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Mala Anand

No Longer with Cisco

Mala Anand is senior vice president for the Cisco Software Platforms Group. Anand is committed to innovative software development and go-to-market strategy. Her responsibilities include Cisco software-enabled smart services, big data and analytics, application integration and automation enablement platforms. She has over 20 years of experience leading product development for enterprise-focused software companies. Her expertise includes technology innovation, go-to-market planning, product line development and cloud-based strategies.

In her previous role as vice president of the Cisco Services Product Group, Anand was responsible for the vision, strategy, and development of the Cisco smart services portfolio. Her innovative approach helped Cisco exceed one billion dollars in bookings and contributed to Cisco’s services market differentiation. Under her leadership, the Group launched over 15 market-leading software offerings.

Prior to Cisco, Anand held senior executive positions in product, services, and technology business units, and she holds multiple technology patents. She also served as COO and senior vice president for Informative, a private software company focusing on business analytics. In addition, she was also entrepreneur in residence (EIR) for the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. Prior to that she helped lead development for software products from Corosoft (BMC), Rapt (Microsoft) and Beyond, Inc. Anand has also led software teams at Oracle and Digital Equipment Corporation.

Anand holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from University of Massachusetts and a master’s degree in computer science from Brown University.

Articles

February 13, 2015

2

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Putting Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence into High Gear: More Startup Innovations for the Internet of Everything

Cisco’s leadership in the emerging market for the Internet of Everything (IoE), Smart Cities and Big Data/analytics rests on our ability to harness the technologies and business models of our global partner ecosystem – especially those of early-stage startups who are building truly disruptive capabi…

December 11, 2014

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EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

The New Analytics Imperative

Cisco today announced a data and analytics strategy and a suite of analytics software that will enable customers to translate their data into actionable business insight regardless of where the data resides. With the number of connected devices projected to grow from 10 billion today to 50 billion b…

November 6, 2014

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Accelerating open innovation on all fronts at Cisco

I introduced Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence (Cisco EIR) earlier this year as a cornerstone in our strategy of embracing open innovation at Cisco. I also shared how we were extending Cisco EIR and open innovation across the US through local incubation partners, and I announced the launch of Cisco E…

July 22, 2014

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EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Launching Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence in Europe

I recently wrote about how we are extending Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR)  and our open innovation strategy beyond Silicon Valley through local incubation partners in Chicago, San Diego and Berkeley.  Our presence in these innovation hubs will enable us to discover, influence and learn from…

July 17, 2014

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EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Mobility’s Place in the Internet of Things

It’s estimated that the number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the world’s population by the end of this year. That is a tremendous amount of connections and as more devices enter the market, the way people, processes, data, and things – the Internet of Everything – connect will change every…

June 23, 2014

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Open Innovation Everywhere: Extending Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence to Innovation Hubs across the U.S

Back in March, I wrote about Cisco’s continued focus on innovation and my personal goal of accelerating innovation by making openness part of our DNA. Similarly, at the recent Cisco Live event in San Francisco, I talked about the incredible Inertnet of Everything (IoE) journey in front of us and off…

March 26, 2014

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EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Open innovation: Harnessing the ideas, talent and passion of the startup eco-system

What does an already innovative company like Cisco do more to innovate?  What do we need to do differently to influence or shape the next breakthrough that will fundamentally change our industry and Cisco?  As we embark on a journey to transform Cisco into a #1 IT solution provider, we know we must…