Cisco Splunk Push Faces Increasing Competition from Datadog and CrowdStrike

Cisco Systems is gaining momentum with its Splunk AI push, but can it outpace competitors Datadog and CrowdStrike? In its fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, CSCO's security portfolio, including Splunk, recorded double-digit order growth. This was due in part to the addition of more than 280 customer logos and a record number of competitive wins.

The company has expanded Splunk with new AI security and observability capabilities, which include CSCO AI POD for Splunk, expanded AI-agent observability, Tokenomics capabilities, and stronger agentic security operations. This expansion fits Cisco's broader strategy of combining networking, security, observability, and automation.

However, Datadog is increasing pressure on CSCO's Splunk through its own AI offerings, including Agent Observability, Agent Console, Data Observability, GPU Monitoring, and AI Guard. CrowdStrike is also challenging CSCO with its Falcon platform, particularly in AI security and agentic SOC operations.

CSCO has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and shares have appreciated 42.9% year to date, outperforming the broader sector's 17.4% return. The company's forward 12-month price/earnings ratio is 21.27X compared with the sector's 20.39X.