Eight use cases which highlight the impact service providers have made by connecting rural communities. The social impact of connecting rural communities is life changing. These stories come from the 2013 VNI Service Awards program.
Talking Points (Script): Cisco prides itself on striving to be the best country in the world and for the world. The Internet of Everything is Cisco’s brand mission based on the premise that amazing things can happen when we “connect the unconnected”. Connectivity can take place among people, processes, data and things. Service Providers serve an essential role by providing the enabling technology that fuels the Internet of Everything. In this presentation, we will showcase a few real-life examples and first-hand stories submitted by people all over the world behind how Service Providers are enabling the Internet of Everything. These stories were gleaned from the VNI Service Award program. More information about the VNI Service Awards program and access to the 50 stories submitted can be found in the appendix of this presentation. The case studies presented here were gleaned from VNI Service Award entries. Here, citizens submitted first-hand stories from all over the world explaining how technology has actually transformed lives and communities. Of the 50 entries received we chose eight stories; the 5 chosen winners and another 3 based on cross-solution innovation were presented in this deck.The appendix offers more context behind the VNI Service Award campaign.
Talking Points (Script): There are 8 stories we are showcasing here based on the following criteria: The top 5 winners of the VNI Service Awards3 additional stories chosen based on cross-technology applicability and community impactFormat of each case study presented:Problem within the communityRole Service Providers played in addressing the problemThe result and impactInfographic with deeper info on the county and relevant researchIn the notes, there is a full abstract for each study and explanation behind how it aligns and serves as a proof point for the Internet of Everything. Specific examples we can cover here (time permitting) include: Facilitating New Economies in Developing Countries – Kenya in this caseBridging Communication for the Hearing Impaired within Latin AmericaDelivering Healthcare Information across AfricaConnecting Information to Boost Rural Farm Production in AfricaAdvancing Rural Farming Communities in AfricaAccessing Telemedicine across MongoliaConnecting Blood Banks in IndiaAccelerating Information Sharing in Natural Disasters across 200+ developing countriesNOTE to Cisco Sales: Please use the case studies that will be most relevant to your prospect based on region and/or technology.
Talking Points (Script): Service providers play a key role in connecting people in previously unconnected areas. By enabling access to mobile banking and financing options through the mobile Internet, service providers are connecting more people to resources and information than ever before. By bringing these mobile experiences to life, service providers are helping to build the economy of developing countries. In the heavily populated country of Kenya, 79 percent of the population,or approximately 34.7 million people, are considered rural. For this large rural population, gaining access to loans to build and create businesses is very expensive. Financial institutions are moving toward offering services via mobile technology, with 75 percent of banking products now accessible over a mobile phone (source Rural Poverty Portal, IFAD (accessed August 19, 2013). Service providers bring a mobile Internet platform that enables new applications to be accessible through mobile devices. One such application is Kiva Zip Kenya, a microlending service that uses mobile money transfer technology to connect lenders and borrowers through an SMS-based banking system. Through mobile banking technology, individuals around the world can lend to Kenyan entrepreneurs who are outside the reach of microfinance institutions and banks. The Cisco VNI Visual Networking Index 2012-2017 forecasts that mobile data traffic in the Middle East and Africa will grow 17-fold by 2017, a compound annual growth rate of 77 percent. By connecting Kenyans to investors from all over the globe, service providers are opening the door for the Internet of Everything (IoE) to make these networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before. The microlending connections that service providers offer between people and applications such as Kiva Zip Kenya enable citizens to take advantage of new business opportunities while improving the quality of life for themselves and their communities. This is just one way that the IoE is helping to build new economies.
Talking Points (Script): Globally, 360 million people are hearing impaired, and 32 million of those are children. (source: World Health Organization, WHO 2013 (accessed August 19, 2013). 5 million Colombians are hearing-impaired. Hear-It, (accessed September 13, 2013). Socioeconomic challenges and limited access to education services inhibit this group’s ability to participate on an equal basis with others. In developing countries, hearing-impaired children rarely receive the education they need to thrive. Service providers play a key role in connecting people to information previously unavailable due to limited Internet and mobile access. With Internet connections and mobile network, access to specialty education programs designed for hearing-impaired people is more available for those in need. In fact, across Latin America, there will be 940 million mobile-connected devices in 2017. This represents approximately 1.5 devices per capita. (Source: Cisco VNI2012-2017, May 2013). Special needs education programs for the hearing-impaired, such as Hablando con Julis, created in Colombia, provide educational opportunities with downloadable software. Service providers bring the Internet and mobile network to developing countries worldwide, allowing educational programs such as Hablando con Julis to reach a larger hearing-impaired audience. This software was created to give the hearing impaired the opportunity to communicate and advance academically. The software is available from any IP-enabled device and is offered in English and Spanish. These connections improve access to education and vocational services, giving hearing-impaired children and adults the foundation to communicate and participate in the economic development of their community.Hablando con Julis has used the foundation of service provider connections—the Internet—to provide access to specialty education software through a computer or mobile device. Through these connections, the Internet of Everything’s mission to connect the unconnected is realized: those affected by hearing loss are able to take advantage of specialty learning opportunities and improve their quality of life. As more connections are made with education software similar to Hablando con Julis, the hearing-impaired community will continue to benefit.
