Today’s complex hybrid cloud environments are often composed of solutions from multiple vendors and spread across multiple locations, making it challenging to smooth out application performance and a… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Today’s complex hybrid cloud environments are often composed of solutions from multiple vendors and spread across multiple locations, making it challenging to smooth out application performance and availability.

Operations teams can put themselves in the driver’s seat with Nexus Insights. With better visibility to manage multiple vendors and Cisco solutions, they can proactively identify, investigate, and resolve issues.

With Nexus Insights, operations teams can also:

Get the detailed data center view. Not only does Nexus Insights collect and analyze Cisco’s best-in-class telemetry, it gives you a detailed view across your data center’s hardware and software.
Speed up incident response. For data center incidents, Nexus Insights provides several third-party integrations that can shorten mean time to identify (MTTI) and mean time to resolve (MTTR).
Automate public-facing announcements. Nexus Insights familiarizes itself with all your deployed hardware and software to create the baseline you need for customized field notices, security alerts, software defects, and end-of-sale/end-of-life notifications.

Visibility across the stack

That same level of visibility extends beyond data center switches. Hypervisor integration is top of mind for customers. The ability to integrate vCenter visibility easily and seamlessly, both at the host and guest level, means the operations team can view critical statistics for application servers and individual applications.

Visibility into the hypervisor host and guest anomaly score and utilization for the CPU, memory, storage, and network helps to verify whether the state of the hypervisor is in some way impacting the performance or availability of your applications. This feature allows Nexus Insights to function as a single source of truth for day 2 operations.

Closely related to hypervisor visibility is application component and dependency visibility. Integrating Nexus Insights with AppDynamics, Cisco’s application performance monitoring (APM) solution, further enhances cross-stack analytics and troubleshooting. Nexus Insights can display the application-specific details directly from AppDynamics for an additional layer of world-class visibility in the data center at your fingertips.

What’s specific to all of the above scenarios—Nexus fabrics, hypervisor integration, and AppDynamics integration—is the presentation of the infrastructure as a topology diagram. Whether you’re investigating the physical hardware, hypervisor hosts and guests, or a specific application, a dynamic, toggle-based diagram that includes component health status and connectivity is there to give you instant insights into the overall state of critical data center components.

Leveraging the ecosystem

On the heels of Cisco’s recently closed acquisition, the Nexus Insights hosting platform, Nexus Dashboard, offers integration with Splunk and ServiceNow to further enhance the day 2 operations strategy. The Splunk integration allows you to add Nexus Insights anomalies to the Splunk data lake to enhance in-depth event correlation and provide historical statistics trending. ServiceNow integration enables the inclusion of Nexus Insights anomaly details and the subsequent creation of tickets and alerts based upon context and severity, further enhancing the IT service management experience.

Rounding out the best-in-class day 2 operations feature set, Nexus Insights provides the ability to send scheduled and IT function–specific customizable email alerts and syslog messages in addition to Kafka message bus support.

With recent modifications to the subscription licensing model, any customer with an Essentials license is entitled to at least a subset of Nexus Insights features. All features were previously made available with either a Premier or à-la-carte day 2 operations license.

There is power in enhanced visibility in the data center. Nexus Dashboard and Nexus Insights support this with third-party and Cisco solution integrations, placing all pertinent information at your fingertips for expedited issue identification and resolution. Contact your Cisco and Cisco Partner account teams for a demo of Nexus Insights today.

Please visit Nexus Insights for more information.

"}]]  Nexus Insights provides best-in-class visibility for Nexus-based data centers. It also provides additional integrations with Cisco and non-Cisco solutions, allowing customers to realize greater value from their day 2 operations solution.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Global greenhouse gas emissions in the tech sector are significant as they are on par or larger than that of the aviation industry. Building applications more sustainably and reducing cloud carbon… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Global greenhouse gas emissions in the tech sector are significant as they are on par or larger than that of the aviation industry. Building applications more sustainably and reducing cloud carbon footprint have become increasingly important as part of organizations’ operational goals. For instance, ebay aims to source 100% renewable electricity for all eBay-controlled data centers and offices by 2025. Organizations have started to practice green coding, with some even re-coding their applications with older programming languages as research into the speed and energy use of programming languages found that C was the most efficient in speed, reducing energy and memory usage and providing another potential opportunity for energy savings.

Moving to net zero is the goal

Moving to net zero is the goal, but it’s easier said than done. Over 1,000 organizations have set net zero goals, but so far, only 4% have met the UN-prescribed targets for roaching those goals. According to Intel Advisory Board – The Sustainable CTO (2023):

Seventy-five percent (75%) say IT-related emissions are one of the hardest aspects to improve.
Eighty-percent (80%) claim that technological innovation will play a significant role in their whole organization’s transformation to a net zero business model.
Believe that the CTO’s role is pivotal to a successful net zero transition, and the CTO has the potential to become the greatest driver of sustainability in the organization.

The move to net zero will likely start from the top, as Gartner expects that by 2027, 25% of CIO’s compensation will be linked to their sustainable technology impact.

Cloud carbon footprint and the future of sustainability reporting

Measuring cloud carbon footprint is one of the ways to gauge how sustainable an organization’s IT infrastructure is. And soon, it won’t just be something that they will do of their own volition to build a more sustainable future for generations to come, it will be required.

