CiscoChat Podcast

AB sits down with Tom Gillis, Cisco's SVP and GM, Infrastructure & Security Group, to explore the crucial role security plays in the ever-changing AI landscape.

Ian and Kat are back with a "yin and yang" week of personal chaos and professional growth. Kat recounts the harrowing story of her recent hit-and-run—including a very embarrassing realization about her side-view mirror—and shares how she managed to keep her cool (and her work schedule) on track. Beyond the road drama, Kat dives into her experience at a women's-only C-suite event, discussing the power of intimate networking, the future of AI in the workplace, and the importance of Cisco showing up in non-traditional spaces. Ian and Kat also get real about the "triangle of life"—balancing fitness, money, and sanity—and why sometimes, you just have to give yourself a break. Tune in for an episode full of personal anecdotes, leadership insights, and a reminder that even when things (or cars) get hit, the show must go on. Since we didn't talk (much) Cisco this week, PLEASE give us a click here: https://id.cisco.com/app/ciscoid_aemcloudprodsaml_1/exk14lk1xf6SKDANc5d7/sso/saml

What does it really take to redesign one of the most influential partner programs in the tech industry? In this episode of Shift Happens, Jeff Edwards sits down with Brian Overmeyer, Director of Partner Strategy and Programs at Cisco, to go behind the scenes of The Cisco 360 Partner Program. With a background in industrial-organizational psychology and more than two decades shaping Cisco's partner ecosystem, Brian shares how programs are more than incentives—they're roadmaps that guide behavior, reward value, and help partners grow alongside Cisco. From the legacy of Cisco's Gold program to a new model built around customer outcomes, platform value, and partner co-design, this conversation explores the strategy, complexity, and trust required to evolve a program that supports tens of thousands of partners around the world. Why listen: •

Unified Networking Architecture: Find out how X-Haul consolidates fronthaul, midhaul, and backhaul into a single, software-defined transport platform, and enables seamless 5G deployment across diverse topologies. AI-Drive Automation and Optimization: Learn to reduce operational expenses by up to 40% while improving service reliability. Future-Ready Scalability: Dive deep into how this technology supports emerging applications requiring ultra-low latency and massive bandwidth.

Visibility from diverse networks can help uncover blind spots to detect regional issues and invisible failures impacting end users. In this episode, you'll hear first-hand insights on the operational challenges and technical strategies involved in building, validating, and expanding a global monitoring infrastructure. ——— CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 03:21 Why Multi-location Monitoring Matters 06:48 Agent Management and Operational Challenges 14:16 Debugging Methodologies and Validation Processes 19:07 Getting the Most from Vendor Collaboration 24:16 Internet Misconceptions and Considerations 25:22 Notable Operational Outcomes ——— For additional insights, check out the links below: Cloud Agents: The Big Picture To Getting the Best Picture: https://www.thousandeyes.com/blog/cloud-agents-big-picture-best-picture?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q3_internetreport_q3fy26ep132_podcast The Internet Outage Survival Kit: https://www.thousandeyes.com/resources/the-internet-outage-survival-kit?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q3_internetreport_q3fy26ep132_podcast ——— Want to get in touch? If you have questions, feedback, or guests you would like to see featured on the show, send us a note at InternetReport@thousandeyes.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn or X. ——— ABOUT THE INTERNET REPORT This is The Internet Report, a podcast uncovering what's working and what's breaking on the Internet—and why. Tune in to hear ThousandEyes' Internet experts dig into some of the most interesting outage events from the past couple weeks, discussing what went awry—was it the Internet, or an application issue? Plus, learn about the latest trends in ISP outages, cloud network outages, collaboration network outages, and more. Catch all the episodes on your favorite podcast platform: - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-report/id1506984526 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ADFvqAtgsbYwk4JiZFqHQ?si=00e9c4b53aff4d08&nd=1&dlsi=eab65c9ea39d4773 - SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ciscopodcastnetwork/sets/the-internet-report - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinternetreport_official

Happy spring cleaning time! We're cleaning house with this episode. Enjoy some behind-the-scenes recordings from 404 over the last few months! If you haven't already, and you want to keep these BTS episodes coming, check out Cisco's solutions for small and medium businesses: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html