Talking Points (Script): In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is limited access to healthcare across the country, and continued malaria outbreaks are a concern. The health infrastructure is very weak, and it is estimated that 80 percent, or 60 million, of its 75 million people do not have access to health facilities. (Source: Poverty Matters, The Guardian (accessed August 19, 2013).Among this large portion of the population, over 400 children die every day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, almost half of them from malaria. (Source: World Health Organization (accessed August 19, 2013).Service providers play a key role in connecting people in previously unconnected areas. With a reliable mobile network in the Democratic Republic of Congo, health advisers are able to communicate with remote areas to provide malaria education and updates. Through the mobile Internet, service providers are connecting more people to resources and information than ever before, helping to decrease the impact of malaria in Africa. Mobile devices are becoming the communication method of choice across the Middle East and Africa. In fact, 144.7 million devices were added to the mobile network across the region in 2012 alone . (Source: Cisco VNI 2012-2017, May 2013)It’s very difficult and expensive to receive medical treatment in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Service providers bringing a reliable mobile network allow organizations such as Imagine No Malaria to create a wave of information sharing in unconnected areas. Imagine No Malaria uses an SMS-based platform to send automated mobile messages to healthcare coordinators in more than 100 health facilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Source: Imagine No Malaria, The People of the United Methodist Church (accessed August 19, 2013).Messages are targeted to increase awareness about ways to prevent malaria. Imagine No Malaria has realized a 5 percent decrease in malaria contraction through the information provided over their mobile SMS network. For the Democratic Republic of Congo, service providers are at the heart of the connectivity between people, processes, data, and things—the Internet of Everything (IoE). Health organizations use a key component of the IoE—mobile technology—to share information and improve disease prevention in Africa. The IoE turns information into actions that enable people to be better educated, make better decisions, and enjoy a better quality of life.
Talking Points (Script): Of Uganda’s 35 million people, 86 percent, or 30 million, live in rural areas. (Source: Central Intelligence Agency, The World Fact Book (accessed August 19, 2013). For this large rural population, it’s very difficult to gain access to important agricultural information. Limited access to this vital information is a problem for these rural subsistence farmers, as 82 percent of the population depends on agriculture as their main source of income. (Source: Trading Economics (accessed August 19, 2013).Service providers play a key role in connecting people in previously unconnected areas. Mobile phones are now in use by 60 percent of people across Uganda (Source: Reuters, Oct. 2012 ). By enabling the mobile Internet, service providers provide the platform to connect the unconnected rural Uganda population, bringing access to SMS text messaging and mobile communication options. By bringing this mobile experience to remote areas, service providers help increase the livelihood of families in developing countries. To stimulate these rural area economies, businesses such as NakasekeTelecentre are able to use an SMS-based platform that operates via the mobile Internet to send timely updates on weather changes, average produce prices, available markets, new technologies, and new agriculture methods. Through these connections, rural Ugandan farmers can educate themselves and increase their crop production to provide a better livelihood for their families. (Source: Farm Africa (accessed August 19, 2013).For Uganda, service providers are providing access to the Internet of Everything—to better connect people, processes, data, and things. As more Ugandan farmers connect via mobile technology to access vital agriculture information and fuel crop production, the Internet of Everything is increasing productivity and improving quality of life.