It’s expected that in the near future, mandated reporting laws and regulations, starting in Europe, will require companies to report on their cloud carbon footprint – including what they’ve used from third-party cloud providers. This will require companies to invest in reporting tools and platforms to measure everything across clouds.

Currently, most third-party cloud providers don’t provide real utilization metrics for cloud consumption to their customers – instead they provide an aggregate usage formula across their entire customer base consisting of cloud provisioning vs. actual usage. Individual customers can then use that formula to guestimate their actual cloud consumption based on what they’ve provisioned – but with overprovisioning being common, the data most likely would not be accurate.

Cisco is helping organizations build sustainable applications

Cisco’s holistic approach to environmental sustainability includes how we operate our business, how we engage with suppliers, and how we help customers and communities reduce their environmental impact. Migrating applications to the cloud gives organizations the financial and environmental benefits of economies of scale, and many cloud providers now use renewable energy sources.

Cisco Full-Stack Observability (FSO) gives organizations the tools they need so they don’t lose visibility when migrating applications to the cloud, giving them the confidence to do mass-migrations – thus helping them to instantly become more sustainable.  For instance after adopting Cisco FSO solutions, Carhartt moved 96% of their applications to the cloud.

Cisco also provides cost optimization solutions that help organizations reduce their cloud consumption whether it’s public, private or hybrid cloud – helping them lower their cloud carbon footprint and reach their sustainability targets.

Cisco’s application resource and workload optimization solutions help streamline application performance so that organizations are using the least amount of energy necessary to deliver the best customer experience. Additionally, Cisco works with technology partners to build tools on our Cisco Observability Platform that empower organizations with environmental impact metrics for regulatory reporting and more.

While corporate sustainability is just in the beginning stages, Cisco looks forward to playing a part in this planet’s sustainable future.

"}]]  From bolstering migrating apps to the cloud to reducing cloud consumption to optimizing workloads, Cisco FSO solutions can help you deliver the best user experience while making your applications more sustainable.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

What an action-packed week we have had at Enterprise Connect! It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with customers and partners as we unveiled a series of groundbreaking collaboration… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

What an action-packed week we have had at Enterprise Connect! It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with customers and partners as we unveiled a series of groundbreaking collaboration announcements. Webex is paving the way for a new era in how we work. With a suite of new devices enhancing our already robust portfolio and immersive experiences, we remain focused on propelling our partner’s success. Here is a rundown of the incredible innovations we have shared.

Fostering the Office Attraction with Cisco Devices

It is a new era for Cisco devices. Designed with one goal in mind: to draw employees back to the office by making it a haven for collaboration. Teams are ready to come back to the office, but the office is not ready for the new way of working. 98% of conference rooms around the globe are not video enabled. There is a disconnect that exists between the current office setups and the growing need for collaborative spaces. Cisco’s solution is to revamp the workspace, shifting the balance from individual work areas to collaborative ones, and ensuring each   space is equipped with the right video capability to boost both productivity and Collaboration.

Introducing the Second-Generation Cisco Board Pro

Envision a device that can transform any ordinary conference room into a video-enabled collaborative workspace. The second-generation Cisco Board Pro is crafted to fulfill that vision. Armed with the latest video and audio technology, it stands out as a premier all-in-one conferencing solution that is remarkably user-friendly.

Reinventing the Desk Experience with the 9800 Series

As customers reimagine their office spaces and how we work, the concept of hot desking has never been more relevant. We are thrilled to introduce the 9800 Series. With a design ethos centered around hot desking, these devices deliver personalized experiences to everyone, allowing anyone to make a desk their own with a mere QR code scan. This device delivers a powerful combination of customization and adaptability, essential for today’s dynamic workspaces.

Webex Suite: Elevating Beyond Meetings, Messaging, and Calling

The Webex Suite continues to be our lead offer for meetings, messaging, and calling. With integrations that span from Apple to collaborations with Ford and Lincoln, we are ensuring the Webex experience is accessible whenever and wherever you require.

Empowering Your Workday with Assistant

AI has been and will continue to be foundational to the platform approach we are building with Webex. From real-time translations in spaces to concise call summaries, these smart features are crafted to simplify your workload and bolster collaboration, regardless of your location. Have you experienced anything like amazing these features?

Revolutionizing the Contact Center with Webex

The contact center holds a pivotal place in our innovation journey and is a key growth engine. We are introducing innovative features to elevate every facet of customer engagement. With advancements in workforce optimization and AI-augmented agent assistance, we are reimagining the contact center to be more effective and customer-focused.

To dive deeper into all these thrilling announcements, be sure to visit our Launch and Events page on SalesConnect.

And the excitement doesn’t stop here!

We’re also thrilled to announce that our AI collaboration and customer experience event, WebexOne, is set to take place from October 21st-24th, 2024, in the vibrant Miami area! Anticipate an event packed with transformative experiences and more groundbreaking innovations from Webex.

Stay connected, and we extend our heartfelt gratitude for your ongoing partnership. The future for collaboration looks bright, and together with Webex, we’ll light the way!

Learn more about the announcements here! 

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with #CiscoPartners on social!