Jeff Edwards sits down with Rebecca Leach—former Cisco and AppDynamics leader turned executive coach and founder of Growth Road, an executive coaching practice focused on helping leaders navigate change with clarity, confidence, and connection. After nearly two decades in tech leadership, Rebecca reached a pivotal moment: stay in the familiar rhythm of corporate success, or step into ambiguity and redefine what leadership—and identity—really meant. What followed wasn't just a career transition. It became the foundation for Growth Road, where Rebecca now helps leaders grow through the same kinds of shifts she experienced herself. In this candid conversation, Rebecca shares the emotions behind leaving a long, successful corporate career, the courage it takes to embrace uncertainty, and the lessons leaders can carry forward when the path ahead isn't clear. Why listen: • ⚡ The hidden risk of tying your identity to your title •

AB sits down with Tim Coogan, Cisco's SVP, Global Partner Sales, for a fun chat about the important role partners play to drive positive business outcomes. From partnering in the AI era to the link between sales and partnerships, this informative conversation highlights why it's critical for business to cultivate a powerful partner ecosystem.

In this special edition of Shift Happens — Talking Shift, host Jeff Edwards sits down with Jon Sanchez, Founder & CEO of Team Performance Institute, to unpack a simple truth: leadership isn't about managing projects — it's about developing people. Drawing on Jon's background at the United States Naval Academy and in SEAL training, they explore why the most powerful leadership tool isn't a strategy deck — it's the 1:1 conversation. They break down why culture is built in personal interactions, why accountability strengthens relationships, and why performance follows connection. Why Listen

In this episode, we interview Jean Christophe Rode, principal engineer working in the IOS-XR engineering team. He also specalizes in SONIC support. He explains how this open source operating system is gaining ground and what are the difference with Cisco proprietary IOS-XR. No blue Hedgehogs are mentioned in this episode

Ian's out, Carina's in (for a week) — and somehow 404 is both nicer and more organized? In this week's episode, Kat is joined by her best friend in marketing, Carina Barreto for a very real and relatable deep dive into life in field marketing. From partner strategy and demand gen to why events are way more than just catering and a PowerPoint, the two unpack what actually makes a customer say “yes” — and why experiential marketing is the way. They also get into the unspoken truth of the role: sales is your best friend (like, 80% of your calendar kind of best friend), the art of saying yes before you earn the right to say no, and how building internal advocates can make or break your success. Along the way, expect tangents on MBA survival, women-focused executive events, and the eternal question of what sounds better than just staying home? No Ian this week, but don't worry — Kat and Carina still manage to get their jokes in just like he's there. If you like the show, give us a click to keep the funding coming: id.cisco.com/app/ciscoid_aemcloudprodsaml_1/exk14lk1xf6SKDANc5d7/sso/saml

In the latest episode of the Cisco AI Insights Podcast, hosts Rafael Herrera and Sónia Marques welcome Cisco AI operations engineer James Tidd for a discussion on the world of small language models (SLMs) and the evolution of efficient AI inference. Together, they unravel the complexities behind “Fast Inference from Transformers via Speculative Decoding,” a groundbreaking paper from Google that explores how smaller draft models can speed up large language model predictions while maintaining accuracy. James shares his hands-on experience experimenting with the technique, leveraging knowledge distillation and speculative execution. The trio also discusses the potential of this approach to optimize AI, reduce power consumption and costs, and help businesses of all sizes get more out of existing hardware. A special thank you to Google's AI team for developing this month's paper. If you are interested in reading the paper yourself, please visit this link: https://research.google/blog/looking-back-at-speculative-decoding/.

Cisco SE Talks: AI in Manufacturing with Sentinel- Episode 8 is LIVE! In this episode of Cisco SE Talks, we dive deep into the practical applications of AI with many of our manufacturing customers. We're thrilled to also bring in Bob Keblusek – Chief Innovation and Technology Office at Sentinel and Richard Sonnen, Director of AI Innovation and Matt LeMasters, Cisco SE as we talk through customer pain points and challenges specific to manufacturing and true partnership with Cisco. As part of the discussion – we also discuss how Cloud with AI can sometime be the easy button, but often comes with Security challenges and ultimate cost restraints. Join us for this jam-packed session – we're Cisco SEs lead the way! Watch the full episode now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGoNjF93Mxo

AB sits down with Gordon Thomson, Cisco's SVP EMEA Sales and EMEA President, for a great talk about The EMEA Moment, sovereign critical infrastructure, and how AI is a tool that is helping unlock human potential.