Talking Points (Script): Of Uganda’s 35 million people, 86 percent, or 30 million, live in rural areas. (Source: Central Intelligence Agency, The World Fact Book (accessed August 19, 2013). For this large rural population, it’s very difficult to gain access to important agricultural information. Limited access to this vital information is a problem for these rural subsistence farmers, as 82 percent of the population depends on agriculture as their main source of income. (Source: Trading Economics (accessed August 19, 2013).Yet more than 50 percent of Ugandans live in poverty without reliable access to food. This is one of the reasons why the average life expectancy in Uganda is only 54 years. (Source: Farm Africa (accessed August 19, 2013). There is a need for Ugandans to increase the value of their harvests through better farming practices and simple processing of any surplus they produce. Farming communities, where people can engage with partners and crop buyers to help them earn a sustainable living, are essential to this objective.By providing mobile Internet capabilities, service providers are connecting rural farmers in Uganda to resources and information that help improve their productivity and livelihoods. In the Middle East and Africa, consumer mobile traffic will grow 19-fold from 2012 to 2017, a compound annual growth rate of 80 percent. (Source: Cisco VNI May 2013). When service providers enable mobile Internet access, businesses such as the Grameen Foundation and the MTN group can create programs like the Community Knowledge Network (CKN). The CKN support structure allows organizations with advanced agricultural knowledge to connect with and assist rural farmers. CKN uses a database of agricultural information packaged into a simple and actionable format. This allows trusted community workers to easily transmit the information over mobile devices. Through these connections, rural farmers now have access to valuable information, such as which crops to plant, when to plant, how to prevent and treat crop diseases, and where they can earn the most from selling their produce. Because service providers have enabled the Internet of Everything to connect people to each other, agricultural data, and mobile devices, rural farming in Uganda is more productive and effective, and rural farmers can make better decisions .
Talking Points (Script): At more than 604,000 square miles in land mass (Source:Mongabay.com (accessed August 19, 2013), Mongolia is more than six times bigger than the UK. But with a population of only 2.8 million, Mongolia has a population density of 1.7 persons per square kilometer, making it one of the least densely populated countries in the world (Source: World Health Organizationaccessed August 19, 2013).This means maternal and newborn health is at risk because mothers have to travel long distances over rough terrain to receive proper health care. Mongolia’s 2013 infant mortality rate was 35 per 1000 births, placing it among the highest 30 percent worldwide. (Source: World Infant Mortality Rate2013. Service providers are playing a key role in connecting mothers in previously unconnected areas to doctors and the medical care they need. Service providers bringing the Internet to Mongolia enable organizations such as the Ministry of Health of Mongolia to deliver telemedicine capabilities, meaning that doctors can easily communicate with patients, reducing the risks of physical travel through harsh conditions. Doctors in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, can communicate directly with mothers-to-be to diagnose and/or treat them as well as their babies. Through these connections, more mothers have access to expert diagnosis and treatment, improving maternal and newborn health.In Mongolia, service providers enable Internet connections that are crucial in connecting mothers in remote areas to the maternal healthcare they need throughout their pregnancy. As the Internet of Everything continues to connect more people, processes, data, and things, technologies such as telemedicine will improve overall healthcare for Mongolian people and save many lives.
Talking Points (Script): Although India is the second most populous country in the world, only 12.6 percent (or 150 million) of its citizens are considered Internet users. (Source: Percentage of Individuals Using the Internet 2000-2012, International Telecommunications Union [Geneva], June 2013). IP traffic in India will increase six-fold from 2012 to 2017, equating to a 44 percent compound annual growth rate. . (Source: Cisco VNI May 2013). Communicating the need for blood donations to India’s large population has proven to be very difficult, especially when emergencies arise. Every two seconds, someone needs blood in India. (Source: Friends2Support). To help increase the supply of donated blood, service providers are enabling organizations such as Blood Aid to use social networks to connect patients in need of blood with donors living in their cities. Blood Aid connects people by posting requests for blood to social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Through these connections, more people are receiving blood from the informed donors, helping save more lives. Seven hundred lives have been saved through Blood Aid in the past two years. (Source: Blood Aid, Aug. 19,2013. In India, service providers are enabling the Internet of Everything (IoE) to connect more people, processes, data, and things. When the Internet connects blood donors to recipients, there is a higher likelihood of matching donations where lives can be saved.
Talking Points (Script): Hundreds of millions of people around the world are affected by severe weather and natural disasters every year. (Source: Natural Disasters Hitting More People, Becoming More Costly,” International Monetary Fund (accessed August 19, 2013). Although preventing a natural disaster is impossible, preparing and helping those affected is not. By enabling access to the mobile Internet, service providers are connecting more people via SMS and social networking to resources and disaster warning information than ever before, reducing recovery response time and saving lives.When service providers bring the mobile Internet and Internet platforms to the world, organizations such as the Humanitarian Early Warning Service (HEWS) can help prepare communities for disaster. Two hundred and sixty institutions and news organizations have linked the platform—www.hewsweb.org—to their websites, including the Washington Post,CBS News, and several United Nations agencies. (Source: World Food Programme, March 2011). HEWS promotes better and faster humanitarian analysis, warning, and response by putting a wealth of specialized data in one central location, using a single homepage map to display early warning information about multiple hazards. Through these connections, individuals around the world can be proactively informed and better prepared for natural disasters in their respective communities. This increases the likelihood of lives being saved and livelihoods preserved. Service providers play a key role in connecting people to the information they need most. In this case, getting advanced warning of a natural disaster can save lives. As more people, data, and things are connected to the Internet of Everything (IoE), information can be turned into action. The IoE is providing more connections to current and relevant information that can lead to better emergency preparedness and response operations across the globe.