Cisco Partners Facebook  |  @CiscoPartners X/Twitter  |  Cisco Partners LinkedIn

"}]]  With a suite of new devices poised to enhance our already robust portfolio and immersive experiences within Webex itself, we're geared towards propelling your success to new heights. Here's a rundown of the incredible innovations we've shared at Enterprise Connect.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

In the dynamic landscape of the technology sector, gender diversity remains a significant challenge. The noticeable absence of women, particularly in senior leadership roles, underscores an ongoing… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

In the dynamic landscape of the technology sector, gender diversity remains a significant challenge. The noticeable absence of women, particularly in senior leadership roles, underscores an ongoing struggle within the industry. Their underrepresentation isn’t just a matter of statistics; it’s about the untapped wealth of ideas, insights, and contributions women inherently bring to the table.

While discussions often revolve around attracting female talent, the spotlight must also illuminate the critical areas of retention and development for existing female professionals. Not only does this approach hold intrinsic value, but it also proves to be more cost-effective. Considering the expense associated with recruiting senior leaders externally, investing in the growth and advancement of current female talent emerges as a strategic imperative.

By nurturing and empowering existing female talent, organizations can fortify their female leadership pipelines and establish robust succession plans. It’s a proactive step towards fostering an inclusive culture and ensuring that the brightest talent, regardless of gender, ascend to positions of influence and senior leadership.

Our Commitment

Cisco’s Partnering for Purpose initiative is one way we, as Cisco employees, bring our commitment to power an inclusive future for all to life. We leverage our technology, our people, our expertise in collaboration with our channel partners to share best practices and amplify positive impact–on people, our communities, and our planet.

The Bridge the Gap program

A notable best practice is the Bridge the Gap program, the brainchild of Justine McDermott during her tenure as a senior sales leader in the Cisco United Kingdom and Ireland (UKI) partner organization. Acutely aware of the gender disparities in the tech sector, Justine collaborated with Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), a global talent consulting company, to develop a leadership program aimed at empowering future female leaders within Cisco’s partner community. Bridge the Gap provides participants with a rich learning experience to address career barriers. The program has seen remarkable success in the Cisco UKI partner community.

In 2023, Cisco’s Partnering for Purpose initiative brought Bridge the Gap’s innovative approach to a global audience, extending its impact worldwide.

Paying it forward

Amplifying the Bridge the Gap program, Partnering for Purpose created a new (sponsorship) model for Cisco partners to contribute and support their industry peers in developing and retaining their female talent.

The inaugural Partnering for Purpose cohort (June 2023) was sponsored, not at all incidentally, by World Wide Technology (WWT). Elevating women in leadership is an important priority for them, which is why they have been involved in every cohort since its UKI inception in 2019. WWT has directly witnessed the program’s impact and seen tangible success within their own organization. All participants from the first two UKI cohorts who were employed at WWT have either transitioned to new roles within WWT or have earned promotions within the organization since completing the program.

Sponsoring the first global Partnering for Purpose cohort enabled WWT to offer eight places to women from within WWT, grant three free places to women from their chosen charities, and significantly reduce the program’s cost for four Cisco partners.

“Our position as sponsor allowed us to support our women within WWT, those in the wider community, improve our employer brand both internally and externally, and ensures a steady pipeline of internal female candidates to apply for leadership roles. I encourage other Cisco partners to sponsor future cohorts.” – Stacey Kingshott, Global Senior Director, HR World Wide Technology

Reflections

As we reflect on International Women’s Day, let’s consider the progress made, the setbacks faced, and the considerable distance left to traverse.

The journey to equity requires constant moving forward. Let’s keep our hands on the plough and continue to advance this impactful and essential work. Let’s commit to bridging the gap.

If you would like to be part of the Bridge the Gap Program or know more about Partnering for Purpose, please email partneringforpurpose@cisco.com

Learn more about Partnering for Purpose and how you can get involved:

Visit the Partnering for Purpose SalesConnect

Read our stories and Partnering for Purpose blogs

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with #CiscoPartners on social!

Cisco Partners Facebook  |  @CiscoPartners X/Twitter  |  Cisco Partners LinkedIn

"}]]  Cisco’s Partnering for Purpose initiative is one way we, as Cisco employees, bring our commitment to power an inclusive future for all to life. We leverage our technology, our people, our expertise in collaboration with our channel partners to share best practices and amplify positive impact–on people, our communities, and our planet.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Security Operations is the beating heart of any organization, a united team vigilantly standing guard against cyber threats. To outsmart their adversaries, they must delve deep into the intricate… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Security Operations is the beating heart of any organization, a united team vigilantly standing guard against cyber threats. To outsmart their adversaries, they must delve deep into the intricate world of technology and human behavior. As they navigate these complex landscapes, they must also transition from relying on tribal knowledge and ad-hoc maneuvers to a mature, high-performing operation. The key? Embracing consistency and cultivating effective procedures.

With this in mind, enter the world of Cisco XDR. At its inception, it introduced a static default playbook with 19 tasks. However, let’s face it, “I want to do all the tasks” is a phrase no analyst has ever uttered with enthusiasm. That’s why we automated tasks, putting complex integrations in the background and bringing security operation tasks to the forefront, all with the power of automation.

Now, we’re excited to introduce you to the next level: Cisco XDR Playbooks. They’re not just task builders, they’re a blend of procedure documentation and automation. Let’s dive into the details of these exciting, innovative Playbooks.

What are Playbooks in Cisco XDR?

