Cisco has been named a Leader in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data Center Switching, recognized for its strong ability to execute and completeness of vision.
Data center networking has undergone a profound transformation with the rise of AI. What once were simple data repositories with connectivity are now mission-critical infrastructures powering advanced applications across industries. As enterprises embrace AI, they face urgent challenges: How can they scale infrastructure to meet soaring demand? How can they maintain efficiency and security in an increasingly complex environment? For organizations aiming to lead in this AI-driven era, partnering with the right technology providers is not just beneficial—it’s essential.
At Cisco, data center networking is the cornerstone of a secure, full-stack AI strategy. The company vision is to deliver flexible, scalable networks with streamlined operations—maximizing bandwidth, minimizing latency, improving energy efficiency, and evolving in step with our customers’ application needs.
Mohannad Abuissa, Director of Solutions Engineering at Cisco Middle East, Africa, Türkiye, Romania, and CIS, said: “Being recognized as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Data Center Switching is a proud moment for Cisco and a testament to our commitment to innovation. As enterprises across the region accelerate their adoption of AI, they need modern, secure, and scalable data center infrastructure to match. At Cisco, we’re enabling this transformation—delivering high-performance solutions that simplify operations, strengthen security, and empower organizations to stay ahead in an AI-driven world.”
Over the past 18 months, Cisco has continued to deliver steady innovation across the portfolio:
- Focused on delivering high-performance: Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches have played a key role in the industry, with a differentiated silicon strategy (Cisco Silicon One) in data center networks, enabling a shift from 100G to 400G and ultimately 800G speeds to support the insatiable demand for greater bandwidth and lower latency driven by modern applications like AI/ML, storage, and video. In addition, Cisco 8000 Series Routers, powered by Silicon One, offer the option of deploying SONiC-based systems for customers with diverse, custom needs.
- Simplified operations and management: Cisco Nexus Dashboard provides centralized operations for data center networks and services, delivering automation, policy orchestration, and real-time analytics across diverse NX-OS and ACI fabric environments. The unified dashboard scales effortlessly to meet the needs of the largest enterprises, while also offering cost-effective solutions for more modest deployments. By reducing complexity and enhancing visibility across both on-premises and hybrid cloud environments, Nexus Dashboard empowers customers to focus on accelerating innovation.
- Reimagined network operations: Cisco Nexus Hyperfabric is revolutionizing the way customers design, build, and operate data center fabrics. It is delivered as a service and helps customers to scale multiple fabrics globally with minimal expertise. Its cloud controller manages the network, so you don’t have to. Automated software updates help to further reduce IT workloads. Soon, customers will be able to deploy full-stack clusters with Cisco Nexus Hyperfabric AI, which includes NVIDIA GPUs and VAST Data storage to provide a completely automated, ready-to-use, AI system.
- Infused security into the network: Security and networking come together with Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches, powered by Cisco Hypershield and Nexus Dashboard. Customers get strong protection, high performance, and flexible, programmable features—all in a compact design. Cisco Hypershield makes security policy management easier with Security Cloud Control, a cloud-based platform that helps organizations define and manage security across their entire enterprise. SecOps teams can enforce consistent policies and streamline operations.
- Engineered digital resilience: By combining the industry’s broadest network telemetry with Splunk’s cross-domain analytics, Cisco delivers unmatched AI-driven insights—empowering a more resilient, intelligent digital infrastructure.
As evidenced by recent partnership announcements, Cisco is well-positioned for strategic growth. Its data center networking solutions—powered by Silicon One and strengthened by robust ecosystem partnerships with NVIDIA and AMD—are redefining AI cluster management through the Nexus Dashboard platform.
Cisco is meeting today’s market demands while actively shaping the future of the industry. Backed by a robust portfolio across networking, security, and cloud management, Cisco leads with innovation and delivers measurable business impact for global customers and this recognition from Gartner reinforces the value and momentum driving its continued success.