What does it really take to lead through massive change? In this special edition episode: Talking Shift, we explore the human side of transformation — in the middle of the biggest partner evolution in 25+ years: The Cisco 360 Partner Program. But this conversation goes deeper than programs. Jeff Edwards sits with Jon Sanchez, Founder and CEO of Team Performance Institute, to unpack… why change is so hard? Because it challenges identity. Because leaders move faster than their teams. Because we expect adoption without allowing the process. This episode is about failing forward, becoming a beginner again, and leading with empathy through uncertainty.

AB sits down with Zeus Kerravala, founder of ZK Research and a leading technology industry analyst, for a great conversation on the role analysts play in the world of tech, trends and innovations related to AI infrastructure, why the network is critical to AI workloads, and more.

Fran Katsoudas, Cisco's EVP and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, discusses her 29-year Cisco journey and shares insights on AI's workplace impact.

Carlos Pereira, Cisco Fellow & CX Chief Architect, discusses real AI adoption challenges/opportunities, and why Cisco is the trusted AI partner for businesses.

Kat enters her MBA era and quickly learns that going back to school with a full-time job is less glow-up and more calendar Tetris, midnight accounting homework, and life choices made over coffee and mild panic. We get into the real reason she chose to go back to school, and the career pivot logic before the conversation turns to time management, burnout, and the very real kitchen-counter study sessions. Kat shares insights into the cost (financial and other...), tradeoffs, and the networking perks of being in an executive program. Ian does his best to avoid sounding like Michael Scott as he asks questions throughout. An honest, slightly chaotic look at balancing work, school, and real life—plus why going back to class hits differently when you actually chose to be there. If you like the show, and want us to keep our jobs, give us a click here: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html Thanks, Kowalski!

What if the real competitive advantage isn't the technology—but the story you tell about it? In this episode of Shift Happens, Jeff Edwards sits down with Jason Marks, CEO of Techrategy and LEAD Above, to explore why storytelling—not specs—is what actually wins in tech. From simplifying complex platforms to making AI readiness feel practical (not risky), this conversation breaks down how the One Cisco story drives clarity, trust, and better outcomes when it's told well.

We're talking “managing up” today—yes, that elusive art of keeping your boss in the loop (without sounding like you're bragging or, you know, a robot). Kat and Ian break down what it really means to make your boss's life easier, from running those infamous one-on-ones to knowing when to say “no, but here's a solution.” Along the way, we tackle the big questions: Can a yellow sweater actually help you survive February? Is it possible to be strategic and human? And why is it so hard to talk about your own wins without feeling icky? Spoiler: We don't have it all figured out, but we've got stories, hacks, and plenty of self-deprecating humor (plus a cameo from Ian's dogs). If you haven't already, and you want to keep these half-baked insights coming, check out Cisco's solutions for small and medium businesses: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html

Digital information is constantly in motion, crossing borders and jurisdictions. Learn about the current dynamics around data sovereignty and the importance of understanding the path your data takes. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 03:38 Data in Flight 06:52 Consideration Factors for Data Paths 10:17 Failover Considerations 12:13 On Encryption and Quantum Computing 13:57 How AI Adds Complexity to Data Sovereignty 16:17 Key Takeaways For additional insights, check out The Internet Outage Survival Kit: https://www.thousandeyes.com/resources/the-internet-outage-survival-kit?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q3_internetreport_q3fy26ep131_podcast ——— Want to get in touch? If you have questions, feedback, or guests you would like to see featured on the show, send us a note at InternetReport@thousandeyes.com. Or, follow us on LinkedIn or X:. ——— ABOUT THE INTERNET REPORT This is The Internet Report, a podcast uncovering what's working and what's breaking on the Internet—and why. Tune in to hear ThousandEyes' Internet experts dig into some of the most interesting outage events from recent weeks, discussing what went awry—was it the Internet, or an application issue? Plus, learn about the latest trends in ISP outages, cloud network outages, collaboration network outages, and more. Catch all the episodes on your favorite podcast platform: - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-report/id1506984526 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ADFvqAtgsbYwk4JiZFqHQ?si=00e9c4b53aff4d08&nd=1&dlsi=eab65c9ea39d4773 - SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ciscopodcastnetwork/sets/the-internet-report - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewXUwLMfn7Y69C6vGRVwyw