In Cisco XDR, “Playbooks” are the strategic guides for robust incident response, designed to streamline the identify, contain, and eradicate processes for cyber threats. They also pave the way for a swift recovery, restoring systems to full functionality post-attack. These Playbooks are structured as a series of “Phases,” each housing a set of “Tasks” that provide clear direction for security analysts and incident responders. These phases are thoughtfully aligned with the SANS Institute’s PICERL methodology, ensuring a comprehensive response strategy. Additionally, to enhance efficiency, each task within a Playbook can be coupled with an Automation Workflow. The combination of Playbooks and workflows not only cuts down on monotonous labor, but also accelerates the response by automating various steps in the process allowing for autonomous security operations to start with Artificial Intelligence or expedited task execution with greater consistency and effectiveness.

New Workflow template: Incident Response

When you create a new Automation Workflow in Cisco XDR, you can now choose a specific type or “Intent”. As part of the new Playbook feature, we have launched a new Intent called “Incident Response” workflow. These Workflows can be used for Playbook Tasks and Incident Automation Rules. They reference the Incident properties in the same manner, which may seem like a boring feature until you realize this makes them reusable, shareable, and efficient. 

The Playbook Editor

When you open the Editor for the first time, only the Cisco Managed Incident Playbook is displayed and is designated as the “Default” Playbook. This default Playbook is assigned to all new Incidents until a new default playbook is designated, or “Assignment Rules” are created that assign a different playbook to new Incidents (more on that later). This playbook is also marked as “Read-only”, which means you cannot modify or delete it, as this is a playbook that is Cisco Managed. However, you can duplicate it to use as a template to create altered versions of this playbook. Obviously, you can also create a brand-new playbook from scratch. 

To summarize: with the Playbook Editor, you can view the playbook details, create a new playbook, edit a playbook, duplicate a playbook and customize it, specify which playbook is used by default, and delete a playbook (except, of course, for the Cisco Managed Incident Playbook which cannot be deleted). 

The Playbook Assignment Rules

Now let’s dive into the previously mentioned “Assignment Rules”: this feature allows you to create special rules to assign playbooks to new Incidents. When an Incident is created that matches the conditions of an assignment rule associated to a playbook, that playbook is displayed on the Response page in Incidents. For example, if an Incident contains certain MITRE tactics, and a rule contains these as conditions, the associated playbook would be assigned to that Incident. You could, for example, have a Ransomware Recovery Playbook, and an Assignment Rule that uses MITRE Technique T1486 (Data Encrypted for Impact) and Tactic TA112 (Impact) as conditions to assign that Playbook to those Incidents.  

If the Incident does not match any rules assigned to playbooks, the default playbook is assigned to the Incident. Once a playbook is assigned to an Incident, the assignment Incident cannot be changed, even if the playbook is edited. A copy of the playbook as it was when assigned to the Incident is stored for auditing purposes. The assignment rules work in a top-down priority order, and they stop processing on the first match.  

In this blog post, we have discussed the evolution and significance of Cisco XDR in standardizing the incident response process, enhancing effectiveness, and for consistent incident response. Cisco XDR’s new Playbooks are customizable, strategic guides for robust Incident response, designed to increase the maturity of any security operations team. 

It is important to note that this is just the start of our Playbook journey. There is much more in development right now, which we will cover in subsequent blog posts. How will Cisco AI Assistant for Security use these Playbooks? Stay tuned… We aren’t just your dad’s networking company, we are Cisco – building the bridge to innovation. 

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with Cisco Security on social!

Cisco Security Social Channels

InstagramFacebookTwitterLinkedIn

"}]]  Delve into the world of Cisco XDR Playbooks, enhancing security operations with strategic guides and automation for robust incident response.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Many Cisco enterprise customers have decades of Cisco Catalyst routing and security capabilities functioning at branch locations. However, many of their traditional network management solutions can’t… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Many Cisco enterprise customers have decades of Cisco Catalyst routing and security capabilities functioning at branch locations. However, many of their traditional network management solutions can’t keep up with the demands of cloud adoption, remote work, and ever-growing user expectations. This translates to poor user experience, sluggish applications, and possible security vulnerabilities. These factors are driving the need for a transformation across applications, networks, and security.

This operational paradigm shift aims to seamlessly connect users anywhere to any application and secure user access by protecting against evolving threats. The answer to these operational challenges is Cisco’s software-defined routing (SD-Routing) solution. It goes beyond traditional per-device-based management by enabling full frictionless lifecycle device management, monitoring, configuration, and troubleshooting—as well as robust, next-generation firewall security integrations—from a single dashboard that doesn’t require any changes to your existing environment.

Figure 1. SD-Routing solution overview

Let’s explore some key use cases of SD-Routing that can transform your network:

Frictionless device lifecycle management. Simplify and prepare your network for the future with one management platform. SD-Routing, controlled through the Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager dashboard, can:

Unify management: Manage device software upgrades, monitoring, and troubleshooting through the intuitive Catalyst SD-WAN Manager dashboard. This simplifies network operations and empowers you to manage both traditional routing and Catalyst SD-WAN environments.
Tame legacy challenges: Simplify complex legacy operations with SD-Routing. Basic troubleshooting tools within the manager help you maintain and optimize performance. Continuous updates ensure your network stays ahead of the curve.
Combat configuration drift: Manage and track changes with a unified platform. Use the manager to create configuration templates for standardized deployments and future SD-WAN migration.

