Cisco Taps Supermicro to Plug UCS Supply Chain Gap

Cisco Systems has announced a partnership with Supermicro to expand its Secure AI Factory with Nvidia. This move aims to address supply chain constraints and provide customers with timely delivery of infrastructure globally.

The partnership will allow Cisco to offer Supermicro's liquid- and air-cooled systems as part of its AI infrastructure portfolio, starting in October 2026. This development is seen as a much-needed alternative due to the shipment delays plaguing Cisco's own Unified Computing System (UCS) servers.

A top executive at a CRN Solution Provider 500 Cisco partner stated that 'Cisco cannot deliver UCS servers.' The executive attributed this issue to Cisco's inability to secure memory chips, while Supermicro has available memory. This partnership is expected to ease the pressure on UCS availability, which currently takes six to nine months to get to customers.

Cisco shares were up 1 percent, or $0.70 per share, to $110.93 in mid-day trading, while Supermicro's shares rose 9 percent, or $0.98 per share, to $12.35.