Cisco reveals Cloud Control for an agentic AI future

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, organisations are adapting their infrastructure and security approaches to defend against threats operating at machine speed. Cisco Systems has introduced Cisco Cloud Control, presented at Cisco Live, as part of its broader platform strategy.

The platform provides a single sign-on experience designed to support the integration and management of Cisco’s networking, security, compute resources, and collaboration tools. It is intended to enable interaction between human operators and AI agents while maintaining centralised oversight and governance.

Users are able to create applications and agents within the platform using natural language. These capabilities extend across integrations with major cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google Cloud, as well as security and operations tools including Wiz and PagerDuty.

Features overview:

• Cross-domain telemetry: Cisco Cloud Control processes continuous telemetry from multiple sources, providing visibility into areas such as agent activity and network performance, including uptime metrics.
• Purpose-built models: The platform incorporates Cisco’s Deep Network Model, combining specialised models with broader AI techniques to support more targeted problem-solving and analysis.
• Trusted agents: Autonomous agents are designed to assist with operational tasks, including detection and remediation workflows, using defined metrics and guardrails.
• Cisco AI Canvas: This component enables shared access to live operational data, allowing operators and agents to collaborate in real time with consistent contextual information.
• Cloud Control Studio: Developers and architects can build customised agents and applications, reportedly supported by tools such as OpenAI Codex, and connect to a wide range of external platforms (50+ integrations are referenced).

A feature referred to as Live Protect is described as providing proactive vulnerability mitigation and reducing downtime through automated responses, with planned expansion across additional product lines.

Cisco has also indicated preparations for future risks associated with quantum computing by incorporating quantum-safe security technologies into its infrastructure approach.

Additionally, capabilities associated with Cisco IQ are described as enhancing customer support through AI-assisted services aimed at improving operational resilience as part of Cisco’s broader roadmap.