Financial news

Cisco has expanded its strategic partnership and signed a Whole Portfolio Agreement (WPA) with BBVA, the global financial services group, providing BBVA with faster access to Cisco’s comprehensive software and Customer Experience (CX) portfolio.

BBVA now becomes the first EMEA-based financial services institution to sign a WPA with Cisco in Europe and Latin America.

The five-year agreement includes solutions in cybersecurity, collaboration, data centre, networking and services. The agreement with BBVA spans operations across multiple countries. It includes proactive services provided by a specialised Cisco team and promotes collaborative innovation.

José Luis Elechiguerra, global head of engineering at BBVA, explained: “BBVA’s alliance with Cisco is more than a supplier-customer relationship. After eight years of strategic partnership working together, BBVA premises and employees worldwide will have access to not only current but future Cisco technological developments.”

The deal also simplifies management by consolidating 3,000 individual contracts into a single unified agreement. This streamlines BBVA’s global IT operations, significantly improving efficiency.

Oliver Tuszik, president of Cisco’s Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA), also discussed the need for the collaboration: “We are proud to support the continued growth of one of the world’s leading financial institutions.

“For over a decade, BBVA has pioneered the digitisation of banking in Spain and globally by putting customer experience at the centre. During the next stage of our strategic partnership, together we will leverage the power of Cisco’s whole portfolio, including the latest AI-driven innovations, to accelerate their transformation.”

Since 2016, BBVA and Cisco’s dedicated team have collaborated to create the bank of the future, leveraging technologies like collaboration, networking, data centre and security. This strategic digital partnership, along with alliances with other leading tech companies, has accelerated BBVA’s transformation. As an early adopter of digitalisation, BBVA is now at the forefront of financial services innovation.