Cisco unveils AI-powered innovations to secure and transform infrastructure

Cisco unveiled a comprehensive suite of new innovations aimed at assisting organisations in adapting and transforming for the burgeoning AI era. Businesses are facing considerable pressure to accelerate secure AI adoption and extract value from their AI investments. To help them seize these opportunities, Cisco continues to reimagine the data centres and workplaces of tomorrow. The company is delivering critical infrastructure optimised for AI, encompassing secure networks and experiences that connect the world and power the global economy. The current surge in innovation sees organisations embracing agentic AI to automate workflows and resolve complex problems. Building on its established history of assisting companies with their infrastructure, Cisco is now powering the next generation of AI.

At Cisco Live, a wide array of new products and enhancements were revealed, designed to aid customers in navigating the shift towards agentic AI. This includes advancements for workplaces in the age of AI, where creating an intelligent environment necessitates a modern network infrastructure capable of adapting to increased traffic, ensuring continuous access, and delivering robust security. Simultaneously, organisations must empower their staff to work more intelligently and efficiently than ever. To meet these demands, Cisco announced new devices for campus, branch, and industrial networks, alongside AI-powered unified management, which will allow organisations to transition from reactive workflows to autonomous, proactive network management. Furthermore, Cisco's AI-powered Room Vision PTZ camera is set to revolutionise meetings with a more cinematic experience, while Jira Workflow Automation within the Cisco AI Assistant for Webex Suite is expected to boost efficiency. The Webex AI Agent will also streamline customer self-service with industry-specific templates.

Simplifying operations for the age of AI, dubbed "AgenticOps," is another key focus, with Cisco introducing multiple AI-driven solutions to empower IT teams with greater simplicity and automation. This incorporates Cisco AI Canvas, an industry-first generative user interface facilitating real-time collaboration between network and security operations teams, and the Cisco AI Assistant, offering conversational control across the Cisco suite. Central to these new capabilities is Cisco’s Deep Network Model, a domain-specific Large Language Model trained on Cisco’s extensive knowledge base, including Cisco U. courseware and Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) materials. This results in AI that comprehends networks and enables IT teams to work more effectively.

For data centres in the AI era, Cisco showcased continued innovation in its compute and network solutions, particularly vital for agentic AI, which places a premium on network bandwidth, latency, and power efficiency. To foster the adoption of AI solutions for strengthening the power grid, Cisco is joining the EPRI Open Power AI Consortium. Additionally, new capabilities are being introduced to assist service providers in delivering and monetising new AI services.

Security in the age of AI has become paramount, as enterprises grapple with the complexity of an escalating number of applications, a highly distributed and mobile workforce, and sophisticated AI-driven threats. Cisco is rolling out innovations across its Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Universal Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) offerings, including two new Firewalls, the 6100 series and 200 series, which promise best-in-class price performance. Furthermore, capabilities across the Cisco Security Cloud are being unveiled to help customers address the challenges of securing agentic AI.

Digital resilience forms a core aspect of these advancements, with several AI innovations, such as enhanced capabilities in Splunk Observability Cloud and Splunk AppDynamics, along with deeper integrations between Cisco and Splunk solutions, aiding customers in gaining superior visibility into network health and performance. Noteworthy updates include a bidirectional integration between Splunk Observability, Cisco ThousandEyes Assurance, and Cisco Enterprise Networks, leading to more resilient, insight-driven digital operations.

Finally, the company offered a preview of Cisco Cloud Control, a new unified management platform designed to span Cisco’s networking, security, and observability portfolios. Cisco Cloud Control will deliver a cohesive experience, anchored by AI-native tools such as Cisco AI Canvas and the Cisco AI Assistant. With Cisco Cloud Control, IT will be able to execute cross-product workflows, proactively identify and resolve issues, and manage infrastructure with remarkable ease.