CISCO as one of the big technology providers can play a leading role in encouraging tech start-ups, but it does need to be sustained and be approachable. Many aren't.

We (Company Partners) were asked to provide a public list of incubation and innovation centres simply because although they started with good intent the innovation centres were constantly changing, with initiatives springing up one day but disappearing the next.

It's good to see that so far CISCO's initiative is indeed sustained.

The next step is to make them and the organisers approachable to start-ups who are still feeling their way in the business world. It's increasingly difficult to directly contact anyone in large organisations now-a-days. When innovation centres are part of these large organisations they often continue the contact dificulty. It is important to present a human face.