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Digital communications technology company Cisco on Friday launched Cisco Meraki India region, a new cloud region hosted locally within the country. This will help enhance secure networking and enable data localisation. This will be hosted on a cloud service provider empanelled with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
This will also empower businesses across the nation to embrace a cloud-first transformation, while helping customers meet their local data storage and privacy needs. “The Meraki India Region helps our customers meet their local data storage needs with advanced security features such as penetration testing and daily vulnerability scans, continuing the drive towards digital transformation across the country,” said Lawrence Huang, SVP/GM, Cisco Networking, Meraki & Wireless.
This development is key, as the demand for data localisation and privacy is rapidly growing. According to the Cisco 2024 Data Privacy Benchmark Study, 97 percent of organisations in India believe data is inherently safer when stored within their own country or region, and 94 percent trust global providers to protect their data more effectively than local providers.
“As businesses continue to embrace a cloud-first environment, they are seeking a comprehensive networking platform that offers agility, flexibility, and secure access to drive operational efficiencies and succeed in an interconnected world. With the launch of the Meraki India Region, we aim to do just that,” said Daisy Chittilapilly, president, Cisco India & SAARC.
Cisco Meraki has been present in India for nine years. “But some regulatory sectors were sitting out because they have always been concerned about clouds that were based outside the country,” added Chittilapilly. Meraki can now tap into sectors with data sovereignty concerns, such as public sector entities, financial institutions, among others.
Cisco acquired Meraki in 2012, and it is today used by over 810,000 customers globally. Meraki offers comprehensive networking (Wired, Wireless, SD-WAN), secure networking, and IoT (Sensors) capabilities that empower customers with centralised visibility and control, unified management of wireless and wired networks, and reduced operational expenses.
