Cisco develops technology to predict network issues before they happen

Cisco has announced that it has developed new technology that will help IT teams predict network issues before they happen.

The technology that was developed over the last two years will be slowly rolled out across the networking giant’s portfolio of products, but exact dates have been withheld.

Cisco is calling it a “first-of-its-kind predictive analytics engine” and will sit under the company’s Cisco Predictive Networks branding, alongside existing visibility and intelligence tools.

The technology will use machine learning (ML) to gather network data over time, using “myriad telemetry sources”.

It will then use that data to train models and learn each network’s patterns to help predict issues before they can impact a business, leading to a reduction in disruptions and downtime.

Cisco said customers will be given control of how far the engine reaches across their network, and early adopters have said it may help solve a range of issues, from downtime to the skills shortage.

“We are more reactive at the moment, to be honest," said Nicolas Gachet, global head of network special projects at The Adecco Group. “With a predictive engine, we will really fix the issue before it happens, which is really a game-changer.”

“I believe the Cisco Predictive Engine can help companies resolve the tech shortage as well,” said Zach Nimboorkar, SVP of global infrastructure and operations at Schneider Electric.

Cisco said customers and IT teams in general struggle to be proactive participants in their network due to time spent managing different responsibilities across areas such as cyber security, hybrid work, and hybrid cloud.

“The future of connectivity will rely on self-healing networks that can learn, predict and plan,” said Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO at Cisco. “Our research for predictive networks has been tested and developed with customers, and early adopters are seeing major benefits saving them time and money. The industry has been waiting for secure, proactive networking and only Cisco can do it right.”

According to Cisco’s figures, 45% of IT leaders said network disruptions were the most important challenge facing their department in 2021, and application uptime is crucial to securing and retaining new business.