Cisco has unveiled a new generation of Agentic AI-powered Splunk products, aimed at transforming how enterprises manage security operations and observability. By embedding AI agents across its platforms, Cisco is moving toward an AI-led, human-supervised model for incident detection, response, and digital experience monitoring.
Agentic AI for Security and SOC Operations #
Cisco introduced two new editions of Splunk Enterprise Security 8.2:
- Essentials → includes Splunk Enterprise Security 8.2, Splunk AI Assistant, and a unified Detection Workbench.
- Premier → adds SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response), UEBA (User and Entity Behavior Analytics), AI Assistant, and the Detection Workbench.
AI Agents at Work in SOCs #
The new system automates Threat Detection, Investigation, and Response (TDIR) through specialized AI agents:
- Triage agents to prioritize alerts.
- Malware reversal agents for analyzing malicious scripts.
- AI playbook authoring to convert natural language into executable SOAR workflows.
- Response importers to translate standard SOC processes into automation.
Other enhancements include:
- A personalized detection SPL generator.
- An AI-enhanced detection library.
- Integration with Webex Response Automation for instant war room creation.
- Runtime visibility with eBPF integration via Isovalent.
- New firewall log analysis with federated search in Splunk Cloud on AWS S3.
Observability Upgrades with AI-Driven Insights #
Cisco also upgraded the Splunk Observability Suite with powerful new AI features for real-time digital experience monitoring:
- AI-driven troubleshooting across Splunk Observability Cloud and Splunk AppDynamics.
- Event iQ in IT Service Intelligence (ITSI) to automate alert correlation.
- ITSI Episode Summarization to consolidate alerts and assess impact.
- AI Agent Monitoring to evaluate LLM/agent cost and performance.
- AI Infrastructure Monitoring for identifying resource peaks and bottlenecks.
Cisco has merged Splunk AppDynamics and Splunk Observability Cloud to deliver a unified observability platform—allowing organizations to link application performance with business outcomes and user experience.
Cisco’s AI-Native Strategy #
Cisco’s $28 billion acquisition of Splunk in 2023 marked a strategic pivot beyond networking hardware. With Splunk’s expertise in data collection and analytics, Cisco is embedding AI at the heart of its future operations.
By adopting Agentic AI, Cisco is signaling a transformation from being the world’s largest networking company to becoming an AI-native leader in cybersecurity and observability.
Market Implications: Opportunities and Challenges #
Cisco’s AI-powered Splunk expansion positions the company at the intersection of networking, security, and multi-cloud observability.
- Security competition → rivals like Palo Alto and CrowdStrike focus narrowly on security, while Cisco’s edge comes from owning both the network data layer and Splunk’s analytics engine, creating a closed-loop defense system.
- Cloud competition → providers like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon tie AI security into their own cloud stacks. Cisco + Splunk differentiates itself by targeting multi-cloud and hybrid IT customers, offering flexibility across diverse infrastructures.
According to Gartner, by 2028, 60% of Chinese enterprises deploying AI will adopt collaborative AI defense strategies—a huge leap from today’s 5%. The global AI security market is set for explosive growth, and Cisco’s success will depend on its ability to leverage its networking dominance into a new AI growth engine.
Final Thoughts #
Cisco’s launch of Agentic AI-powered Splunk products represents more than a product upgrade—it’s a paradigm shift. By reimagining security and observability with AI as the operational core, Cisco is:
- Redefining SOC workflows with AI-driven automation.
- Unifying observability across applications and infrastructure.
- Positioning itself as an AI-native company ready for the next decade of digital transformation.
As enterprises face mounting complexity across networks, applications, and hybrid cloud environments, Cisco’s bet on Agentic AI could be the defining move that sets it apart from both cloud hyperscalers and traditional security vendors.