Network administrators might be using homegrown automation or third-party vendor tools to solve these problems. You can continue to use these tools, but you don’t need to invest further. Rather, take advantage of SD-WAN Manager, which comes as a part of Catalyst licensing.

Security

Configuring diverse IOS XE security features through the command-line interface (CLI) or customized ad hoc scripts has historically been a complex, labor-intensive process that is prone to errors. This is especially true for defining granular security policies across zones and containers. With the introduction of SD-Routing guided security workflows, customers aiming to implement robust, next-generation firewall (NGFW) security on their on-premises routers will find this a valuable addition, allowing for consistent policy application across deployments. Many customers want Direct Internet Access (DIA) at their branch offices, but security concerns hold them back. SD-Routing can streamline secure DIA deployment on WAN edge routers, offering a simpler approach to securing distributed networks.

Cloud on-ramp for multicloud

Traditional network teams often struggle to securely extend their WANs to cloud providers, where key enterprise applications may reside. SD-Routing simplifies this process, especially for those who are hesitant to adopt it. With SD-Routing, you can securely connect to cloud providers like AWS and Azure following best practices, without months of learning complex, cloud-specific configurations. This empowers you to seamlessly connect to cloud providers and focus on your business outcomes.

As you tackle the modern network challenges, explore SD-Routing to simplify, streamline, secure, and future-proof your WAN environment. The single management platform for Catalyst SD-WAN and SD-Routing saves time and operational expenses with agile and automated workflows that quickly respond to network changes.

Beyond these immediate benefits, SD-Routing also can help strategically position your network for simplified future migrations to SD-WAN, depending on where you are in your digital transformation journey.

Whether you have existing enterprise networking equipment in your WAN or are considering a future purchase of Cisco Catalyst 8000 Edge Platforms, Cisco 1000 Series Integrated Service Routers, Cisco 1000 Series Aggregation Service Routers, or Industrial Routers, SD-Routing can unlock their full potential. Even better, if you’re already using Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager, you can leverage the same platform to manage your SD-Routing deployments.

Watch this Explainer Video to learn more about SD-Routing

Discover how Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager can help simplify your network operations

Learn more

Cisco SD-Routing FAQ
Cisco SD-Routing Data Sheet

"}]]  Traditional network management solutions can't keep up with the demands of cloud adoption, remote work, and ever-growing user expectations. SD-Routing brings a simplified, frictionless approach to full lifecycle management across the WAN edge that streamlines, secures, and automates traditional branch router operations unlocked by software-defined innovations.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

In my last blog, I shared the progress we’re making toward building the Cisco Security Cloud, an open, integrated security platform capable of tackling the rigors of securing highly distributed, m… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

In my last blog, I shared the progress we’re making toward building the Cisco Security Cloud, an open, integrated security platform capable of tackling the rigors of securing highly distributed, multicloud environments. This was an honest assessment of what we have achieved and celebrating our significant accomplishments, moving the needle forward on our vision. I want to share how we approach our research, development, execution and what are our core principles to driving innovation at scale.

We are evolving our engineering organization to deliver on our vision and other ambitious initiatives through higher levels of agility. Agility requires the courage to break down organizational silos and embrace the notion of failing fast and learning even faster from those failures. But engineering organizations like ours also have our “day jobs” with the reality that constantly changing customer and business environment can wreak havoc on engineering roadmaps. This leads to the inevitable difficult decision on whether to focus on the backlog of customer-requested features versus delivering new, innovative features that move the industry forward.

Another way to say this is that as much as engineering organizations strive for agility, we have to be cognizant of how much our customers crave predictability in terms of their security operations and  feature delivery from vendors like Cisco. Let’s look at this from the lens of a customer-impacting factor that may make security operations less predictable: security incidents. According to our latest Security Outcomes Report:

According to our 2024 Cybersecurity Readiness Index, 54% of organizations said they have experienced a cybersecurity incident in the last 12 months.
The latest Security Outcomes Report shows preventing incidents and mitigating losses are the top priorities for security resilience overall.

These numbers are meaningful because cybersecurity is a critical part of any business and part of business resilience plans, which can involve public disclosures. Cybersecurity is also in the line of critical operations functions and can be a cause of major disruptions for the entire business when it fails. So, that is the high-stakes nature of the balancing act we have in front of us with one end of the see-saw being our desire to achieve agility with the other end being our responsibility to our customers to be predictable in their security operations, which are becoming ever more critical in the viability of their businesses.

A pragmatic approach to balancing agility and predictability

Leading a large engineering organization in charge of one of the broadest security product portfolios has challenged me to think about this critically. There are many ways to balance agility and predictability, but we’ve been able to distill this down to a pragmatic approach that I believe works best for us.

Careful short and long-term planning.

This is a critical step that provides the framework for building an engineering org that is both agile and predictable. It starts with iterative planning that allows for reviewing and adjusting plans based on market feedback and changing conditions. This includes meeting shorter-term commitments and regular updates to maintain customer confidence while allowing for adjustments. We also use agile retrospectives and adaptive planning to ensure forward progress and our ability to incrementally improve.

