In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, Cisco Live 2023 brought together industry experts, thought leaders and technology enthusiasts to discuss the future of networking and security.

Among them was Zeus Kerravala (pictured), founder and principal analyst at ZK Research, who provided insights into Cisco Systems Inc.’s ambitious vision for network and security superclouds.

“I think their vision’s outstanding. They want to create these clouds for security networking,” Kerravala said. “They have one for Webex already, full-stack observability. I believe they’ll probably build one for sustainability sometime down the road.”

Kerravala spoke with theCUBE industry analysts John Furrier and Dave Vellante at Cisco Live, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how Cisco’s emphasis on simplification and innovation positions the company as a key player in shaping the future of networking and security.

Cisco’s simplification and vision

The analysts discussed Cisco’s vision of creating specialized clouds for security, networking and observability. In particular, the company’s existing Webex cloud holds potential for future clouds, including sustainability-focused offerings. And while interoperability between clouds is important, they do not have to merge completely, according to the panel.

Overall, Vellante gave a grade of a solid B+, while Furrier gave them an A-. Kerravala commended the company’s ability to bring together diverse teams and maintain focus.

“I think this is the first time in a long time, maybe back to the early 2000s, where the management team’s all in sync and they all understand,” he said. “Back in the day when Cisco was a young company, everyone was focused on building the internet. I think now this whole management team understands it’s this movement to a cloud, these superclouds, if you want to call it that. I think everyone is on board with that, where that hasn’t really been the case in the past.”

The role of Cisco in the multicloud security space

The security multicloud opportunity is big for Cisco. The company has an advantage over hyperscalers, as it can provide compatibility across different cloud providers, according to Kerravala. He also thinks Cisco’s artificial intelligence game is in automated remediation, both in network troubleshooting and security.

Cisco’s focus on what the analysts referred to as ‘superclouds’ and the positive reception of these concepts at Cisco Live represent significant validations for the company. Cisco’s overall platform, with the unified vision among the management team, prioritizes delivering solid services over a flood of new products. In addition, the absence of negative sentiment indicated that the content resonated with the audience, according to Kerravala.

Cisco has the potential to thrive in the security market by leveraging its vast network presence and data for automated remediation, according to Vellante. While acknowledging the challenges, the panel expressed optimism about Cisco’s ability to drive innovation and tap into a trillion-dollar market opportunity.

Cisco has an opportunity to return to its former status as one of the most valuable companies on the planet. In comparison to Apple and Microsoft, which boast valuations over $2T, Cisco’s a $200 billion market cap company. Cisco has an important role in enabling connectedness in a world of complex networks, supply chains, data sovereignty and AI.

“A very good set of announcements,” Kerravala added. “The thing I liked about it, it wasn’t a lot of shiny, new toys. The announcements were substantive and largely around that concept of simplicity. And Chuck [Robbins, Cisco CEO] stood on stage and talked, ‘We need to make things simple for our customers.’”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Cisco Live:

Photo: SiliconANGLE