As enterprise AI evolves from simple auxiliary tools to autonomous decision-making agents, organizations face core challenges: data bottlenecks, slow real-time processing, security and compliance hurdles, and large-scale deployment complexity. To address these, Cisco, NVIDIA, and VAST Data have partnered to launch the Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA, a full-stack, enterprise-grade Agentic AI infrastructure. This solution combines the strengths of each company to deliver a data-driven, secure, and elastically scalable AI architecture.
Architectural Core: Cisco AI PODs and the Full Stack #
The Secure AI Factory integrates data, compute, network, and security into a seamless architecture. At its center are Cisco AI PODs, modular building blocks combining:
- Cisco: Provides UCS servers equipped with NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPUs, high-performance Ethernet networking, Cisco AI Defense, and Splunk integration for full-stack observability.
- NVIDIA: Supplies accelerated computing and AI software via the NVIDIA AI Data Platform, including NeMo Retriever for vector embeddings and NIM microservices for optimized inference.
- VAST Data: Offers the InsightEngine, automating AI pipelines to convert raw, unstructured data into AI-ready vectorized information in real time, ensuring rapid retrieval and model readiness.
This collaboration forms an “AI factory” that efficiently transforms enterprise data into actionable intelligence for Agentic AI deployment at scale.
Key Capabilities of the Secure AI Factory #
1. Accelerated RAG for Real-Time Decision Making #
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) connects large or small language models (LLMs/SLMs) to enterprise data. Traditional RAG processes often take minutes for data indexing, but the Secure AI Factory reduces latency to seconds using VAST InsightEngine’s real-time vectorization, enabling AI agents to work with the most current information.
Applications include:
- Real-time sales and customer service analysis
- Instant supply chain insights
- Rapid, accurate decision-making across business functions
2. Scalable Deployment for Multi-Agent Collaboration #
Enterprise-grade Agentic AI often requires multiple agents working in parallel. Cisco AI PODs provide high-throughput data processing and modular scalability, allowing agents in finance, supply chain, and customer service to collaborate seamlessly.
For example, a sales agent can generate proposals while simultaneously coordinating with a finance agent to ensure compliance, all in real time.
3. Security and Governance Across the AI Stack #
Sensitive data protection is central to enterprise AI adoption. The Secure AI Factory embeds full-link security:
- AI Defense: Token-level data protection
- Role-Based Access Control & Audit Logs: Ensures regulatory compliance
- Splunk Integration: Provides continuous monitoring for potential threats
“The next wave of Agentic AI will be driven by enterprise data, allowing agents to access business knowledge during inference to achieve precise, real-time insights,” says Justin Boitano, VP of Enterprise AI at NVIDIA.
Market Impact and Implementation Progress #
Transforming AI from Tools to Enterprise Partners #
Jeremy Foster, SVP at Cisco, notes:
“Agentic AI unlocks real business value by embedding AI directly into enterprise workflows. Cisco, NVIDIA, and VAST provide a unified path to extract actionable insights from enterprise data.”
This architecture allows agents to autonomously:
- Analyze customer inquiries and generate solutions
- Predict supply chain risks and propose procurement actions
- Integrate seamlessly into enterprise operations
From Concept to Reality: RAG Acceleration PODs #
- March 2024: Initial announcement of Cisco Secure AI Factory architecture
- June 2024: Platform-based release at Cisco Live, emphasizing AI networking strategy
- Now: First RAG acceleration POD integrating VAST InsightEngine is available for order, marking the start of Cisco’s AI Service POD series
This partnership redefines enterprise AI infrastructure, moving large-scale Agentic AI from concept to operational reality.
Conclusion #
The Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA and VAST Data represents a new era of enterprise Agentic AI. By integrating modular AI PODs, accelerated computing, and real-time data intelligence, enterprises can deploy autonomous agents that make informed decisions, collaborate across functions, and operate securely at scale. This architecture sets a new standard for AI infrastructure in the enterprise market.