Cisco Fleshes Out Cloud Strategy 

Cisco Systems fleshed out its cloud strategy this week with the launch of a software-licensing framework and a cloud-managed IT approach centered on leveraging its 2012 acquisition of cloud networking specialist Meraki.

Cisco executives stressed that the software strategy, which also seeks to build on the networking giant's installed base of hardware, aims to "empower fast IT" while accelerating the transition by "digital businesses" to the cloud. One way of achieving that goal, the company added, is creating intelligence wide-area networks across datacenters.

Among the use cases are converged datacenter networks along with infrastructure and datacenter network automation, according to John Brigden, Cisco's senior vice president for software strategy and operations.

Cisco executives acknowledged its customers were "struggling" to understand its Intercloud strategy designed to manage enterprise-level cloud IT services. Its solution for large enterprises managing thousands of sites is to control them via the Meraki Cloud. Hence, Cisco's Intercloud framework aims to allow flexible use of different cloud types, including support for multiple hypervisors and hybrid cloud architectures, workflow automation along with infrastructure configuration and policy automation.

Brigden stressed the "single deployment model" of the Cisco enterprise cloud suite extends from bare metal to the cloud.

Cisco's cloud managed IT service also seeks to leverage Meraki's cloud based wireless management attributes. As more of its customers become "digital businesses," asserted Rob Soderbery, the networking company's senior vice president for enterprise products and solutions, cloud IT is becoming more important. That trend will accelerate with the rise of the Internet of Everything, he added.

The cloud-managed IT strategy also seeks to move beyond wireless to a more robust wireless area networks in datacenters that would manage switching and routing hardware. In this way, Cisco can leverage its installed base of networking equipment, observers noted.

The Intercloud network fabric would become part of the software platform, Brigden added.

Meanwhile, Cisco's software licensing strategy also launched this week consolidates hundreds of hardware licenses into three software suites that will be made available on a subscription basis to enterprises. All this can be managed from the Meraki cloud, Soderbery said, adding, "This is not just a big read 'Easy' button. We're helping enterprises go faster."

Cisco also argued that the shift to cloud-based management of private, hybrid and public clouds reflects the fact that enterprises are beginning to prioritize the acceleration of their IT infrastructure. Hence, Cisco and other cloud vendors are highlighting their efforts to automate as many datacenter functions as possible, ranging from configuration management to workload balancing.

Another emerging issue is network security, or what Cisco refers to as "enterprise-grade security." Todd Nightengale, vice president and general manager of Cisco Meraki, said the cloud offering offers "continuous threat detection" for the network, devices and applications managed from the Meraki cloud.

With infrastructure security in mind, Cisco also is touting its October 2013 acquisition of Sourcefire. Cisco said last November is had completed the integration of Sourcefire network security and threat detection products into its network security platform.