Cisco Prepares Networking Industry for Transformation to Digital-Ready Networks

LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Jul 11, 2016) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced it will help engineers, developers, partners and customers embrace a monumental change in how networks are built and managed -- preparing the industry for the transition to digital-ready networks. Cisco is also building on the intersection between security and networking with new technologies designed to simplify branch office security and make it more effective. 

In March, Cisco launched the Digital Network Architecture (Cisco DNA) -- a radical new approach to networking designed for the digital era. As customers embrace mobility, cloud, analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT) to digitize their business, IT teams are struggling to keep up with the ever-increasing complexity of the network, sophistication of security attacks and growing customer expectations. Cisco realized that traditional networks simply could not scale to meet the increasing demands of the digital business. A new network was needed for the digital era. A network designed from the ground up to be flexible, programmable and open. Cisco DNA helps IT address these demands by moving networking from hardware-centric to software-driven, from manual to automated, and from reactive to adaptive.

"Organizations need to address the expanding threat landscape across mobility and cloud, while facing increasingly sophisticated security attacks," says Jeff Reed, senior vice president, Networking Infrastructure and Solutions at Cisco. "With DNA, Cisco is reinventing how we secure networks for the digital era by embedding advanced security capabilities into a single network architecture. But technology alone isn't enough. We are also preparing IT professionals with new skills, training network-savvy developers and helping customers navigate the journey to digital-ready networks."

Effective Security Starts with the Network
Using the network to elevate threat visibility and enforcement is one of the key tenants of Cisco DNA. Today, Cisco is introducing three new technologies that embed security into the branch office infrastructure to provide greater protection to the business:

• Umbrella Branch gives organizations simple, fast and comprehensive security at their branches by putting them in control. After activating the software on Cisco's popular branch office router, the Cisco ISR 4000 Series, IT can apply content filtering and block malware, phishing, and C2 callbacks before these threats can reach the network -- even when offices connect directly to the Internet.