Cisco preparing to plough $500m into UK - report

Sources claim networking giant is plotting similar investment in Germany too

Cisco is in the process of working on a $500m (£318m) partnership with the UK government, according to reports.

Bloomberg cites sources who claim the networking giant is in the process of forging a link with the UK to test new products, train technical staff and invest in start-ups.

CRN sister site Channelnomics Europe reports that Cisco recently made a similar $100m investment in France through which it plans to work with the government to train 200,000 people in digital networks in the coming three years.

On top of its alleged imminent UK investment, the same sources claimed Cisco was planning on ploughing hundreds of millions of dollars into Germany too.

The sources said the investment earmarked for Germany was between $100m and $500m.

Working with governments on projects such as smart cities is something Cisco has been vocal about in the past – at its Global Partner Summit in Montreal in April it was a much-discussed topic. At the partner gathering, the firm also shone a light on what it described as a "tremendous shortfall" in techies who have skills in the Internet of Things.

Cisco was not immediately available to comment.