John Chambers calls for collaborative effort to create a sucessful digital economy

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Creating a successful digital economy requires a collaborative effort drawing on the experiences, ideas and ingenuity, as well as global innovation and experience, opined Cisco chairman John Chambers.

Speaking at the CII CEOs roundtable Chambers said that Governments can certainly play an important role in growing the digital economy.

Organisations will have to keep ahead of the pace of change to survive, added Chambers. The fine line between IT and business is blurring. and these are now being seen as one. The more IT and business strategies are aligned, the better an organisation will perform compared to its competitors, he added.

Cisco looks forward to playing an active role in enabling digitization of Indian economy and developing India as a strategic business hub, Chambers said.

In his address, Ajay S Shriram, President, CII, said "Developing the capability and capacity to use digital technologies to drive productivity and innovation, enhance innovation and entrepreneurship and generate new value-adding industries and jobs is key to revive the Indian economy.

Shriram added that digital inclusion can help SMEs become more competitive, give a fillip to key sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, education and healthcare and help in job creation for the youth.

Shriram added that Technology is a great enabler and the Government's thrust on ‘Digital India' - to make available information, services and products to every citizen - opens up immense opportunity for the industry to partner with the Government to accelerate growth and development through technology.