Jeetu Patel, Cisco Systems Inc.‘s president and chief product officer, told me before last week’s annual user event that it would be “the most consequential Cisco Live of the past decade and perhaps longer.” There were a few reasons for Patel’s bullishness. The first is artificial intelligence. The core tenet of my research is that share shifts happen when markets transition, and Cisco’s ability to articulate its strategy now will allow it to rise when the AI tide does.
Last week I was at the industry event, RSAC and this week I’m at IBM Think, a vendor event and this got me thinking about the difference between the two types of conferences and how much they’ve changed over the years. Flashback to 15 years ago: If you wanted to experience a blockbuster tech event, you were probably booking your ticket to something like Networld + Interop.
Cisco Systems today announced its new Wi-Fi 7 access points. During the main keynote at Cisco Live APJC in Melbourne, Tom Gillis, senior vice president and general manager of the Cisco Security Business Group, introduced the products and mentioned that Cisco’s goal with the new APs is to give its customers the ability to “solve for their connectivity, security and assurance challenges while also providing a flexible foundation to future-proof their workplaces.”
Cisco Live was held last week in what has become my second home, Las Vegas. I had dubbed this the most important Cisco Live in the Chuck Robbins era, as the company is looking to put a stake in the artificial intelligence ground. Simultaneously, Cisco Systems Inc. is integrating its Splunk acquisitions and reshaping the security business in real time. For most companies, doing one of these things would be all-encompassing, but these are not typical times.
The 2024 edition of Cisco Systems Inc.’s global user event Cisco Live is particularly important, as artificial intelligence has redefined networking, security, observability and collaboration. The fundamental tenet of my research is that share shifts happen when markets transition, putting the incumbent vendors at risk if they don’t evolve with the industry. In the past, Cisco has leveraged market transitions to grow its share in switching, voice-over-internet-protocol, Wi-Fi, security and other areas.