Cisco Sovereign Critical Infrastructure: From Customer Needs to Delivery

Now Available Across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)

As we navigate an era of digital transformation and AI adoption at a speed that we have never experienced before, the ability to maintain control and autonomy over the most critical data and digital infrastructure has become a strategic requirement for organizations managing complex digital environments.

In conversations with our customers across industries and sectors – public and private – we hear a consistent question when it comes to addressing their sovereignty objectives. How can we innovate without compromising sovereignty, security, or trust?

With organizations increasingly requesting control over their data and digital infrastructure, they need partners who understand sovereign responsibility – not just the technology.

The Journey to Cisco Sovereign Critical Infrastructure

This is exactly why, a few months ago, Cisco introduced its Sovereign Critical Infrastructure portfolio. Not a point product, and not theoretical. A configurable portfolio designed to meet customers where they are on their sovereignty journey, based on the simple principle that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Europe has been a natural starting point, given its focus on digital sovereignty. But the drive for greater control is not uniquely European. Across the Middle East and Africa, organizations in both the public and private sectors are investing rapidly in AI and digital infrastructure, while placing equal emphasis on choice, control, and resilience.

Therefore, from today, we are making Cisco Sovereign Critical Infrastructure available to our customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Sovereignty Built Around Customer Choice

The expectation for choice is something I hear and see firsthand. Even within the same country and sector, our customers need to make very different choices. Some prioritize fully on-premises, air‑gapped infrastructure to maintain maximum control. Others focus on speed and agility, leveraging cloud services to innovate at pace.

For this very reason, choice sits at the centre of our offer.

When we launched our on-premises portfolio, we knew we needed to address three priorities consistently raised by customers in critical infrastructure sectors:

• Control over data, enabled through on-premises and air-gapped deployments where customers retain full authority over location and access to data.
• Operational autonomy, with product capabilities and licensing models that allow products to function without internet connectivity or remote intervention.
• Freedom from dependency, through continued legal use rights even in extraordinary disruption circumstances.

Addressing these means that control stays firmly with our customer. It’s also what differentiates Cisco. A key strength in delivering on our promise of sovereignty is Cisco’s strong partner ecosystem. Together, we offer unmatched breadth and choice. Whether customers require a fully sovereign environment or the ability to deploy on-prem, air-gapped Sovereign Critical Infrastructure alongside cloud-based services in a hybrid environment, we provide the choice and control they are asking for.

Making Sovereignty Operational

Importantly, hardware and software are only one part of the story. If you’re running a sovereign environment, you also need support and expertise.

To meet this need, our Customer Experience (CX) team is expanding its Critical National Services Centers (CNSCs) across EMEA – including UK, France, Spain, and Italy – built on a long-standing model in Germany. These centers provide support aligned with strict data sovereignty requirements, including dedicated facilities, controlled access, and cleared personnel.

Making sovereignty operational requires solutions aligned with key foundational, EU and country certifications and standards. We are committed to high-assurance security, with the majority of our on-premises portfolio conforming to IPv6 Ready standards and Common Criteria certification, both global benchmarks for rigorous security.

Further, we continue our journey towards achieving the new European Union Cybersecurity Certification (EUCC) across our product lines. Notably, both the Cisco Nexus 9K Series (our family of high-performance data center switches) as well as Intersight Appliance on UCS have already obtained EUCC Substantial certification. This certification process provides a high-level assurance framework for hardware and software security.

Sovereign Strategies, Rooted in Local Expertise

Trust is our foundational currency, and it is maintained when commitments are backed by real operational capability. Capabilities that work within customer environments, national or regional boundaries, regulatory frameworks, and local expectations.

Having said that, sovereignty does not mean isolation. The most successful strategies balance innovation from across the globe with local needs and local expertise. Achieving that balance requires technology partners who understand both.

Our role is not to define sovereignty for our customers, but to listen to their needs and help them have control over their infrastructure and data.  This is our long-term commitment to the region.

 

For additional resources, please visit:

• Cisco Sovereign Critical Infrastructure
• Cisco Trust Center
• Cisco Trust Portal
• Cisco Resilient Infrastructure