Resource allocation and ruthless prioritization play a key role. We achieve this through segmentation and portfolio management, segmenting a product portfolio into different categories based on levels of predictability and innovation. We exercise scenario planning for risk mitigation and management, developing scenarios that explore different market conditions with strategies for responding to ensure we make informed decisions in uncertain conditions. This helps us identify and mitigate risks that may impact our agility and predictability, account for potential disruptions, prioritize appropriately, and manage expectations.

Clear and consistent communication.

One of the most important aspects of this is the need for clear and consistent communication. As leader, it is my responsibility to clearly articulate the benefits of agility and explain the steps we need to take to ensure the predictability and delivery needed for stable operations. My philosophy is that shared outcomes involve “shared code” that results in a platform-centric development approach and an inner source execution model that allow for acceleration of feature development and delivery velocity.

An org culture willing to adapt.

Even the best of plans will fail without capable people who can and are willing to execute on them. For us, this involves an on-going evolution across our large, highly distributed engineering organization to foster a culture that values both agility and predictability and aligned with one of Cisco’s core values: accountability. A few of the ways we’ve seen success are by:

Encouraging cross-functional collaboration and open dialogue about the challenges and benefits of both approaches.
Ensuring leadership is aligned with the organization’s approach to balancing agility and predictability.
Creating opportunities, like Hackathons, to fail fast and learn even faster, explore the art of the possible, and to dive into technology to solve unexpected challenges.
Ensuring consistent messaging and support for team members.

Effective processes, not bureaucracies.

Processes often get a bad rap because they are often associated with bureaucracies that can hinder speed and progress. But processes are critical to make sure we’re executing our plans in the intended ways with the ability to measure progress and adapt as necessary. In our goal to balance agility with predictability, we have implemented some specific aspects to processes that work best for us.

We blend agile methodologies with more traditional project management approaches (e.g., agile for new features, waterfall for foundational infrastructure). Our processes allow us to take a “dual plane” approach to innovation with one plane focusing on predictable, stable delivery while the other explores innovative, experimental initiatives.
As the aphorism goes, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure”. We have implemented an outcome-focused approach toward metrics that shifts the focus from output (deliverables) to outcomes (business value). This allows us to demonstrate how agility enhances the ability to deliver value quickly and adapt to market changes, solving some of the toughest challenges for our customers.
We take a customer-centric approach in all things we do. This means we use customer feedback and market insights to prioritize and guide innovation efforts. This includes dedicated customer advisory boards, and programs built around the voice of our customers like NPS surveys. This helps ensure that agility is directed toward meeting customer needs and not innovating for innovation’s sake.

Our processes involve adaptive governance and continuous learning that accommodates both agility and predictability. This includes providing guidelines for making decisions in dynamic situations, continuously assessing what’s working and what’s not, and encouraging a learning mindset and adjusting strategies accordingly.

Innovating to win

Taking a customer centric approach to all things we do, we’ll continue focusing on the breakthrough successes that showcase our ability to be both agile and predictable to meet market demands and deliver customer outcomes. One example of this is how we, as the official cybersecurity partner of the NFL, helped secure this year’s Super Bowl that was the most watched telecast in this game’s history. We also continue our incredible work with AI and Generative AI like the Cisco AI Assistant for Security to simplify policy, and AI-enabled security operations through innovation for both AI for security and security for AI. When we strike the balance of agility and predictability, we innovate to win.

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with Cisco Security on social!

Cisco Security Social Channels

InstagramFacebookTwitterLinkedIn

"}]]  Security Cloud is the future for Cisco Security and our customers that requires the utmost in engineering agility from us  Read More Cisco Blogs 

This week marks the release of the 2024 CRN Partner Program Guide, which lists vendors that offer products and services through the indirect IT channel. Each year, CRN recognizes “an elite subset of t… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

This week marks the release of the 2024 CRN Partner Program Guide, which lists vendors that offer products and services through the indirect IT channel. Each year, CRN recognizes “an elite subset of those vendors, who give solution providers the best partnering elements in their channel programs” with its 5-Star Award. I couldn’t be prouder that this is Cisco’s thirteenth straight year to be awarded 5-Star status.

We continue to receive accolades for our program, because we never stop evolving it to meet the changing needs of partners and customers. Last year, we simplified our specializations and program requirements, while at the same time, we gave partners more ways to earn throughout the customer lifecycle—whether the partner served in the role of Integrator, Provider, Developer or Advisor.

To cap it all off, at our Cisco Partner Summit 2023 conference in November, we announced that we are simplifying partners’ experience with the new Cisco Partner Incentive. We’ll combine the best elements of our three biggest incentives—VIP, CSPP and Lifecycle Incentives—into a single, integrated framework. The Cisco Partner Incentive will continue to provide partners with the predictability they expect from Cisco programs and incentives, while rewarding their investment in Cisco and for high-value activities that ensure their customers are achieving world-class business outcomes.

We are planning a phased rollout beginning in FY25. In the meantime, we are working with partners to get their input, modeling scenarios and defining the structure and metrics of the new incentive. We pride ourselves on giving our partners a lot of lead time and opportunity for input when we make changes like this, because we know that a major reason that partners want to work with us is that they know we’ll protect their profitability.

In the meantime, we’ll continue to refine our existing program and incentives …. and continue striving to win our partners’ loyalty and trust, and be worthy of industry recognition such as the 5-Star Award.

Make sure you’re getting the most out of our industry-leading Cisco Partner Program and portfolio of incentives.

