As enterprises race to maneuver AI from pilot tasks to full-scale manufacturing, they face a typical hurdle: the hole between AI ambition and infrastructure actuality. Whereas the potential of AI is immense, the complexity of integrating {hardware}, software program, and networking typically turns innovation right into a bottleneck.
That is the place the partnership between Cisco and Digital Realty bridges the hole. By combining Cisco’s management in networking and safety with Digital Realty’s world information heart platform, we offer a unified basis that simplifies the AI lifecycle. Collectively, we’re serving to geo-distributed enterprises transfer quicker, cut back danger, and scale their AI initiatives globally.
The energy of a unified partnership
Our collaboration is constructed on the distinct, complementary strengths of each organizations:
Cisco brings full-stack AI blueprints to the partnership—complete reference architectures designed for manufacturing environments. On the core are Cisco AI PODs. These are modular, pre-validated infrastructure models designed to take the guesswork out of scaling. We ship superior, programmable networking—together with 8000 Sequence Routers and SRv6—to optimize site visitors for AI workloads. Our resolution additionally supplies end-to-end observability for proactive efficiency assurance, alongside strong AI Protection to safe fashions and information all through their whole lifecycle.
Digital Realty supplies scalable, AI-ready infrastructure designed for contemporary energy and cooling necessities, combining Digital Realty Innovation Lab (DRIL), a proving floor to validate actual workloads, a sophisticated interconnection cloth (ServiceFabric®), and a worldwide ecosystem (PlatformDIGITAL®) spanning over 300 amenities in 50+ metros and throughout 30+ international locations.
Collectively, we ship accelerated time to worth, considerably decreased deployment danger, and the flexibility to scale AI workflows globally with confidence.
A collaborative method to experimentation and optimization
One of the thrilling points of our partnership is the collaborative proving floor we’ve established within the DRIL. Right here, clients can carry their functions, check them, and optimize them with help from Cisco and Digital Realty. This atmosphere is invaluable, offering a basis for experimentation and fast innovation. It reduces danger, improves time to worth, and ensures that organizations are getting probably the most out of their AI investments.
For us at Cisco, simplifying AI begins with delivering well-defined, validated reference architectures—options which can be sized for various functions and constructed on our trusted “Cisco Validated Design” idea. By integrating the complete stack, we assist clients confidently construct AI into their workflows and rework their companies.
Determine 1: Cisco structure for empowering enterprise AI
Fixing the infrastructure problem: The HCI benefit
To help the calls for of contemporary AI, we now have built-in our applied sciences right into a streamlined resolution. Our method facilities on hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), which simplifies the deployment of advanced AI workloads.
By integrating compute, scalable storage, seamless networking, and safety, we allow:
- Distributed inferencing: Run AI fashions nearer to the info supply to attenuate latency and enhance efficiency.
- Seamless interconnectivity: Use ServiceFabric to hyperlink information sources and inference endpoints throughout metros, guaranteeing constant efficiency.
- Versatile scaling: Our modular design helps each “scaling up” (including assets to a single node) and “scaling out” (including extra nodes) as your datasets develop and your AI wants evolve.
Addressing the problem of information heart densification
AI workloads require extra from the info heart. Conventional rack densities of 6–8 kW are giving approach to AI POD densities reaching 20–50 kW. Assembly these calls for means creating environments that help dense energy, strong cooling, and seamless interconnectivity. By way of our collaboration, Digital Realty and Cisco have developed options that meet these necessities, permitting clients to scale their AI functions effectively and reliably.
Constructed for the geo-distributed enterprise
This joint resolution is designed particularly for organizations that function throughout a number of places and require constant, high-performance AI capabilities. Whether or not you’re a retail financial institution seeking to implement real-time fraud detection throughout 1000’s of branches, or a worldwide retailer deploying laptop imaginative and prescient to optimize in-store buyer experiences, our structure supplies the reliability and pace you want.
By shifting past the “do-it-yourself” mannequin of infrastructure, your group can cease managing the plumbing of AI and begin specializing in the outcomes that drive your small business ahead.
Speed up your AI journey
Our partnership with Digital Realty is constructed to assist enterprises transfer from experimentation to execution with much less danger and extra pace. Collectively, we now have demonstrated how distributed inference can allow intelligence by decoupling reasoning and execution throughout a number of places—a hallmark of superior agentic architectures. With validated designs, modular AI-ready infrastructure, DRIL for hands-on workload validation, and ServiceFabric for metro-scale interconnection, clients can deal with outcomes whereas scaling AI manufacturing unit workflows and distributed inference with confidence.
With validated designs and a worldwide footprint, Cisco and Digital Realty are prepared that can assist you flip your AI ambitions right into a aggressive benefit.
