Any network admin knows that cutting through the 'marketecture' can be a daunting task. I've been there many times myself. In the not-too-distant past, you could've walked into my office on any given day to find me gesturing towards my monitor, yelling obscenities; strongly advising it to 'just tell me what the hell this thing does!' For many network engineers/admins, it feels like we've come back full-circle (SDN, anyone?) with AI/ML solutions. It's everywhere you look! I can't walk down the street without a street vendor trying to sell me a generative AI beverage. But how do I use this stuff? What can it actually do for my business??
Is Cisco even in the AI/ML game at all??
I'll be brief. Yes - Cisco is, in fact, in the AI/ML game, bro.
Of course they are. Many times, they were the first to market!
Cisco has invested in machine learning for its intent-based networking solutions for quite a while now, incorporating it into vast swaths of their product portfolio. To make this clear, I've created the image below. The products mentioned are not the sum-total, but merely a selection of tangible examples across their many architectures.
All things considered, Cisco is in an advantageous position to provide end-to-end AI/ML capabilities across the entire IT systems/framework of a business; something few vendors can claim. Which, of course, is a great thing - considering the navigation of this transition is rough for any business in any vertical.
Key offerings like Cisco SDWAN solutions and Cisco DNA Center (soon to be Catalyst Center) use machine learning to enable self-operating networks, smarter policy recommendations, and automated threat detection. Cisco's strong telemetry data-gathering practices again provide differentiation here. Meanwhile, AppDynamics and ThousandEyes integrate AI for IT operations (AIOps) to analyze performance issues, improve application health, and debug cloud architectures. Cisco XDR employs AI and ML techniques to detect threats and risks across the entire network fabric. With their recent announcement of their Silicon One architecture, Nutanix partnership, and Platform Suite vision - Cisco has ensured their spot in the pantheon of next-gen AI/ML infrastructure and software vendors.
Many companies are discovering they'd like to start with inferencing, or providing an app to 'talk to your documents' using natural language. Cisco's UCS X-Series and potentially UCS C-Series are more than capable of handling the software and processing power this task requires, depending on the scale you'd need. Or - perhaps you want to train an ML algorithm on your company's data sets, licensing or selling your orgs core competencies to potential customers? This, of course, can be done as well. Rather than chasing the latest AI hype trains, Cisco has steadily invested in embedding AI to enhance its core networking, security, and observability solutions. This focus on practical business outcomes for customers, versus raw AI capabilities, gives Cisco an advantage in the enterprise realm. Cisco's been in this game for a long time and proven time and time again to possess the ability to shift with the winds of tech trends. Cut through the marketecture. Ask your Cisco account team to help you navigate this transition today.
Comments