Stay tuned to what’s coming with the Cisco Partner Incentive

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with #CiscoPartners on social!

Cisco Partners Facebook  |  @CiscoPartners X/Twitter  |  Cisco Partners LinkedIn

"}]]  The reason we win awards like the CRN 5-Star Award is that we continue to make our program and incentives better—constantly modernizing and streamlining them to support partner profitability.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

A few months ago, I wrote about the security of AI models, fine-tuning techniques, and the use of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) in a Cisco Security Blog post. In this blog post, I will… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

A few months ago, I wrote about the security of AI models, fine-tuning techniques, and the use of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) in a Cisco Security Blog post. In this blog post, I will continue the discussion on the critical importance of learning how to secure AI systems, with a special focus on current LLM implementations and the “LLM stack.”

I also recently published two books. The first book is titled “The AI Revolution in Networking, Cybersecurity, and Emerging Technologies” where my co-authors and I cover the way AI is already revolutionizing networking, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies. The second book, “Beyond the Algorithm: AI, Security, Privacy, and Ethics,” co-authored with Dr. Petar Radanliev of Oxford University, presents an in-depth exploration of critical subjects including red teaming AI models, monitoring AI deployments, AI supply chain security, and the application of privacy-enhancing methodologies such as federated learning and homomorphic encryption. Additionally, it discusses strategies for identifying and mitigating bias within AI systems.

For now, let’s explore some of the key factors in securing AI implementations and the LLM Stack.

What is the LLM Stack?

The “LLM stack” generally refers to a stack of technologies or components centered around Large Language Models (LLMs). This “stack” can include a wide range of technologies and methodologies aimed at leveraging the capabilities of LLMs (e.g., vector databases, embedding models, APIs, plugins, orchestration libraries like LangChain, guardrail tools, etc.).

Many organizations are trying to implement Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) nowadays. This is because RAG significantly enhances the accuracy of LLMs by combining the generative capabilities of these models with the retrieval of relevant information from a database or knowledge base. I introduced RAG in this article, but in short, RAG works by first querying a database with a question or prompt to retrieve relevant information. This information is then fed into an LLM, which generates a response based on both the input prompt and the retrieved documents. The result is a more accurate, informed, and contextually relevant output than what could be achieved by the LLM alone.

Let’s go over the typical “LLM stack” components that make RAG and other applications work. The following figure illustrates the LLM stack.

Vectorizing Data and Security

Vectorizing data and creating embeddings are crucial steps in preparing your dataset for effective use with RAG and underlying tools. Vector embeddings, also known as vectorization, involve transforming words and different types of data into numerical values, where each piece of data is depicted as a vector within a high-dimensional space.  OpenAI offers different embedding models that can be used via their API.  You can also use open source embedding models from Hugging Face. The following is an example of how the text “Example from Omar for this blog” was converted into “numbers” (embeddings) using the text-embedding-3-small model from OpenAI.

"object": "list",
"data": [
   {
     "object": "embedding",
     "index": 0,
     "embedding": [
       0.051343333,
       0.004879803,
       -0.06099363,
       -0.0071908776,
       0.020674748,
       -0.00012919278,
       0.014209986,
       0.0034705158,
       -0.005566879,
       0.02899774,
       0.03065297,
       -0.034541197,
<output omitted for brevity>
     ]
   }
],
"model": "text-embedding-3-small",
"usage": {
   "prompt_tokens": 6,
   "total_tokens": 6
}
}

The first step (even before you start creating embeddings) is data collection and ingestion. Gather and ingest the raw data from different sources (e.g., databases, PDFs, JSON, log files and other information from Splunk, etc.) into a centralized data storage system called a vector database.

Note: Depending on the type of data you will need to clean and normalize the data to remove noise, such as irrelevant information and duplicates.

Ensuring the security of the embedding creation process involves a multi-faceted approach that spans from the selection of embedding models to the handling and storage of the generated embeddings. Let’s start discussing some security considerations in the embedding creation process.

Use well-known, commercial or open-source embedding models that have been thoroughly vetted by the community. Opt for models that are widely used and have a strong community support. Like any software, embedding models and their dependencies can have vulnerabilities that are discovered over time. Some embedding models could be manipulated by threat actors. This is why supply chain security is so important.

You should also validate and sanitize input data. The data used to create embeddings may contain sensitive or personal information that needs to be protected to comply with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). Apply data anonymization or pseudonymization techniques where possible. Ensure that data processing is performed in a secure environment, using encryption for data at rest and in transit.

Unauthorized access to embedding models and the data they process can lead to data exposure and other security issues. Use strong authentication and access control mechanisms to restrict access to embedding models and data.

Indexing and Storage of Embeddings

Once the data is vectorized, the next step is to store these vectors in a searchable database or a vector database such as ChromaDB, pgvector, MongoDB Atlas, FAISS (Facebook AI Similarity Search), or Pinecone. These systems allow for efficient retrieval of similar vectors.

Did you know that some vector databases do not support encryption? Make sure that the solution you use supports encryption.

Orchestration Libraries and Frameworks like LangChain

In the diagram I used earlier, you can see a reference to libraries like LangChain and LlamaIndex. LangChain is a framework for developing applications powered by LLMs. It enables context-aware and reasoning applications, providing libraries, templates, and a developer platform for building, testing, and deploying applications. LangChain consists of several parts, including libraries, templates, LangServe for deploying chains as a REST API, and LangSmith for debugging and monitoring chains. It also offers a LangChain Expression Language (LCEL) for composing chains and provides standard interfaces and integrations for modules like model I/O, retrieval, and AI agents. I wrote an article about numerous LangChain resources and related tools that are also available at one of my GitHub repositories.

