Cisco has a tremendous opportunity to play a significantly influential role in the evolution of IoT vertical markets and specifically the industrial aspects of it; by going deeper into the automation, control and supervisory domains of industrial networking.

It should not fear any potential conflict with incumbent industrial automation and control systems suppliers. The market is large enough to absorb exponential innovations and additional players.

2 suggestions which come to mind are:
(a) Develop embedded technologies for moving objects (people, things and goods). Think about the safety aspects and not just IP connectivity + analytics.
(b) Participate in the development of successors to GSM-R (mobile technologies for rail infrastructure).

Both of the above are adjacent markets for Cisco, which have the potential to unlock potential value at stake for Internet of Everything (IoE).