Customer Journeys to the Cloud with Cisco and Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Charles Darwin once stated, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor is it the most intelligent of the species that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

The cloud has become one of the key components of the digital transformation process. As a leading provider of hybrid cloud solutions, Cisco can provide customers with effective cloud transformation assistance. This blog explains how Cisco software solutions on AWS can assist customers at every stage of cloud transformation.

Cisco and AWS strategic partnership accelerates cloud transformation

Cisco and AWS have partnered to simplify and accelerate businesses’ journey to the cloud using Cisco software solutions on AWS. Those solutions simplify connectivity, security, and observability, helping customers address common cloud-based use cases.

The AWS marketplace currently offers a variety of selectable Cisco software solutions to cloud customers. Cisco supports AWS cloud customers throughout their cloud transformation journey, with most solutions being Software as a Service (SaaS). Cloud customers can use a number of these solutions to complete the cloud transformation process effectively.

AWS cloud framework for customers includes four stages

Let’s begin with a high level, conceptual view of the AWS Cloud Migration Framework. As shown in Figure 1, AWS offers their customers a four-stage cloud migration.

Figure 1  Four-Stage AWS Cloud Migration Framework

Stage 1: Assess
The objective of this stage is to plan the cloud transformation by performing business case development, discovery of infrastructure and application components, and cloud planning.

Stage 2: Mobilize
This stage focuses on the preparation of cloud infrastructure components—including landing zones for application onboarding, landing zones, connectivity to the cloud, and security.

Stage 3: Migrate and Modernize
This stage involves either migrating the current applications to the cloud as they are or modernizing them to cloud-native services like microservices. This is done using any of the 7R customer migration methods: Repurchase, Re-architect, Re-factor, Re-host, Relocate, Retain, and Retire.

Stage 4: Operate and Optimize
In this final stage, the application will be operated on the cloud. Monitoring and optimizing cloud applications are among the steps taken during this stage.

Throughout their cloud transformation journeys, customers can select to use industry-leading solutions like Cisco software from AWS co-selling or the AWS marketplace, depending on their needs and requirements.

Cisco solutions support the cloud migration journey from beginning to end

As part of the AWS Cloud Migration Framework, Cisco cloud solutions pillars are mapped to each stage of the AWS cloud journey. Cloud Assess, Cloud Connect, Cloud Secure, Cloud Observe and Operate are included in this process. The diagram in Figure 2 below illustrates this in more detail.

Figure 2  Cisco Cloud Solutions Pillars

The top half of Figure 2 illustrates the AWS Migration framework. In the lower half of the diagram, Cisco solutions pillars Assess, Connect (Cloud Connectivity), Secure (Cloud Security), and Observe and Operate (Cloud Observability) are mapped to the AWS Migration Framework. Additionally, it illustrates the use cases that are supported by Cisco’s solution pillars.

With Cisco solutions, customers can achieve secure cloud transformation

Known for its outstanding networking, security, and observability capabilities, Cisco solves customer challenges in the cloud by providing secure connectivity, securing the cloud, and providing full stack observability solutions with visibility into applications, infrastructures, and business metrics.

In any initial cloud phase, Cloud Planning and App Discovery are among the first use cases for the phases that verify and assess the cloud. Cisco Intersight Workload Optimizer (IWO) and AppDynamics (AppD) are the most commonly used tools to address those use cases.

Cisco supports the customer journey towards cloud adoption based on primarily on three key pillars–Cloud Connectivity, Cloud Security, and Cloud Observability–to ensure a safe, secure, and effective adoption of clouds. (See Figure 3.)

Figure 3  Cisco Solutions for Key Cloud Use Cases

Cloud Connectivity: The Cisco Cloud Connectivity pillar includes a number of use cases–such as Multi-Cloud Connectivity, SASE, Hybrid Cloud SDN and WAN Insights –that enable customers to connect to the cloud successfully and securely, either from their data center or from the edge. In response to customer requirements, Cisco offers multiple solutions like Meraki SD-WAN, Viptela SD-WAN, Nexus Dashboard, and Cloud Network Controller. Those options help to connect and operate hybrid environments securely.

Cloud Security: A successful cloud journey requires foundational protection of the infrastructure, zero trust access (ZTA), application security, and secure services edge (SSE). Cisco offers a full range of security solutions for cloud transformations, including solutions specifically tailored to meet the needs of the customer. Those solutions ensure a secure cloud environment for the customer. There are a number of Cisco Secure Software portfolios, including Cisco Secure Firewall, Duo, Umbrella, Secure Workload, and many others.

Cloud Observability: In order to scale and reimagine applications and improve the user experience, observeability is a crucial element throughout the cloud journey. By utilizing AppD, ThousandEyes, and IWO, Cisco offers industry-leading solutions for Full Stack Observability, which help enable the customer to monitor hybrid and modern applications, provide a digital customer experience, map application dependencies, optimize hybrid costs, and optimize application resources.

In summary…

Due to its solution integration capabilities, Cisco is a one-stop shop for cloud customers when it comes to cloud networking, cloud security, cloud observability, and hybrid work. Cloud customers and partners can address those cloud use cases through Cisco software solutions like IWO, AppDynamics, ThousandEyes, Duo, Umbrella, Viptela SD-WAN, Meraki SD-WAN, Secure Firewall, Panoptica, Intersight Service Mesh Manager (SMM), and more. AWS offers those Cisco software solutions through their co-sell program and marketplace, leveraging their strategic partnership with Cisco.

Learn more about the AWS and Cisco strategic partnership and about Cisco solutions on AWS, visit these resources:

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