Ian and Kat are back and talking things they think they are better at than they actually are...both skiing and the Microsoft Office Suite. From concatenating cells in Excel to creating works of art in PowerPoint, we delve into the products that every single person in the corporate world uses every day and where are our gaps are. Ian gives tricks to help fake it until you make it in Excel, Kat may be the world's foremost Word user (at least in her own mind), and they both then brag about flex their PowerPoint and OneNote skills. We then talk about how AI is being integrated into everyday tools, AND even talk about how Microsoft Teams runs on Cisco's collaboration endpoints (have to keep the bosses happy with the product pitch)! Also, you should just use Webex. It's the best. And secure. If you want to learn more about Webex, check it out here: www.webex.com

What if growth isn't the problem—revenue quality is? This is the moment before the Shift. Jeff Edwards sat down with John Roger, Founder and Managing Partner of Southern Technology Partners, around the holidays to break down the real economics behind partner success. From recurring revenue and managed services to lifecycle engagement and the Cisco 360 Partner Program – on the heels of its launch, this episode gets straight to what actually drives predictable, durable profitability. Why listen

In this episode , Tristan takes us through a tour of what Cisco is doing to make all network devices more secure, not just the new products. Security concerns are not just about security vulnerabilities, your base configuration has the biggest impact actually ... Resilient Infrastructure overview: ⁠https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/trust-center/resilient-infrastructure.html#~overview⁠  Feature Deprecation details: ⁠https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/doing_business/trust-center/docs/cisco-resilient-infrastructure-feature-deprecation-and-removal-details.pdf⁠  Alternatives:  ⁠https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/doing_business/trust-center/docs/cisco-infrastructure-resilience-feature-removal-and-suggested-alternatives.pdf⁠   Additional links on threat landscape in 2026: ⁠https://blogs.cisco.com/news/doubling-down-on-resilient-infrastructure⁠  ⁠https://blog.talosintelligence.com/salt-typhoon-analysis/⁠   

Kat and Ian are back—and this time, they've brought in Steve Guillman, Cisco's US Distribution Partner Sales Leader and the mastermind behind (joking) Cisco's new partner program, Cisco 360. Together, they unpack what partner programs are, why we should care and the buzz around Cisco's big partner program update, tossing out the jargon and serving up the real story (we think). Curious why Cisco decided to revamp a 25-year-old program? Wondering if all this change is actually a good thing? Steve lays it all out—from why partners should care, to how Cisco 360 is designed to reward partners for the awesome work they're already doing (yes, there's a little math, but we promise it's worth it). You'll get honest takes, a couple of groan-worthy analogies (grocery stores, anyone?), and the kind of channel banter that only comes from years in the trenches. If you've ever wondered what really goes on behind the scenes with Cisco's partner programs—or just want to hear someone explain this to Kat “like she's five”—this episode's for you. Want to support the show (and keep the analogies coming)? Check out Cisco's solutions for small and medium businesses: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html

Join us for a look ahead at some of the emerging outage trends for ITOps teams to keep in mind for 2026 and beyond. ——— CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 02:30 Monitoring for Component and Interaction Health 05:14 The Rising Scope of Automation 07:20 Real-World Scenarios 09:05 Observability Challenges 11:05 Getting Ahead of Interaction Failures 13:24 Outage Trends: By the Numbers ——— For additional insights, check out The Internet Outage Survival Kit: https://www.thousandeyes.com/resources/the-internet-outage-survival-kit?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q2_internetreport_q2fy26ep130_podcast ——— Want to get in touch? If you have questions, feedback, or guests you would like to see featured on the show, send us a note at InternetReport@thousandeyes.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn or X. ——— ABOUT THE INTERNET REPORT This is The Internet Report, a podcast uncovering what's working and what's breaking on the Internet—and why. Tune in to hear ThousandEyes' Internet experts dig into some of the most interesting outage events from recent weeks, discussing what went awry—was it the Internet, or an application issue? Plus, learn about the latest trends in ISP outages, cloud network outages, collaboration network outages, and more. Catch all the episodes on your favorite podcast platform: - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-report/id1506984526 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ADFvqAtgsbYwk4JiZFqHQ?si=00e9c4b53aff4d08&nd=1&dlsi=eab65c9ea39d4773 - SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ciscopodcastnetwork/sets/the-internet-report - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewXUwLMfn7Y69C6vGRVwyw

