcare, education and provisioning of government services. Elfrink went on to provide several examples, including:
- Providing real-time traffic information so citizens could plan their commute to work or decide to use public transportation, leading to efficiency and reduced emissions
- Providing remote healthcare services and information to citizens, which would extend healthcare access and reduce health-related expenses
- Automating and remotely monitoring building security, leading to higher security and lower costs
The evolving role of the Internet, with the network as a platform for collaboration, video and virtualization, and data centers means additional opportunities as well. Virtual networking technologies like telepresence holds transformational potential for the way communities live, work and do business to help to solve many of today’s urban problems of congestion, spiraling energy costs and the consequent environmental impact, Elfrink concluded.
Biography of Wim Elfrink
Wim Elfrink has dual roles and organizations at Cisco. As chief globalization officer, Elfrink is leading the next stage of the Cisco globalization strategy, and as executive vice president, customer advocacy, he is responsible for Cisco services worldwide. In his functions, he reports directly to Cisco CEO John Chambers. Elfrink joined Cisco in 1997, and under his leadership customer advocacy has been and will continue to be dedicated to accelerating customer success with Cisco network technology and applications. Customer advocacy has created and continues to deliver award-winning customer support. Elfrink relocated to Bangalore, India, in January 2007.
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