Cisco Flips a Switch, Pivots to Software and Security

By Jim Lundy

(Aragon Research) –A funny thing happened at Cisco Live 2017 – Cisco made a pivot to Software. We’re not talking Collaboration, as Cisco has done that for years. Cisco announced what it calls Intent-based Networking that provides a level of network management and automation, Wan Optimization and Security not seen in Networking before.

In a word, the Chuck Robbins Era at Cisco just became real. This blog is about Cisco’s pivot to Software and Intent-based Networking.

Cisco DNA and the Cisco Catalyst 9000

At Cisco Live, Cisco introduced its Cisco Digital Network Architecture or DNA. This graphic does a nice job of summarizing what Cisco is packaging all of with its new Cisco Catalyst 9000 Switch, which has built-in security to stop more of the intrusions that happen to enterprises every day.

For Cisco, this is a win because customers badly need what it’s offering. Today’s world is fraught with thousands of cyber attacks every single day. For the security aspects alone, enterprises need to look at moving to DNA and the Catalyst 9000. The good news is that some of the older Cisco Switches will support DNA, too.

Security in an Era of Cyber Attacks

Cisco is beefing up the Security that it has in its product families, and this comes at a time when enterprises need it most. Cisco’s Talos cyber intelligence can automatically  detect previously known attack signatures in encrypted traffic. Over time, we expect the Machine Learning to get better in the Cisco DNA approach. To use this is one of the biggest reasons to upgrade.

Ready for Deployment

Cisco demonstrated that it has prepared for a significant product rollout by having 75 customers in the beta test. Cisco also shared all of the field training and partner training that had been going on. Before it even starts volume shipping, Cisco has proven it can pivot to where its customers have wanted it to be: a Software-defined switch that leverages all of the elements of Cisco’s new DNA.

With this launch, Chuck Robbins has firmly established himself at the helm of Cisco. Cisco still needs to complete the revenue execution of this new product family, but given all the new and automated capabilities, we think that won’t be a problem. Developing.