All Things “Cool” at Cisco Live 2023: A Partner Engineer’s Perspective

We know it. Our partners encourage it. Customers experience it. And the industry is paying attention. At Cisco Live 2023, we once again showcased just how cool Cisco is. From the mouth of Gartner analyst Simon Richard to the ears of our customers and partner engineer community, “Cisco is cool again” rang true. Overflowing with inspiring innovation, collaborative conversations, and delighted attendees, Cisco Live served as a reminder of what Cisco is truly made of. We demonstrated how we push the boundaries of innovation, deliver user-centric solutions, approach problem solving with creativity, prioritize social impact—and power what’s possible.

Embracing the “Let’s Go” Spirit

This year’s theme, “Let’s Go,” perfectly encapsulated the energy and enthusiasm buzzing in every room. The call to action became a rally call, fueling engagement and learning throughout the event. Partners and customers were invigorated by Cisco’s vision for the future we are building together—embracing change, taking risks, and welcoming groundbreaking solutions. Cisco’s speakers and the more than 22 Partner Engineers who fully embraced the spirit, were beyond cool. They prioritized enabling partners to seize opportunities driven by digital transformation through ideation and co-innovation.

A powerful vision

Call us challenge solvers, solution simplifiers, and now, the platform unifiers. At Cisco Live, Cisco unveiled forward-looking launches that embody our strategic vision for a more unified experience. Our vision extends beyond individual products and encompasses a multiplatform model that unifies disparate elements. We introduced not just one, but three integrated platforms that empower partners to manage on-prem and cloud networking from one place (Cisco Networking Cloud), simplify cloud access across any location, device, and application (Cisco Security Cloud), and seamlessly collect data from multiple domains (Cisco’s Full Stack Observability).

While we embrace the aforementioned monikers, we must elevate the very partner community that powers our ability to realize the full potential of these platforms.

Power of our partners

The value we’re creating isn’t solely a result of Cisco’s platform strength; it’s also about what our partners build on top of it. Our partner ecosystem and developer community play a pivotal role in creating technology, capabilities, and services. In fact, our annual Partner Innovation Challenge exemplifies the depth and breadth of solutions and services our partners creatively develop on our platforms. As Cisco launches its next-generation platforms, innovations and the marketplace will find a much bigger “home” at Cisco—an enormous opportunity for partners that will help bring our long-term vision to life. Undeniably cool stuff.

The cool hot topic

With Cisco’s platform vision comes an acceleration of AI-based features and capabilities. While a hot topic at recent industry events and top of mind at Cisco Live, this is not Cisco’s first foray into AI. For over a decade, Cisco has integrated AI into its collaboration, security, and network operations tools. In response to trends like hybrid workspaces and the abundance of security data companies face, Cisco continues incorporate AI into its products to enhance customer experiences and increase productivity.

Among the innovative AI innovations announced at Cisco Live are a multicamera system and intelligent audio that select the best view for remote Webex meeting participants (Cinematic Meetings); a generative AI-based policy engine that employs natural language to simplify policy management across Cisco devices (Policy Assistant); an AI-based security operations center analyst that improves threat response, helping security teams gain deeper insights, event impact, and required actions; and the most powerful processor for customers’ most commonly used workspaces (Room Bar Pro).

Optimizing energy usage

Innovation weaves through the fabric of Cisco’s culture, driving the advancement of sustainability, which has become one of our top five customer priorities. The message is resolute and unequivocal: optimizing energy usage must be a paramount concern for forward-looking organizations. Chuck Robbins, Cisco’s CEO, emphasized this is his Cisco Live keynote, stating, “operating sustainably and equitably is the only way to do business.”

Cisco is intensifying its commitment and investment in energy management to alleviate the strain on energy resources and facilitate customers’ understanding of the technology’s environmental impact. Efficiently managing energy consumption not only reduces costs but also mitigates the emissions of harmful greenhouse gases. Startlingly, energy consumption in buildings alone accounts for over 30 percent of all global carbon emissions. Leveraging our unique position, Cisco propels innovation and develops technologies that empower our partners to assist our mutual customers in improving their sustainability practices—and that, in itself, is incredibly cool.

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