Every major transformation needs a backbone—and for Cisco partners, that backbone is the Partner Experience Platform (PXP). In this episode of Shift Happens, Jeff Edwards sits down with Patrick Heenan, leader of PXP strategy and development, to explore how Cisco is redefining partner experience through co-design, simplicity, and AI-powered insights—all in support of the Cisco 360 partner program. From turning complex data into clear actions to giving partners real-time visibility into growth, performance, and opportunity, this conversation shows how PXP is becoming the central intelligence platform for partner success. Why listen: •

Ian and Kat finally let an actual expert onto the pod with their first external guest, technical recruiter Ann McCreight of Find Great People, for a wildly honest chat about AI in hiring, resumes that try way too hard, and why you absolutely should not list “English” as your programming language. Along the way, we cover keyword stuffing, Canva crimes, interview prep with robots, four-mile interview runs (??), and the shocking revelation that Ian's old resume… isn't that bad. Equal parts career advice and group therapy, this is the episode for you whether you are actively looking for a new job, or your resume is collecting virtual dust in a shared drive somewhere. If you came here to learn about Cisco SMB, we still got you here: cisco.com/content/cdc/login.html?referer=/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html

In this month's episode of The Cisco AI Insights Podcast, hosts Rafael Herrera and Sónia Marques welcome Giota Antonakaki, a Cisco leader in machine learning engineering, for an illuminating deep dive into a recent academic research shaping AI agent technology. Together, they unpack “The Illusion of Diminishing Returns: Measuring Long Horizon Execution in LLMs”, a paper challenging the common belief that scaling large language models (LLMs) results in only marginal gains.   The conversation explores fresh concepts like “long horizon” and “self-conditioning,” revealing how even small improvements in LLM step accuracy can dramatically boost performance in complex, multi-step tasks. Giota breaks down the difference between planning, reasoning, and execution in LLMs, and why reasoning-focused models outperform even the largest standard LLMs for long-running AI agents. We also extend a special thank you to Akshit Sinha and his team of researchers for developing this month's paper. If you are interested in reading the paper yourself, please visit this link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.09677.

Ian and Kat are joined this week by their white whale, Ian's mentor and Cisco's Vice President of Global Channel Marketing and Mid-Market/SMB, Stephen Tessitore. Stephen is on a mission to mentor 100 new leaders (he's WELL on his way), and shares his insights with us on how to find a mentor, how to be a mentor and how to come prepared to get the most out of the relationship. Kat and Ian then spend the last 4 minutes roasting Ian for his Chipotle habits. Maybe something he can work on with a mentor? If you want to learn more about Cisco's solutions for small and medium businesses (which we definitely did not talk about this week), check them out here: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html#tabs-35d568e0ff-item-4bd7dc8124-tab

What does it take to redesign a partner incentive program after more than 20 years—without losing trust, predictability, or momentum? In this episode of Shift Happens, host Jeff Edwards sits down with Fred Farges, Senior Director of Cisco's Global Partner Incentive Program and a key architect of the Cisco 360 Partner Program, to unpack one of the most significant transformations in Cisco's partner ecosystem. They explore how market forces like AI, subscription-based revenue, and customer adoption are reshaping partner profitability—and why Cisco made the decision to co-design its future partner model with partners at global scale. This conversation covers: ● Why legacy partner incentives had to evolve ● How Cisco 360 balances innovation with predictability ● What partners can expect at launch and beyond ● The role of growth, adoption, and lifecycle in long-term success Whether you're inside Cisco, part of the partner ecosystem, or leading change in enterprise technology, this episode offers a clear, candid look at how transformation happens.

