A Week of WOW moments at Cisco

There are so many “wow” moments at Cisco, that we almost get too used to it. So you’ll know when I tell you about my “wow” moment recently, you’ll know it was capital WOW.

Cisco has a long-standing partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA), which was recently showcased in Central London. Yes, London!

During this showcase, there were several events with employees, partners and customers. There was also an exclusive VIP employee event at the iconic O2 Arena in London. That’s just one more reason to #LoveWhereYouWork!

Employees were able to practice on the actual game court, surrounded by NBA Legends, cheerleaders and mascots! I loved taking a step back from the action and watching several of our UK teammates having a mini game between themselves. They were sinking their shots and it was impossible to ignore the energy in the arena. Talk about once in a lifetime experience!

One of my co-workers told me, “I have done some cool stuff at Cisco but this was simply incredible! The whole experience was wonderful and Andre Miller was just a superstar.”

You don’t know who Andre Miller is? He’s an NBA Legend! Andre also helped us complete our week of festivities with a visit to Cisco’s Bedfont Lakes offices where employees gathered to say hello, hear his insights on health, wellbeing and fitness whilst snagging some signed memorabilia.

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The fun didn’t stop there. The next day we went to the world-famous BAFTA venue in Piccadilly, which played host to a morning event called Leaders Meet Innovation. The NBA, Cisco and SAP joined forces with leading futurologists, business leaders, entrepreneurs and strategists from business, entertainment and the wider technology sector to do a little collective gazing into the crystal ball.

This historic venue was transformed into a state-of the-art setting with Cisco technology, showcasing Virtual Reality, Voice Recognition, and Web Conferencing.

It was there that NBA Legends Dale Miller and  Theo Ratliff visited from Atlanta, GA via Web Conferencing and spoke about the impact of technology and what it meant to them. It was an incredible moment to see the power of Cisco technology, another thing that perhaps we take for granted in our everyday work, come to life and bring us all together to learn and grow. I loved looking around the room to see folks still “wowed” by their first experience with Telepresence.

After the morning wrapped, the fun wasn’t over! We headed back to the O2 arena and waited for tip off between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers – in which the Celtics staged a comeback to win 114-103. This is where 20,000 basketball fans watched an unprecedented spectacle: an NBA game in the UK capital that really mattered! And I got to present the game ball with one of our customers on the court that evening which was such an exciting honor!

It wasn’t just Cisco employees that were moved by this experience. Customers and partners were truly “Wowed” with it too, and the feedback echoed that as I heard everything from, “It really was an unforgettable experience!” to “Absolutely amazing night, this was a dream come true.” And, of course, “Officially the best corporate event I have been to and I have been to a few!” Not to mention the size and scope of this event was really a global moment for the Cisco brand too as the game aired in 215 countries and territories with millions reached through television and online!

The NBA is just one of several exciting partnerships from Cisco’s Global Sponsorships Team, which partners with some of the biggest names in the sports and entertainment industries to provide innovative opportunities to showcase Cisco technology in ways that truly touch people’s passions and drive real business impact for the Cisco brand. Other partnerships include the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games; the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games; Live Nation Entertainment and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.