Internet will change learning: Chambers

Internet will change the way education is delivered wherein learning will be more personal and the teacher will only be a reference point. 

John Chambers, President and CEO, Cisco Systems, said that the most profound impact of Internet will be in the way education is delivered over the Net. 

He added that within Cisco Systems, the company has realized savings of over $ 1.5 billion through online learning. The Internet has evolved through two phases and we are currently on the verge of the third phase, which is e-learning. During the first phase, Internet was leveraged for customer support and during the second phase, enterprises experienced the fruits of a connected environment. 

Chambers, who is on a two-day visit to the country delivered a keynote address at the Technology Showcase organized by Cisco. He also addressed a gathering of industry captains in an event organized by CII. Unlike the six-sigma levels, which are time-consuming and experience hockey stick growth patterns, investing in network infrastructure gives spiral growth. There is a direct relationship between the growth of an economy and the level of infrastructure development in the country. 

Explaining his vision further about the Internet economy, Chambers said, "Survival is driving the Internet economy. Therefore, the more differentiators there are to your services, the more it will impact your margins." 

He said that in the last decade, Cisco has changed seven times. But it was also during these transitions that Cisco increased its marketshare. 

Chambers praised the higher education system in the country that produced some of the world's finest professionals. He said that 25 percent of Cisco professionals are Indians. He pointed out that it is important for the country to develop its infrastructure without which, it will lose a lot of its resources. For instance, an Indian professional cost $ 13,000 but due to lack of infrastructure, the overhead cost is an additional $ 32,000. 

Speaking about the revenue generation from the country, Chambers said, "India contributes one-third of one percent to our revenue which was China's contribution three years ago. Today China's contribution to our revenue generation stands at 5 percent." 

He said that the concept of a digital divide was a misnomer since the country can leverage the infrastructure to promote education. Other issues that were of concern to him were the high duties imposed on networking products. Explaining his concern Chambers said, "I can understand the government's concern in the PC industry where there are domestic manufacturers. But in networking equipment where is there is no domestic manufacturing, the duties should be done away with." 

Responding to queries about the slowdown of US economy, Chambers said that the slowdown was likely to impact Indian companies. But it was Cisco's endeavor to reduce the impact on its partners as much as possible.