Talking Points (Script): Cisco prides itself on striving to be the best country in the world and for the world. The case studies presented here were gleaned from VNI Service Award entries. Here, citizens submitted first-hand stories from all over the world explaining how technology has actually transformed lives and communities. We received 50 entries as a result – far exceeding the initial goals of 12 (goal) & 20 (stretch goal) entries. Eight of these stories – the 5 chosen winners and another 3 based on cross-solution innovation were presented in this deck. The next few slides offer more context behind the VNI Service Award campaign.
Talking Points (Script): The VNI Service Awards was a new program conceived and created by Deb Strickland, Rob Barlow and Thomas Barnett and timed to coincide with the publication of updated Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) data. Program objectives:The primary goal was to solicit stories from actual users of the services identified in VNIService Adoption research. All these services are made possible by local service providers so it was a creative way to make that often unrecognized connection. A secondary goal was to increase awareness of Cisco and the VNI research beyond the usual audience. The VNI Service Adoption study is the least known of the three forecasts so this was a good opportunity to tie real stories to the raw data. These stories serve as proof points to the data, and make it easier to understand the significance of the predictions.Other program objectives were to: Recognize excellence in integrating technology to solve local problemsArticulate the role of Service Providers in enabling the Internet of EverythingDemonstrate how Service Providers can serve as a catalyst in transforming livesCollaborate with and Strengthen our Corporate Social Responsibility outreach campaigns
Talking Points (Script): Process to submit entries: Participants answered 5 questions including the selected telecom service(s), problem to be solved, and the program’s impact with their local community.Participants selected an applicable technology category for the entry. Options included: SMS & MMS, Mobile or Online Video, Mobile or Online Music, Mobile or Online Gaming, Mobile Banking or eCommerce, Web or Video Conferencing, Instant Messaging, VoIP (Voice over IP), VoD (Video on Demand), Location-based Service, Social Networking. Participants also selected the societal impact of their submission based on one of seven categories; disaster recovery, economic development, education, healthcare, retail, social empowerment, and sports and entertainment.Judging. A panel of 10 individuals (internal and external to Cisco) were randomly assigned stories. Stories were assigned scores from 1 (low) – 5 (high) based on five criteria; creativity, resourcefulness, impact, leadership, long term successE) The scores for the top five stories (the winners) varied by only 0.75 points!How the program was promoted: CLE Blogs – Connected Life Exchange http://blogs.cisco.com/cle- Leading up to this Awards program, we solicited bloggers to share their stories as it related to the VNI-SA research. Over 35 blogs were created between May 2012 and June 2013 - http://blogs.cisco.com/tag/vni-saOutreach to individuals and organizations promoting ICT4D (Information and Communication Technologies for development), M4D (Mobile Communications for Development). Included past success stories from PR ‘My Networked Life’ and Corporate Social Responsibility as sources of inspiration.Several participants are anxious to blog about their work and update us with their successes post-contest.There are opportunities to leverage and expand Opportunities to Leverage & Expand Program across IoE and Corporate Responsibility Campaigns across new global audiences.
Talking Points (Script): While the Cisco VNI Service Adoption study forecasts the rate at which end users will adopt various technology services, the study does not address as to why or how these changes are occurring. The VNI Service Awards was a vehicle to get answers behind:1. Who are the people and organizations using these services?2. Why are there regional differences in the rate at which end users are adopting these services? Is it due to culture, economics, education, or regulatory influences?3. For example, what is it about the Asia-Pacific region that result in it having a 10% higher adoption rate of online gaming than Latin America?4. Who are the local businesses, communities, or individuals that are driving this adoption, and how do they benefit from these services?5. How is the local service provider driving adoption?Results and impact of the VNI Service Awards exceeded stated goals and expectations. A few highlights: 50 stories submitted, 5 winners shared USD $10,000Participants from 110 countries contributed over 25K views, and 4100+ commentsHighly engaged audience averaged 8 minutes on site http://vnistories.comSample of positive feedback from Humanitarian Organizations: “To be recognized for our work means a greater committed for us in the promote of innovative technological projects with solutions to global problems.“ Angela Maria Tafur, GiveToColombia.org“As a Knowledge Management Adviser at the United Nations, I am delighted that you have this initiative to highlight good practices. The focus on how technology transformed people's lives is so important and so relevant. I congratulate you for this initiative and wish you continued success. ” Bobby Olarte, Knowledge Management Advisor, United Nations Population Fund, New York