Cisco’s latest cloud play: Exec explains the deal for tech startup Isovalent

Editor’s note: Tom Gillis is Senior Vice President and General Manager Security Business Group at Cisco. In this blog he explains why Cisco is acquiring Isovalent to “define the future of multicloud networking and security.” The deal was announced Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed.

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When you think about software networking, at its core, it has two basic functions: (1) send traffic from A to B as quickly and efficiently as possible, and (2) move traffic from A to B but NOT to X, Y, or Z. Software-Defined Networking (SDN) separates these two functions, allowing the hardware to perform the first task, while the second task of network policy enforcement is performed in software.

This simple concept becomes a lot trickier though in today’s environment of distributed applications, virtual machines, containers, and cloud assets. Applications may have little to no insight into the underlying infrastructure, leaving a gap in visibility and security. So, how does the security team ensure visibility and proper security controls while not hindering networking and application performance? How do you bring networking and security closer together so that you protect workloads no matter where they run?

That’s where eBPF comes in. It is an open source technology that allows sophisticated software programs to program the heart of the operating system – known as the kernel – without actually changing the heart of the operating system. This is incredibly powerful because it unlocks security, observability, and networking functionality at the kernel-level that was not possible before.

Cisco became an investor in Isovalent as part of their Series A funding round in 2020. At the time, Cilium was already used for cloud native connectivity and the default in managed Kubernetes offerings for several major public cloud providers including Google Kubernetes Engine, Google Anthos, and Amazon EKS Anywhere.

Cilium gained high-adoption with hyperscalers and cloud providers because of its unparalleled visibility into the behavior and communication of cloud native applications and seamless ability to define the policy of a software-defined network. Since 2020, Isovalent has continued to innovate, recently introducing Cilium Mesh to allow for the easy connection of Kubernetes clusters with existing infrastructure across hybrid clouds, as well as Tetragon, their open source security application.

Tetragon provides security controls to protect workloads as they run by gathering detailed information about the application’s internal processes and how they behave on the network. This broad insight provides the highest form of protection for workloads running on any cloud. Tetragon also includes important compliance capability and integration with tools cloud providers and enterprises use to monitor and remediate security incidents.

As we look ahead, Cisco is focused on helping customers address these visibility and security challenges through the Cisco Security Cloud, an AI-driven, cloud-delivered, integrated security platform for organizations of any shape and size. A credible hybrid, multicloud network security capability is fundamental to easing operational complexity for our customers. The Cisco Security Cloud does this by making it easier to define and enforce policies from a single cloud-delivered console across both hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Cisco is committed to Cilium and Tetragon as open source projects and intends to create an independent advisory board to help steer Cisco’s contributions to these important efforts in a way that is aligned with the needs of the open source community.  Together, Cisco and Isovalent will build on the power of Cilium and Tetragon to create multicloud security and networking capabilities that are truly unique, Cisco will continue offering and enhancing Isovalent Enterprise for Cilium to customers. Isovalent’s Cilium Mesh complements Cisco software-defined networking solutions and together would give customers seamless and secure networking from the branch office to the data center, to the public cloud, using one continuous mesh. Hardware acceleration of networking functions will ensure that the already performing eBPF platform will continue to lead the industry. By leveraging the threat intelligence of Cisco Talos and Cisco’s increasingly powerful security analytics capability, Cisco and Isovalent will together build leading-edge protection for any workload on any cloud.

Cisco and Isovalent are excited to drive the next generation of cloud networking and security innovation based on open source technology. We look forward to continuing to work with CNCF and other open source communities to provide our customers with the best possible technology and products.

We look forward to welcoming the Isovalent team once the acquisition closes and, together, defining the future of multicloud networking and security.

(C) Cisco

Cisco exceeds goal to positively impact one billion people

DUBAI, UAE — One year ahead of schedule, Cisco has surpassed its goal to make a real, tangible difference in the lives of one billion people, leveraging a powerful combination of technology and people, backed by its purpose to power an inclusive future for all.

To achieve its goal of positively impacting one billion people by 2025, Cisco invested in nonprofits through its Social Impact grants and Networking Academy to help them develop and scale technology-based solutions for the critical challenges facing communities around the world. Cisco also worked with local and national governments, including the UAE, to empower communities with IT skills, helping develop the workforce of the future and fostering digital inclusion – all measured by a rigorous tracking methodology.

“Through collaboration with national leadership, industry and nonprofit partners, as well as the dedication of our people, we are proud to celebrate impacting more than one billion lives globally. We will continue to leverage the power of technology and partnerships in the UAE and across countries around the world deliver a secure, connected and inclusive future for all,” said Reem Asaad, Vice President, Cisco Middle East and Africa.

Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program is a long-term partnership with national leadership, industry and academia to stimulate innovation, grow GDP and expand job creation. In the UAE, the CDA program was launched in 2018 and has since recorded over 20 completed digitization projects across industries such as healthcare, tourism, transportation, education, retail and more.

Cisco renewed its commitment in 2022 – signing a collaboration framework with the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Office – expanding their collective impact. The current initiative focuses on areas including sustainability, cybersecurity, talent development, SME empowerment and digital infrastructure.

In the same year, Cisco collaborated with the UAE Coders HQ to establish the ‘Sibaq Lahja’ program – aiming to equip young coders and software engineers with the skills required to develop and deploy AI solutions in the realm of Arabic Natural Language Processing (NLP).

In 2023, Cisco has also collaborated with the UAE’s Ministry of Economy on a digitization initiative that provides entrepreneurs with access to innovation labs, technical expertise, and business development opportunities. This initiative seeks to help boost the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country.

In light of ongoing advancements with generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), and evolving cybersecurity threat that comes with the technology, the World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that half the global labor force may need reskilling over the next two years, and 1.1 billion jobs will be transformed by technology in the coming decade.

In addition, there is the exam that three million cybersecurity experts are needed to support the current global economy, signifying the imminent importance for initiatives like the Cisco Networking Academy – one of the longest standing IT-skills-to-jobs programs in the world.

Since the inception of Cisco Networking Academy in the UAE (in 1999), more than 105,000 learners have received IT skills training in-country, with a strong 45% female participation rate. This includes over 12,000 learners in Cisco’s 2023 fiscal year alone, participating via 38 academies across the Emirates. 

95% of students surveyed globally* cite the Academy’s impact in helping them attain a job or further education opportunities. This year, Cisco announced its goal to train 10 million people in digital and cybersecurity skills, over the next 10 years, across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

Annual Purpose Report Released

This announcement accompanies the release of Cisco’s annual Purpose Report, which details its latest impact, goals, and progress on ESG topics, including environmental sustainability, social impact, digital access, philanthropy, supply chain, security and privacy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Learn more: cisco.com/go/esg-hub   

*Based on student outcome surveys of students participating in Cisco certification courses between fiscal 2005 (when exit surveys began) and fiscal 2023

About Cisco 

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that securely connects everything to make anything possible. Our purpose is to power an inclusive future for all by helping our customers reimagine their applications, power hybrid work, secure their enterprise, transform their infrastructure, and meet their sustainability goals. Discover more on The Newsroom and follow us on X at @Cisco.

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