Join us for a recap of some of 2025's most notable Internet outages and incidents, with key learnings for ITOps teams to take into 2026. ——— CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 03:16 An Important Nuance 05:16 Global Impacts 07:44 Architecture and Failure Modes 10:05 When DNS Is The Culprit 13:05 The Importance of Looking at Combined Signals 15:54 On Configuration Change Issues 19:23 Key Takeaways ——— For additional insights, check out the links below: Blog: https://www.thousandeyes.com/blog/the-top-internet-outages-of-2025-analyses-and-takeaways#google-cloud-incident?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q2_internetreport_q2fy26ep1_podcast?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q2_internetreport_q2fy26ep129_podcast The Internet Outage Survival Kit: https://www.thousandeyes.com/resources/the-internet-outage-survival-kit?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q2_internetreport_q2fy26ep129_podcast ——— Want to get in touch? If you have questions, feedback, or guests you would like to see featured on the show, send us a note at InternetReport@thousandeyes.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn or X. ——— ABOUT THE INTERNET REPORT This is The Internet Report, a podcast uncovering what's working and what's breaking on the Internet—and why. Tune in to hear ThousandEyes' Internet experts dig into some of the most interesting outage events from the past couple weeks, discussing what went awry—was it the Internet, or an application issue? Plus, learn about the latest trends in ISP outages, cloud network outages, collaboration network outages, and more. Catch all the episodes on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform: - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-report/id1506984526 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ADFvqAtgsbYwk4JiZFqHQ?si=00e9c4b53aff4d08&nd=1&dlsi=eab65c9ea39d4773 - SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ciscopodcastnetwork/sets/the-internet-report - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewXUwLMfn7Y69C6vGRVwyw

New year, new us? Probably not. But we ARE talking all things about resolutions - from Kat's witchiness and vision boards to Ian's list of goals we share our process and take a look back at our 2025 resolutions and year-over-year (YoY) improvements - including Ian drinking less soda...shock! We then dive into how to go about making good resolutions (~6:20 in) before devolving into Kat mocking Ian once again. Feels like this should be a resolution for her? Short and sweet this week! If one of your resolutions is to learn more about Cisco's solutions for small and medium businesses, check them out here: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html

In this episode of Cisco SE Talks, we dive deep into the practical applications of AI with many of our financial and high frequency trading customers. We're thrilled to also bring in Sudheesh Subhash – VP of Innovation & Emerging Technologies at EPlus, Zeki Yasar - Principal Architect focusing on AI and Jake Perakis, Cisco SE - as we talk through customer financial pain points and challenges, as they embark on their AI journey. We also take a deeper dive on how cloud with AI can sometimes be the easy button but comes with significant security challenges and cost restraints. Join us as Cisco SEs lead the way as Cisco re-defines the AI market transformation with our customers and partner! #Cisco #CiscoSE #CiscoEPlus #AI #SELed #CiscoAI #SETalks #CiscoSETalks

Dig into recent outages at Cloudflare and Venmo, and the growing challenge of maintaining reliability and resilience in a world of increasingly interdependent Internet infrastructure. ——— CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:50 Cloudflare Outage 06:54 Venmo Outage 12:01 The Challenge of Layered Dependencies 13:36 Outage Trends: By the Numbers 15:28 Get in Touch ——— For additional insights, check out the links below: - The Internet Report's latest blog: https://www.thousandeyes.com/blog/internet-report-cloudflare-venmo-outages?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q2_internetreport_q2fy26ep5_podcast - The Internet Outage Survival Kit: https://www.thousandeyes.com/resources/the-internet-outage-survival-kit?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q2_internetreport_q2fy26ep5_podcast ——— Want to get in touch? If you have questions, feedback, or guests you would like to see featured on the show, send us a note at InternetReport@thousandeyes.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn or X. ——— ABOUT THE INTERNET REPORT This is The Internet Report, a podcast uncovering what's working and what's breaking on the Internet—and why. Tune in to hear ThousandEyes' Internet experts dig into some of the most interesting outage events from the past couple weeks, discussing what went awry—was it the Internet, or an application issue? Plus, learn about the latest trends in ISP outages, cloud network outages, collaboration network outages, and more. Catch all the episodes on SoundCloud or your favorite podcast platform: - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-report/id1506984526 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ADFvqAtgsbYwk4JiZFqHQ?si=00e9c4b53aff4d08&nd=1&dlsi=eab65c9ea39d4773 - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theinternetreport_official

In this episode, Kristopher Gabrielsen, a CX Principal Engineer, is telling us about his most critical network down situations and high-profile cases. From healthcare to critical infrastructure, sometimes you really have only 30 minutes to fix a problem before lives are at stake or the president gets a call.

