**San Jose**: Cisco Systems is integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning into its operations, highlighted by its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk and partnerships with Nvidia. These strategic moves aim to improve security, observability, and operational efficiencies across its data centre infrastructure.
Cisco Systems has recently ramped up its commitment to integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into its data centre infrastructure, signalling a significant shift in its operational strategy. This pivot underscores the growing trend within the tech industry to leverage AI for enhancing service delivery and operational efficiencies.
On March 18, 2024, Cisco completed its acquisition of Splunk for a substantial $28 billion, aiming to bolster its security, observability, and AI capabilities. With this integration, Cisco plans to enhance visibility for network security teams into various critical areas, including network traffic, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems. “The acquisition is pivotal for driving product innovations across our security portfolios as well as to introduce AI enhancements,” stated a company representative regarding the acquisition.
Additionally, this pivotal move comes amidst the company’s focus on evolving its strategic partnerships, particularly with Nvidia. On February 6, 2024, Cisco and Nvidia expanded their collaboration to provide integrated hardware and software solutions that facilitate the development of infrastructure for AI applications. This partnership seeks to enhance Ethernet networking capabilities for AI workloads across enterprises.
The company’s ambitious agenda includes various initiatives such as the launch of Cisco Talos, which has raised concerns about the increasing sophistication of post-compromise threats. Cisco maintains that these threats predominantly target outdated network infrastructure, particularly emphasising the vulnerabilities associated with legacy devices that are not regularly updated. Nick Biasini, head of outreach at Cisco Talos, commented, “The older legacy components have more avenues for access, especially if the devices are out of support and they haven’t been updated in three or four years.”
Furthermore, Cisco is evolving its offerings to cater specifically to Internet of Things (IoT) and operational technology (OT), blending these facets with traditional IT components through newly tailored packages, introduced on February 29, 2024. These combined services aim to meet the burgeoning demand for consolidated network solutions across sectors.
To accompany its transformative initiatives, Cisco is implementing further enhancements in cloud application security. As of February 8, 2024, the Cisco AI Assistant for Panoptica has been launched to assist customers in addressing cloud-native application security challenges, streamlining and prioritising risks effectively.
This evolution in Cisco’s operational focus is also reflected in its plans to streamline the management of software agents with the introduction of the Smart Agent for Cisco AppDynamics. Aimed at easing the burden on operations teams, this new management solution facilitates the timely update and onboarding of software agents through a centralised interface.
As part of its ongoing restructuring to align better with high-impact areas, Cisco announced a workforce reduction of approximately 5%, equating to around 4,200 jobs, on February 14, 2024. This restructuring reflects the company’s intent to concentrate resources on the rapidly evolving AI and security landscapes.
In summary, Cisco’s recent strategic moves, including significant acquisitions, innovation in AI-integrated services, and partnerships with other tech giants, underscore its commitment to advancing network infrastructure for future-ready enterprises. The firm’s focus on strengthening security, enriching data visibility, and adapting to market needs positions it as a leading player in the ever-changing landscape of technology solutions.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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