Cisco Enterprise Networking Platform Approach

Cisco is unifying its enterprise networking platforms (Meraki and Catalyst) to deliver a single, consistent user experience with common AI and data services, consistent APIs, and shared workflows across cloud, on-prem, and hybrid deployments. This unification began with the creation of a dedicated network platform team that brought together the Meraki and Catalyst groups to foster a “build once, deploy twice” philosophy. New Cisco hardware, including switches, wireless routers, and IoT equipment, now supports both cloud and on-premises management out of the box, allowing customers to choose their preferred management method without making purchasing decisions based on deployment. This approach ensures consistent outcomes and experiences by leveraging the same underlying engines and logic across all platforms.

The convergence journey also includes a unified hardware and licensing model, a “magnetic UI framework” for a common user experience across all Cisco products, and consistent APIs. These APIs enable common tasks, infrastructure as code, and robust integrations with third-party systems such as ServiceNow and Splunk, as exemplified by the API-driven setup of the Paris Olympics infrastructure. At the core is a common AI and data layer, powered by a single Cisco cloud and shared algorithms. This enables deployment of the AI Assistant chatbot on both the Meraki Dashboard (generally available) and the Catalyst Center (open beta), using the same backend to deliver identical experiences and use cases. Additionally, Cisco Workflows, a free low-code solution, is integrated into the Meraki interface, offering templates and horizontal integration across domains and even other vendor products via APIs.

Further advancing management capabilities, Cisco introduced “Global Overview,” a generally available cloud-based product designed for customers operating both cloud and on-premises infrastructures. Global Overview provides a single cloud experience to integrate multiple Meraki organizations and Catalyst Centers, offering consolidated network health visibility, unified inventory, and single sign-on for seamless cross-launching into specific management platforms. Complementing the AI Assistant, AI Canvas (currently in alpha) offers cross-domain collaboration and troubleshooting by integrating multiple data sources and third-party applications via natural language AI agents. Cisco’s AI is powered by a proprietary “deep networking model,” a purpose-built Large Language Model trained on Cisco’s extensive knowledge base, including TAC and CX insights, to deliver highly specific, accurate networking solutions without using customer data and to continuously learn from live telemetry. This innovative approach aims to accelerate root-cause analysis and provide automated remediation while maintaining a human-in-the-loop model to build customer trust.