The sprawl of internet-connected devices can’t spread very far without a boost from wireless networking, fostering a market revival for hardware makers like Cisco Systems Inc. The company has invested heavily in the “internet of things,” from strategic acquisitions to software developers. How will this effort support Cisco’s enterprise offerings as businesses seek competitive gains through digital transformations?

Looking to answer these and other questions, SiliconANGLE is at DevNet Create 2018, currently underway in Mountain View, California, with exclusive commentary and interviews from our roving news desk, theCUBE. (* Disclosure below.)

IoT has emerged as a powerful force with increasing momentum in tech and the economy at large. Expected to reach a global market size of $5 billion by 2025, businesses are being forced to reevaluate processes to rapidly meet the growing demand for IoT device and data management.

This shift toward IoT and its resultant mass of data is creating new demand around cost-effective, streamlined infrastructure and processing for enterprise. Flexible, scalable networks are essential to reliable data feeds, and the popularity of cloud storage has given rise to edge computing as a solution to the issues in traffic flow and real-time local data analysis.

Jim Kobielus, an analyst with Wikibon (owned by the same company as SiliconANGLE) predicts edge-based inferencing will become a foundation of all AI-infused applications as the IoT space expands. “By year-end 2018, the majority of new [IoT and people] application-development projects will involve building the AI-driven smarts for deployment to edge devices for various levels of local sensor-driven inferencing,” he said.

The increased need for functionality and security around cloud processes is creating challenges for enterprises and information technology partners alike, but legacy tech leaders like Cisco are leading the charge in strong, safe networks for customers and communities at large. In 2017, Cisco announced Control Center 7.0, a new IoT platform created to support customers in initial deployments.

Control Center 7.0 is the latest release from Cisco since its acquisition of connected things management provider Jasper Technologies Inc., a move that tripled the company’s customer base and gave it access to Jasper’s custom IoT technologies for the enterprise. Cisco designed its new Control Center 7.0 service after conducting a survey that revealed three-quarters of IoT projects were failing due to poor implementation.

Cisco has also initiated large-scale programs in the IoT space. Earlier this year, the company launched two new software-defined wide area network products based on its Meraki and Viptela technologies designed to predict application performance and reduce issues across wide-area networks using historical data.

In addition to its enterprise initiatives, the company is also putting its tech to work in improving communities. Cisco is partnering with Teradata Corp. using its Kinetic for Cities platforms to foster greater connections and improve accessibility in analytics for community leaders to review data in areas such as citizen engagement, safety and security.

Despite competition from other frontrunners like Microsoft, Cisco remains the market leader thanks to a strong foundation in premise-based solutions and steadily increasing revenue in cloud market segments. The company has also received recognition as a leader in the IoT platform market from IDC Research Inc., one of the top global market intelligence firms. The firm selected Cisco based on its proven capabilities in strategy, customer support, and overall thought leadership in the space.

As the market continues to grow, Cisco’s focus on developer activity in the IoT space has the potential to benefit the company as much as the market at large, with Cisco’s network switches division now generating around 40 percent of sales and 30 percent of net revenue. Its plans for the future of IoT, artificial intelligence and more are sure to be explored at DevNet Create 2018.

Keynote speakers at DevNet Create 2018 include Susie Wee, vice president and chief technology officer of DevNet at Cisco; Guy Kawasaki, chief evangelist at Canva Inc.; and Amanda Whaley, director of developer experience, DevNet, at Cisco.

Other speakers include Alex Ellis, senior staff engineer at VMWare Inc.; Anders Wallgren, chief technology officer of Electric Cloud Inc.; Arvind Tiwari, senior technical leader of cloud services at Cisco; and Ashley Troggio, technical evangelist at IBM.

How to watch theCUBE interviews

We offer you various ways to watch all of theCUBE interviews that will be taking place at DevNet Create 2018, including theCUBE’s dedicated website and YouTube channel. You can also get all the coverage from this year’s event on SiliconANGLE.

TheCUBE’s dedicated website and Ustream

All of theCUBE’s exclusive interviews from DevNet Create 2018 will be available on theCUBE’s dedicated website.

You can also watch all the interviews on the dedicated Ustream channel.

Watch on the SiliconANGLE YouTube channel

All of theCUBE interviews from DevNet Create, which runs until April 11, will also be loaded onto SiliconANGLE’s dedicated YouTube channel.

Cubecasts

SiliconANGLE also has podcasts available of archived interview sessions, available on both SoundCloud and iTunes, which you can enjoy while on the go.

Guests who will be interviewed by theCUBE at DevNet Create 2018

Guests who will be interviewed on theCUBE during DevNet Create 2018 include DevNet Create keynote speakers Susie Wee and Guy Kawasaki. Other guests include Damon Edwards, co-founder and chief product officer of Rundeck Inc.; Nigel Kersten, chief technology strategist of Puppet Inc.; Louis Frolio, technical evangelist, cloud, analytics and Watson platform, at IBM; Jared Rhodes, Microsoft Most Valuable Professional; Christine Yen, co-founder of Honeycomb.io; Curtis Yanko, director of strategy and alliances at Sonatype Inc.; Monica Houston, director of Hackster Live at Hackster Inc.; Paul Giblin, senior solution architect at Presidio Inc.; and Jim Bugwadia, founder of Nirmata Inc.

TheCUBE’s lineup also includes Sylvain Kalache, co-founder of the Holberton School, and Rowell Dionicio, network engineer at Stanford University.

Livestream of DevNet Create 2018

If you are unable to attend DevNet Create in Mountain View, you can still catch a livestream of all the event’s keynotes from the comfort of your home or office.

A live video stream of the keynotes will take place from Tuesday, April 10th at 10 a.m. PT to Wednesday, April 11th at 5:00 p.m. PT.

You can register for the keynotes on the official event page.

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for DevNet Create. Neither Cisco Systems Inc., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Image: DevNetCreate 2018