My First 100 Days At Cisco – Making AI an Operating Principle

Over the last few months, I’ve had the chance to see Cisco from the inside, and it’s challenged more than a few assumptions. Yes, I was aware of the company’s pivot toward software. But I didn’t fully grasp just how deeply AI is being embedded across the business, and how fast that’s redefining everything.

One of my first moves in this role was to benchmark Cisco’s AI maturity. Years ago, I came across Andrew Ng’s AI Transformation Playbook which covers his five-part framework for bringing AI into an enterprise – pilot projects, dedicated teams, broad training, strategy, and communications. It’s a lens I’ve returned to often. And looking at Cisco through that lens made one thing very clear – this company isn’t experimenting, it’s scaling.

AI is being operationalized here – embedded into real workflows, solving real problems. Just last year, AI assisted in over 300,000 customer support cases. That stat matters less for the number, and more for the outcome – it means faster resolutions for customers and sharper signal for internal teams. In renewals, turnaround times dropped by 25%, powered by a custom-tuned Mistral model built and deployed in-house – quickly.

But the real story isn’t only in the stats, it’s in the shared mindset. AI isn’t being treated as a product or a gimmick – it’s being built into the operational core. To me, that’s the kind of approach that actually transforms a business. And from what I’ve seen on the roadmap ahead, it’s just the beginning.

Cisco has always been about connectivity and security. But what’s happening now is different. Intelligence is being worked into every corner of the company – into products, operations, into how teams operate and make decisions. And it’s showing up at scale, driving time savings, sharper insights, and new ways of delivering value.

There’s a lot more I’ll be unpacking from my experience behind the scenes, I’ll share it here as soon as I get the chance.