Cisco has unveiled its Globalisation Centre East campus in Bangalore at an opening ceremony presided over by former Indian President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and John Chambers, Cisco chairman and CEO.

Cisco also announced that it is extending venture investment initiative in India by another $100 million to drive growth with high-potential Indian companies. In 2005, Cisco designated an initial $100 million in venture funding as part of its overall $1.1bn investment plan for India.

As the first of several potential iniatives Cisco is pursuing within the new $100m investment goal, Cisco is collaborating with Satyam Computer Services to explore a new venture investment. This planned new venture will focus on optimising, deploying and managing integrated healthcare management solutions globally, bringing together the market reach, capabilities and experience of both Cisco and Satyam.

Cisco today employs over 3000 people across India, and the first phase of the Cisco Globalisation Centre East campus will initially be able to accommodate 1200 personnel.

The new facility will house an advanced Global Briefing Centre to showcase Cisco's latest technology solutions and provide an environment for closer collaboration with partners in spotlighting solutions for customers in emerging markets such as India, China, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

According to Wim Elfrink, chief globalisation officer for Cisco, "The new Globalisation Centre East will offer a collaborative work environment to help us attract and retain top talent, and take full advantage of collaborative technologies such as Cisco TelePresence to help us scale to support our continued growth across multiple emerging economies."