Cisco’s campus in Bangalore: Lessons for PM Modi’s smart cities.
As the Chief Globalisation Officer at Cisco, Wim Elfrink prides himself on applying a digital overlay to physical infrastructure. He’s also the brain behind the 2.18 million square feet Cisco Smart Campus in Bengaluru. Cisco employees can book a work station through the global network by scanning the QR code in their device. The Bangalore campus is perhaps the most connected in the Cisco ecosystem. People can pick any conference room, and adjust the lights, shutters or even control the AC. Talking of security, the company’s transport buses, used by 30 percent of the staff, are fitted with GPS tied to the Transport Control Room. Apart from route information, even if the driver deviates from the prescribed route or over-speeds, an alert is generated. The company also generates 1 MW of power through solar energy (Karnataka generates 9 MW of solar power) panels placed strategically on the building terraces.
