Network World’s Brandon Butler checks in from Las Vegas, where this week’s Cisco Live is under way. The big story: Cisco’s efforts to reinvent itself as it moves from hardware to software, security and “intent-based networking.”
Cisco is a company in transition as it looks to move beyond its networking roots into areas as diverse as security, mobile, the Internet of Things and the now ” intent-based networking.”
(That last one isn’t quite as futuristic as it sounds.)
The big news? Actually, that came last week and involves intent-based networking. IBNS, as it’s known, uses machine learning to automatically program a network based on user needs. In a nutshell, the system allows IT to define detailed policies for a corporate network and have a software platform that executes — and even maintains — that desired state.
Although IBNS as a concept has been around for years, said Butler, it’s the arrival and refinement of machine learning that makes the system a more realistic possibility. That said, the hardware-software combo needed for all the pieces to fit together is unlikely to be in place before about 2020.
Other highlights included talk about programmable switches and a surprise appearance Monday by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who talked about the ongoing Cisco/Apple partnership. It’s a symbiotic relationship: Apple is trying to break into the enterprise through partnerships with the likes of Cisco, IBM, SAP and others; Cisco sees an opportunity to help its networking customers better manage employees and provide a more secure network.
The two companies announced a new Cisco security app that will be available on iOS later this year, and unveiled plans to find savings for customers buying cyber insurance — if they use Apple and Cisco products.
To sum up: Cisco is at a pivot point as it tries to transition from a hardware to a software company; positions itself as something of a security company; and works to integrate the growth in cloud, IoT and mobile computing with corporate network needs.
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