Cisco Live called off hours before it was due to begin
First ever virtual Cisco Live pushed back to end of June
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Cisco has pulled the plug on the first virtual edition of its annual Cisco Live event, just hours before it was due to begin.
The eleventh hour decision was prompted by protests across the United States, sparked by the death of George Floyd, as well as ongoing struggles related to the coronavirus pandemic.
“In light of all we see going on in the world and in the United States, including feedback from some of you, we don’t believe this time is right to host an event in the middle of this tragic moment in our history,” an email delivered toTechRadar Proand other attendees read.
Cisco says that the event has not been cancelled outright, but rather postponed until later in June - although the firm is yet to confirm precise dates.
Cisco Live postponed
The email announcement was accompanied by a video recorded by Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, who explained the rationale behind the postponement in greater detail.
“This decision was a difficult one to come by, given how badly we want to connect with you, to share what we’ve been working on at Cisco, offer you both technology and leadership insight and celebrate as we always do,” he said.
“Today, we find ourselves facing another pandemic. Not one that is new by any means, but one we must confront. The recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and so many more before them are horrific, maddening and truly abhorrent.”
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
“At Cisco, we have always tried to foster an environment of dignity, respect and fairness for all…This is the world we envision.”
Cisco also announced it will donate $5 million to charities dedicated to fighting racism and discrimination.
The new dates for Cisco Live are expected to be confirmed within the coming days.
Joel Khalili is the News and Features Editor at TechRadar Pro, covering cybersecurity, data privacy, cloud, AI, blockchain, internet infrastructure, 5G, data storage and computing. He’s responsible for curating our news content, as well as commissioning and producing features on the technologies that are transforming the way the world does business.
New fanless cooling technology enhances energy efficiency for AI workloads by achieving a 90% reduction in cooling power consumption
Samsung plans record-breaking 400-layer NAND chip that could be key to breaking 200TB barrier for ultra large capacity AI hyperscaler SSDs
Anker Nebula Mars 3 review: A powerful and truly portable projector
