The Cisco Partner Summit kicked off in San Diego this week with a clear message: monetising AI and driving the next wave of digital transformation. Cisco is positioning itself as the backbone of this revolution, delivering some of its biggest innovations in decades and emphasising the critical role of partners.
AI Runs on Infrastructure
AI doesn’t run on magic – it runs on silicon, bandwidth and secure, scalable networks. From high-performance data centre fabrics to AI-ready networking and security, Cisco is building the digital highways that will power this era. Without the right infrastructure, AI and digital transformation will fail. This moment is as significant as the Internet and Cloud revolution.
As Tim Coogan, SVP Global Partner Sales, said:
“AI is evolving faster than infrastructure can keep up.”
Data strategies that worked two years ago are now struggling under today’s workloads, and the skills gap is widening. Cisco aims to solve this through its global partners with innovations designed to scale AI without disruption.
Cisco Unified Edge: AI at Scale
One of the biggest announcements was Cisco Unified Edge, a platform for distributed AI workloads that integrates compute, networking, storage and security at the edge for low-latency, real-time inferencing. Key features include:
- Modular architecture combining compute, storage and networking
- Zero-touch deployment with pre-validated blueprints
- Full-stack observability via Cisco Intersight, Splunk and ThousandEyes
- Multi-layered zero-trust security with tamper-proof hardware
Security: Closing the Trust Gap
AI adoption brings new risks. Cisco reinforced its Zero Trust Everywhere approach, embedding security across its stack:
- Identity-based access control via Meraki Dashboard
- Integration with Microsoft 365, Azure, AWS and GCP
- Tamper-proof hardware and automated policy enforcement
- Cisco AI Defence suite for model safety
In the AI era, trust is the currency of adoption.
Observability and Visibility
AI workloads are complex and dynamic. Cisco is doubling down on full-stack observability through Splunk, ThousandEyes and Intersight to deliver predictive insights and anomaly detection. Highlights include:
- End-to-end network visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud
- Predictive AI insights to prevent performance bottlenecks
- AI Canvas (coming 2026) for collaborative troubleshooting using natural language
Monetising AI: Cisco’s Three Pillars
Cisco’s strategy for partners and customers focuses on:
- Responding faster together
- Continuous innovation cycles
- Scaling efficiently for maximum impact
A major highlight was multi-customer management for Managed Service Providers via Cisco Security Cloud Control, designed to simplify operations and accelerate growth.
Day One Wrap-Up
AI is only as good as the infrastructure it runs on. Cisco and its partners are betting big on building the platforms that connect users, endpoints, data and AI models. The refresh opportunity is huge, and Cisco’s partner ecosystem is central to making enterprise AI and digital transformation succeed.