Cisco Outlines Path to Scalable Enterprise AI Adoption

Cisco has outlined three key principles for operationalizing artificial intelligence (AI) at scale within enterprises. According to its own experience, organizations must build AI on trusted enterprise data, provide a secure alternative to shadow AI, and redesign workflows to be AI-native.

The company's 2025 Cisco AI Readiness Index found that only 33% of organizations have a formal plan to guide employees through AI adoption. To address this challenge, Cisco emphasizes the importance of trusted data in enabling AI to deliver value across the enterprise. This involves bringing enterprise data together responsibly and connecting AI to applications where information already lives.

The company's own approach to AI is built on three principles: a secure platform that employees can use confidently with enterprise data, aligned with Cisco's Responsible AI Principles; compelling enough to give access to the right model for the right task; and extensible enough for teams to build and share prompts, projects, connectors, and agents.

Cisco's experience demonstrates the potential benefits of AI adoption, including time savings and reduced friction. Across the company, more than 21,000 engineers use AI coding tools, saving an average of six hours per week. Employees across the broader business save an average of five hours.