Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced the launch of Cisco Unified Edge, a next-generation integrated computing platform designed to enable distributed AI workloads at the network edge. Targeting industries from retail and healthcare to manufacturing and financial services, the platform combines compute, networking, storage, and security to deliver real-time AI inferencing and agentic processing directly where data is created — turning AI ambitions into operational reality.
Bringing AI Closer to the Source
As enterprises accelerate digital transformation, many AI pilots are stalling due to infrastructure limitations. According to Cisco, more than half of today’s AI projects fail to scale because traditional data centers cannot handle the massive, continuous network loads generated by emerging agentic AI workloads. AI agents, unlike traditional chatbots, can create up to 25 times more network traffic, demanding decentralized infrastructure capable of real-time data processing. With 75% of enterprise data expected to be created and processed at the edge this year, Cisco Unified Edge redefines computing architecture to ensure that AI workloads happen closer to where insights are needed most.
Reimagining Computing for Agentic AI
Cisco Unified Edge delivers the power, modularity, and flexibility required for real-time AI operations from edge to core. Built with scalability in mind, the platform allows enterprises to evolve their infrastructure without expensive rip-and-replace upgrades.
Performance and Modularity to Power Real-time AI
The platform integrates compute, storage, and networking in a converged architecture supported by a vast partner ecosystem. Its modular chassis supports both CPU and GPU configurations, redundant power and cooling systems, and high-performance SD-WAN networks, along with pre-validated designs to handle both current and next-generation workloads.
Operational Simplicity from Edge to Core
Through zero-touch deployment and pre-validated blueprints, organizations can roll out AI solutions faster and with predictable performance. Cisco Intersight provides centralized management and automated fleetwide operations, simplifying scaling, troubleshooting, and upgrades without requiring on-site specialists. Integration with Splunk and ThousandEyes offers end-to-end observability and democratized edge management at scale.
Built-in Security for Edge AI
Security remains at the core of Cisco Unified Edge. The platform employs a multi-layered, zero-trust architecture to protect AI environments across all layers. It features tamper-proof hardware, deep telemetry, consistent policy enforcement, and drift-free configurations, ensuring compliance and resilience. Security extends from device-level protection to network segmentation and application-level controls, addressing the expanded attack surface created by edge-based AI operations.
Unlocking Breakthrough Outcomes Across Industries
Co-developed with enterprise partners, Cisco Unified Edge was built to meet the complex operational realities of diverse sectors. From powering AI-driven factory automation and retail analytics to secure digital banking and healthcare diagnostics, the platform enables real-time decision-making at the edge. Designed to support both CPU-based traditional workloads and GPU-intensive AI models, it provides a unified infrastructure for the hybrid workloads of today and tomorrow.
Partner Ecosystem Driving AI Success
Cisco emphasizes that partnerships remain central to scaling enterprise AI. Through collaboration with technology partners, ISVs, managed service providers, and resellers, Cisco aims to create an open, flexible AI ecosystem that simplifies complexity and accelerates innovation. As AI infrastructure demands grow, Cisco’s world-class partner network will help organizations deploy, manage, and secure their AI environments with confidence.
Availability
The Cisco Unified Edge platform is orderable now and will be generally available by the end of 2025.
Quotes by Industry Leaders
“Today’s infrastructure can’t meet the demands of powering AI at scale,” said Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer at Cisco. “As AI agents and experiences proliferate, they will naturally emerge closer to where customers interact and decisions are made – the branch office, retail store, factory floor, stadium, and more. That’s where compute needs to live. With our Unified Edge we’re making it easier to power AI in the real world with flexible, secure systems that are simple to deploy, operate, and scale as demand grows.”
“The Cisco collaboration for Unified Edge represents a fundamental shift in how we think about distributed computing. By combining our silicon innovation with Cisco’s networking and compute expertise, we’re not just connecting edge locations – we’re extending the full power of the data center to wherever data needs to be processed. The Intel Xeon 6 SoC provides a flexible, efficient foundation that edge systems need for high throughput, low latency workloads, while Cisco’s modular compute design and unified operations model makes managing AI workloads easier and more secure.” — Christina Rodriguez, Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s Network & Edge Group.
“The importance of the Edge is more apparent now than ever before. Early adoption of AI at the Edge delivers a competitive advantage that can transform entire industries. Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option. With the rapid pace of AI and technological advancement, the future remains unpredictable. Building flexibility into a future-proof Edge platform is essential. Verizon and Cisco share a common vision for innovation, and we approach this goal with a focus on simplicity, reliability, and consistency.” — Lee Field, Vice President of US Solution Architecture at Verizon.
“To maximize AI’s productivity benefits in a manufacturing environment, connecting islands of automation is critical. Connecting multiple lines in a plant and then connecting multiple plants can generate petabytes of data. Some applications make sense to go back to the data center; that will continue to happen. But other decisions need to be made in real time at the edge—especially on a manufacturing floor. Edge computing requires an integrated platform approach where the compute, the networking, and of course, the security all come together. Performant, secure networking at the edge is absolutely essential.” — Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation.
“As AI and data processing shift from centralized data centers to the on-premises edge, our customers will need solutions that deliver both agility and security right at the source. With Cisco Unified Edge we can seamlessly extend powerful secure cloud and AI infrastructure to wherever data is generated, empowering customers and their models to inference at the edge to make decisions faster than ever before. Offering this solution not only strengthens our customer relationships but also positions us at the forefront of future-ready technology adoption.” — Brian Ortbals, SVP of Global Solutions and Architecture at World Wide Technology.
“The true power of AI will be unlocked when we can move the inferencing and analysis closer to where the data originates, making the edge the new frontier for the next wave of AI. Agentic and Physical AI will require compute at the edge to handle the substantial increase in network traffic and real-time analysis. Cisco Unified Edge simplifies adoption and operations for those enterprises that have struggled with how to implement AI to deliver true business impact.” — Bob Laliberte, Principal Analyst at theCUBE Research.
With Unified Edge, Cisco reaffirms its commitment to driving the next generation of enterprise infrastructure, bridging the gap between cloud, core, and edge — and enabling organizations to deploy AI at scale with confidence, agility, and security.
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