Revelations from Cisco Live: The Future of AI and Integrated Security

I look forward to Cisco Live every year, and last week’s event in Las Vegas did not disappoint.

This year, integrated security and AI took center stage.  This is not surprising as it represents some of the largest growth opportunities over the next 24 months and what is top of mind for many of our customers. But the level of innovation and excitement around the opportunities that Cisco + Splunk will unlock to optimize your entire digital footprint and harness the power of AI will be a game-changer for partner-managed services. Together, we can redefine what is possible for our customers and deliver transformative outcomes, leveraging the power of Cisco’s platforms, and innovative managed-ready tools and solutions.

In addition to having great discussions with partners and customers at the event, there were four key takeaways from the event:

1. Cisco is enabling even more managed Security and observability solutions for MSPs and MSSPs, setting a new standard in service delivery and client satisfaction in achieving their digital resiliency goals
2. The future of MSPs is being unlocked through AI innovation, heralding a new era of intelligent, predictive service models
3. More customers are shifting towards managed services to scale their business
4. Partner momentum is accelerating

Expanding Opportunity to Enable Digital Resiliency with Managed Services

Cisco’s commitment to empowering MSPs and MSSPs was evident with a growing set of robust managed security and observability solutions. With the introduction of new integrations, a set of comprehensive Day2 Operational Guides make delivering managed firewall and managed Meraki services easier than ever, and expanded Buying Program options, we are equipping partners with a suite of resources designed to elevate service delivery. Highlights include the MSEA flexible buying program options for new security bundles, secure connectivity options with Meraki, and emerging offers like OT security and Secure Access, the potential for growth is boundless. Our MSP workshop on managed security and network transformation explored new areas of opportunity for delivering managed services to support organizations’ digital resilience with Cisco and Splunk.

AI Innovation: The Key to Unlocking a New Era for MSPs

AI-enabled MSPs are the future and Cisco technology and solutions are enabling providers to transform their operations and create new revenue streams. And now, with Splunk, Cisco captures more data at scale than anyone in the industry to fuel insights across devices, applications, security, networks, and the internet. We are excited to work with you to unlock opportunities to reshape your operations and transform customer experiences.

If you were in Las Vegas, I hope you had the opportunity to check out our standing room only sessions in the AI hub theater.

The teams demonstrated Cisco’s vision for incorporating AI into MSP offerings and new MSP bot options powered by GPT-4, to enhance service delivery.

We are seeing expanded growth in the Americas with MS, are you ready?

At the heart of our mission is the strategic alignment of our Managed Services partners to capture growth within the Americas region. In the Americas, there is an $82B product opportunity for managed services, and when coupled with service revenues, that represents a $159B opportunity for MSPs by 2027.  Opportunities are growing across the IT landscape, across all major architectures and segments.   A recent Cisco-sponsored survey indicated that 88% of organizations expect managed service spending to grow 10%+ in the next 12 -18 months

Are you an MSP focused on SMB? Managed services opportunities in this segment are growing 1.6 times faster than other segments. The new Cisco Powered SMB specialization, a targeted initiative aimed at accelerating growth opportunities in the SMB sector. This move demonstrates Cisco’s investment in enabling partners to tailor their cross-architecture offerings to the unique needs and dynamics of small and medium-sized businesses.  This cross-architectural specialization drives the outcomes that SMBs are seeking from Managed Service Providers and aligns to global campaigns and programs including Cisco SMB Experiences

Celebrating Partner Success: New Managed Service Launches and Collaborations

In addition to having an opportunity to speak with many customers and partners last week in Las Vegas, I am also delighted to share some exciting partner announcements from Cisco Live:

• AT&T and Cisco announced a simpler digital buying experience for P5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) for Businesses using Cisco’s newest FWA devices. This will enable operational efficiency and seamless access to advanced 5GFWA capabilities for distributed campus and branch offices with services based on Cisco Meraki MG52 and MG52E Cellular gateways
• Tech Mahindra announced new managed Cisco Firewall Modernization offerings with AI-powered unified policy management across on-premises and cloud environments.
• T-Mobile is teaming up with Cisco to enhance its Connected Workplace offering by making the MG52 and MG52E available as part of its fully managed, end-to-end 5G FWA solution

These are just a few examples of the innovative managed services that partners are implementing in their businesses.

Want to learn more?

There has never been a better time for our partners to deliver incredible value to customers! To learn more about how we can help make you more successful, explore our Partner Managed Service Resources on Sales Connect and check our our infographic on Americas Managed Services Route to Market Opportunity.

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