Many organizations use LangChain supports many use cases, such as personal assistants, question answering, chatbots, querying tabular data, and more. It also provides example code for building applications with an emphasis on more applied and end-to-end examples.

Langchain can interact with external APIs to fetch or send data in real-time to and from other applications. This capability allows LLMs to access up-to-date information, perform actions like booking appointments, or retrieve specific data from web services. The framework can dynamically construct API requests based on the context of a conversation or query, thereby extending the functionality of LLMs beyond static knowledge bases. When integrating with external APIs, it’s crucial to use secure authentication methods and encrypt data in transit using protocols like HTTPS. API keys and tokens should be stored securely and never hard-coded into the application code.

AI Front-end Applications

AI front-end applications refer to the user-facing part of AI systems where interaction between the machine and humans takes place. These applications leverage AI technologies to provide intelligent, responsive, and personalized experiences to users. The front end for chatbots, virtual assistants, personalized recommendation systems, and many other AI-driven applications can be easily created with libraries like Streamlit, Vercel, Streamship, and others.

The implementation of traditional web application security practices is essential to protect against a wide range of vulnerabilities, such as broken access control, cryptographic failures, injection vulnerabilities like cross-site scripting (XSS), server-side request forgery (SSRF), and many other vulnerabilities.

LLM Caching

LLM caching is a technique used to improve the efficiency and performance of LLM interactions. You can use implementations like SQLite Cache, Redis, and GPTCache. LangChain provides examples of how these caching methods could be leveraged.

The basic idea behind LLM caching is to store previously computed results of the model’s outputs so that if the same or similar inputs are encountered again, the model can quickly retrieve the stored output instead of recomputing it from scratch. This can significantly reduce the computational overhead, making the model more responsive and cost-effective, especially for frequently repeated queries or common patterns of interaction.

Caching strategies must be carefully designed to ensure they do not compromise the model’s ability to generate relevant and updated responses, especially in scenarios where the input context or the external world knowledge changes over time. Moreover, effective cache invalidation strategies are crucial to prevent outdated or irrelevant information from being served, which can be challenging given the dynamic nature of knowledge and language.

LLM Monitoring and Policy Enforcement Tools

Monitoring is one of the most important elements of LLM stack security. There are many open source and commercial LLM monitoring tools such as MLFlow.  There are also several tools that can help protect against prompt injection attacks, such as Rebuff. Many of these work in isolation. Cisco recently announced Motific.ai.

Motific enhances your ability to implement both predefined and tailored controls over Personally Identifiable Information (PII), toxicity, hallucination, topics, token limits, prompt injection, and data poisoning. It provides comprehensive visibility into operational metrics, policy flags, and audit trails, ensuring that you have a clear oversight of your system’s performance and security. Additionally, by analyzing user prompts, Motific enables you to grasp user intents more accurately, optimizing the utilization of foundation models for improved outcomes.

Cisco also provides an LLM security protection suite inside Panoptica.  Panoptica is Cisco’s cloud application security solution for code to cloud. It provides seamless scalability across clusters and multi-cloud environments.

AI Bill of Materials and Supply Chain Security

The need for transparency, and traceability in AI development has never been more crucial. Supply chain security is top-of-mind for many individuals in the industry. This is why AI Bill of Materials (AI BOMs) are so important. But what exactly are AI BOMs, and why are they so important? How do Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs) differ from AI Bills of Materials (AI BOMs)? SBOMs serve a crucial role in the software development industry by providing a detailed inventory of all components within a software application. This documentation is essential for understanding the software’s composition, including its libraries, packages, and any third-party code. On the other hand, AI BOMs cater specifically to artificial intelligence implementations. They offer comprehensive documentation of an AI system’s many elements, including model specifications, model architecture, intended applications, training datasets, and additional pertinent information. This distinction highlights the specialized nature of AI BOMs in addressing the unique complexities and requirements of AI systems, compared to the broader scope of SBOMs in software documentation.

I published a paper with Oxford University, titled “Toward Trustworthy AI: An Analysis of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bill of Materials (AI BOMs)”, that explains the concept of AI BOMs. Dr. Allan Friedman (CISA), Daniel Bardenstein, and I presented in a webinar describing the role of AI BOMs. Since then, the Linux Foundation SPDX and OWASP CycloneDX have started working on AI BOMs (otherwise known as AI profile SBOMs).

Securing the LLM stack is essential not only for protecting data and preserving user trust but also for ensuring the operational integrity, reliability, and ethical use of these powerful AI models. As LLMs become increasingly integrated into various aspects of society and industry, their security becomes paramount to prevent potential negative impacts on individuals, organizations, and society at large.

Sign up for Cisco U. | Join the Cisco Learning Network.

Follow Cisco Learning & Certifications

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

Use #CiscoU and #CiscoCert to join the conversation.

"}]]  Learn how to secure the LLM stack, which is essential to protecting data and preserving user trust, as well as ensuring the operational integrity, reliability, and ethical use of these powerful AI models.  Read More Cisco Blogs