Extending its belated but seemingly earnest push toward network virtualization, Cisco Systems Inc. today introduced a new hardware platform and virtual network services for branch locations.

The networking giant also launched new software for virtualizing the network perimeter and extending that capability to co-location centers. Cisco said it now provides software-defined segmentation across the entire network—endpoint to cloud – with full application visibility.

The new services are part of Cisco DNA, a virtualization architecture the company has defined for building networks that underlie digital businesses. Cisco DNA enables organizations to extend network services such as routing and security to a broad range of platforms and locations.

Cisco said it’s extending its Enterprise NFV (network function virtualization) platform with the addition of a device for enabling virtualized services like routing, security, WAN optimization and other network services to branch operations. The Cisco Enterprise Network Compute System combines elements of a router and a computer server into a single appliance that can be used to virtualize functions like wireless networking, wide-area connectivity and integrated security managed from a central administration point

The new Cisco Secure Agile Exchange runs on top of the Cisco Cloud Services Platform 2100 hardware device and virtualizes the network perimeter with the option of extension to co-location centers. This enables organizations to connect customers, employees and partners using on-demand, virtualized network services with fine-grained access control, Cisco said. The Secure Agile Exchange is essentially a virtual router that provides the same virtual private network connectivity and features as a physical router without the management overhead of an on-premises device.

Labor-saving devices

Together, the products are intended to simplify the often labor-intensive task of managing operations with multiple branches, said Kiran Ghodgaonkar, a senior marketing manager in Cisco’s Enterprise Solutions group. “As you hire more employees in your branch, it’s not viable to keep sending out people to install devices,” he said. “This gives you the ability to manage branches from a single place.”

Cisco is also pushing further ahead into the security field with a new version of the Cisco Identity Services Engine that improves visibility and control of users and devices on the network. ISE 2.2 provides better visibility into anomalous behavior and applications on endpoints. It also allows for  more granular control, with the ability to define policy sets for different kinds of threats.

Cisco is also upgrading its TrustSec software-defined segmentation platform, which isolates attacks and restricts movement of threats in the network. TrustSec now enables universal dynamic segmentation from the edge to the data center and cloud. This makes security policy changes 98 percent faster to implement than is possible with traditional methods, Cisco said, along with an 80 percent reduction in operational effort.

Finally, Cisco released the findings of a global study conducted by International Data Corp. about network-readiness for digital transformation (pictured). The survey of 2,054 business professionals found that organizations with highly aligned digital transformation strategies have more than double the rate of revenue growth, customer retention and profit growth of those with partial or no alignment.

Although only one in five medium-sized and large organizations is considered transformation-ready today, 45 percent plan to achieve advanced network readiness within two years. Digitally prepared organizations deploy more digital capabilities faster, are more resistant to security risks and achieve up to $745,000 in financial benefits per 100 users per year.

Image courtesy of Cisco