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 EIR in Europe. Now I would like to share updates on the great progress we are making with Cisco EIR as a catalyst of open innovation at Cisco.

Startups Selected to Join Cisco EIR in Europe

Last week we were excited to announce the six startups that will be joining our Cisco EIR program in Europe at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna. The six winners -innovating in the areas of Smart Cities, Internet of Everything (IoE)/cloud and Big Data/analytics -were chosen through a rigorous multiphase selection process conducted in collaboration with Pioneers. More than 350 applicants from 39 countries applied to join Cisco EIR Europe, with 15 finalists pitching live at the Pioneers Festival in front of Cisco experts and our European partners. Winners were selected based on the viability of their business plans, the strength of their teams and their alignment with Cisco's IoE vision and strategy.

We were impressedbeyondour expectations by the vision, passion, talent and technology of all 15 finalists. These startups made us more excited and convinced than ever that Europe was the right platform to discover and nurture the next generation of disruptive ideas for our industry and for Cisco.

Photos: Cisco EIR @ Pioneers Festival

The winning teams are:

Dataiku (France): Big Data and analytics startup offering a software workspace for business analysts and data scientists called Data Science Studio (DSS) that aggregates everything needed to get from raw data to production-ready applications.

Flatout (Austria): Startup offering affordable and easy-to-use "Smart Home as a Service" solutions to businesses interested in entering the connected living market.

Graphmasters (Germany): Smart City startup and maker of the Nunav navigation app that uses Cloud-based routing to reduce traffic jams by providing centralized routing decisions and precise, personalized driving instructions.

ICE Gateway (Germany): Developer of an outdoor wireless infrastructure that serves as a communication platform for Smart City applications, including parking, lighting, location-based services and more.

MammothDB (Bulgaria): Creator of an inexpensive and enterprise-ready alternative to traditional data warehousing and business analytics solutions that leverages the power of Hadoop while maintaining the benefits of SQL.

Mentat Innovations (Greece, UK): Provider of machine learning and data analytics technology with immediate applicability in areas including cybersecurity, defense and intelligence, retail, Web analytics and healthcare.

The six startups will enter Cisco EIR Europe's inaugural cohort in January 2015. The companies will receive strategic funding*, mentoring, co-working space and, most importantly, a potential opportunity to collaborate closely with Cisco's engineering, product and go-to-market teams.

Cisco press release: Cisco Announces Winners of the First Cisco Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIR) Program in Europe at The Pioneers Festival, Vienna

Cisco EIR in Silicon Valley Success Stories

One of the biggest differentiators of Cisco EIR vis-