What to anticipate at Cisco Live 2024 edition

The annual Cisco Live 2024, to be held June 2-6 in Las Vegas, will boast Elton John because the music artist acting at the Wednesday night celebration event, in addition to seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri as special guests.

Nevertheless, while those names create exciting entertainment, the greater than 20,000 attendees are there to learn the newest and biggest in Cisco Systems Inc. technology and innovation. Listed here are five key things to look at for:

Cisco’s AI story

Over the past few years, Cisco has been one of the crucial energetic vendors in infusing artificial intelligence into its products. Webex initially led the way in which by introducing background noise removal, live transcripts, meeting insights and more. Since then, AI has been dropped at security in a giant way, led by Hypershield, announced across the recent RSA Conference 2024. Cisco has also introduced AI assistants to assist administrators manage infrastructure higher.

What Cisco hasn’t done yet is tie all of the AI things together at an organization level. Cisco has a broad and deep AI story to inform that touches every a part of its portfolio. Also, it’s arguable that combining its network, observability and security telemetry with Splunk data gives the corporate a broader set of information to fuel its AI initiatives. I’ve heard Executive Vice President Jeetu Patel says that “If you need to be a world-class AI company, you could be a world-class data company,” and Cisco is undoubtedly that.

Earlier this 12 months, Chief Executive Chuck Robbins (pictured) appointed Mark Patterson as the corporate’s chief strategy officer, liable for crafting that AI story. Though it’s unrealistic that Patterson could have all of the AI answers, we must always get some good insights about where the corporate is headed.

That is critical for Cisco because it is going to play a necessary role in its customer’s AI journeys, but investors have yet to present Cisco any “AI bump” in its stock price.

Splunk and Cisco

This shall be the primary Cisco Live for Splunk as an element of Cisco. The corporate has done a greater than adequate job of highlighting how Splunk data will be used to enhance Cisco Security. Given the large “bang for the buck” in security, this can be a logical start line. Nevertheless, Splunk data may also enhance full-stack observability, networking, sustainability, services and almost every a part of Cisco’s business.

I expect to see Splunk featured in a giant way across the event so Cisco customers can higher understand the impact Splunk can have on information technology operations. Many industry watchers I actually have talked to about Cisco and Splunk imagine Cisco acquired Splunk to do nothing greater than add revenue. Although the boost in revenue and margin is definitely an element, Cisco needs to indicate the 1+1=3 for Cisco + Splunk.

Security innovations

No business unit inside Cisco has had a much bigger about-face than security. Before Patel and General Manager Tom Gillis arrived, the safety group was a group of random best-of-breed products. Solutions reminiscent of Duo and Umbrella are great products, but there wasn’t a robust Cisco security story. It announced its Security Cloud and products reminiscent of the revamped XDR, ransomware recovery, AI assistant, multicloud defense and Hypershield to deliver on that strategy.

I expect the safety train to maintain running and for Cisco to launch recent products and capabilities built on the Security Cloud. AI should feature prominently in them as security innovation is now being driven by AI.

That is one other area necessary to Cisco’s valuation, since security presents probably the most enormous needle-moving opportunity. Cyber is an enormous market with no de facto standard. With a trend toward consolidation and convergence, Cisco has never had a greater opportunity. Nevertheless, it must move fast as rivals Palo Alto Networks Inc., Fortinet Inc, Zscaler Inc. and CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. are aiming in the identical direction.

Networking updates

For all of the chatter of AI, security and Splunk, the truth is that the network remains to be, by far, Cisco’s largest significant revenue stream and the inspiration on which every thing else is built. When Jonathan Davidson took over as executive vice chairman of networking, he needed to step back before moving forward. I recall one in every of the primary conversations I had with Davidson, and I discussed Cisco appeared to have a “single pane of glass” for every thing, which frustrated customers.

Over the past several years, the corporate has introduced the Cisco Networking Cloud, which creates a single data source for all networking, tightened the mixing between Meraki and Catalyst, integrated Viptela software-defined wide-area network into the cloud, delivered the network AI assistant, and more.

The first goal has been simplifying network architecture and operations so customers can run a single domain as an alternative of a Wi-Fi, WAN or campus network. Given Cisco’s activity with Nvidia Corp., attendees will likely see data center networking featured prominently. Other networking topics should include more ThousandEyes and more on Meraki-Catalyst integration.

Putting customer sustainability initiatives into operation

Cisco has embraced sustainability as a core tenet across its operations. It has implemented sustainable practices in constructing, shipping and selling products across its supply chain and has set aggressive goals. Many shoppers have followed Cisco’s lead and set their sustainability goals.

One in every of the problems its customers have is measuring progress toward its goals. On the 2023 Climate Week, I talked to Cisco Chief Sustainability Officer Mary de Wysocki about this, and she or he mentioned most Cisco customers have implemented sustainability goals, but few customers can measure progress toward it.

Cisco has a wealth of customer-facing sustainability data and is in a primary position to assist businesses set goals and track their progress toward net zero. Last 12 months, the Expo Hall contained an enormous Sustainability Zone; attendees should expect an advancement on this area.

Given the momentum around AI, the acquisition of Splunk, the emerging Nvidia partnership and the revamped executive leadership team, that is a very powerful Cisco Live within the Chuck Robbins era. AI has created a seminal moment within the technology industry, and Cisco Live 2024 presents Cisco’s best opportunity to place a stake within the AI ground.

Zeus Kerravala is a principal analyst at ZK Research, a division of Kerravala Consulting. He wrote this text for SiliconANGLE.

Photo: Cisco/livestream