Kat and Ian are FRESH off of an AI training, but first we obviously have a couple detours: Kat's dad's fear of the government (he's okay); Oura ring might be selling our data (they still haven't); and the ocean (Ian's not about it.) After we cover the hard hitting news, Kat and Ian recap their AI training and (surprisingly) drop a little knowledge. Check out 11:06 for tips on how to structure prompts into your GPT and 13:51 for notes on creating parameters for responses. And finally, Ian educates Kat on the actual name of Cisco's AI Tool (yikes) 16:08. Learn more about Cisco's AI solutions for SMBs: www.cisco.com/c/en_uk/solutions/…mall-business.html

Tune in for a deep dive into the November 18 Cloudflare outage that impacted multiple services including X, OpenAI, and Anthropic—and explore key takeaways for ITOps teams.    For insights on the other recent outage that Cloudflare experienced on December 5, see this blog post: https://www.thousandeyes.com/blog/cloudflare-outage-analysis-december-5-2025    ———    CHAPTERS  00:00 Intro  00:55 The Nov. 18 Cloudflare Outage  02:34 Configuration Changes & Outages  03:45 Diagnosing the Fault Domain  05:47 Why Outage Recovery Can Take Time  10:43 Are Cloud Outages Increasing?  12:09 ITOps Best Practices  14:01 Outage Trends: By the Numbers  15:35 Get in Touch  ———    Explore the Cloudflare outage further in the ThousandEyes platform (no login required): https://ahhplivtvmhdmbduwcuonefullpkkohp.share.thousandeyes.com/ 
  For additional insights, check out The Internet Outage Survival Kit: https://www.thousandeyes.com/resources/the-internet-outage-survival-kit?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q2_internetreport_q2fy26ep4_podcast    ———    Want to get in touch?    If you have questions, feedback, or guests you would like to see featured on the show, send us a note at InternetReport@thousandeyes.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn or X.   ———    ABOUT THE INTERNET REPORT  This is The Internet Report, a podcast uncovering what's working and what's breaking on the Internet—and why.     Tune in to hear ThousandEyes' Internet experts dig into some of the most interesting outage events from the past couple weeks, discussing what went awry—was it the Internet, or an application issue?    Plus, learn about the latest trends in ISP outages, cloud network outages, collaboration network outages, and more.    Catch all the episodes on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform:    - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-report/id1506984526    - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ADFvqAtgsbYwk4JiZFqHQ?si=00e9c4b53aff4d08&nd=1&dlsi=eab65c9ea39d4773    - SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ciscopodcastnetwork/sets/the-internet-report 

We're talking cookies today – both kinds. Kat harkens back to her digital marketing days to share her knowledge on first- and third-party cookies, and more importantly why you keep getting asked to accept them when you visit a landing page. We also clear up if your phone is listening to you, and if the internet will get even better at predicting your buying decisions. We then spend the last 5 minutes going in-depth on cookies (the kind you eat). From our favorites, wildcards and how wild Oreos have gotten, we give a comprehensive breakdown of them all... Weigh in with your takes! If you haven't already, and want to help us keep making sure this podcast gets funded, please check out Cisco's solutions for small and medium businesses: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html

In this episode, Venkat Kirishnamurthy, a principal Architect at Cisco, explains what are the ins and outs of designin an AI datacenter. How is it different from another datacenter ? What kind of scale are we talking about ? What is the throughput required to connect 1000 GPUs together ? Learn more about CX Services and how we can help you design your datacenter: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/services/index.html

Get an inside perspective on how autonomous AI agents are reshaping the Internet, and what that means for the future of data, resilience, and digital innovation.    We'll chat about the new requirements for agentic AI success that call for a significant shift in priorities for NetOps teams.    CHAPTERS  00:00 Intro  00:56 About Agentic AI  02:41 Data Quality Matters  10:17 Service Resilience  10:06 End-to-end Capacity Planning  14:22 NetOps Best Practices  15:13 Get in Touch    ———    For more insights, check out the links below:    [PODCAST] Beyond "Break-Fix": Assuring Performance in the AI Era: https://www.thousandeyes.com/blog/internet-report-assuring-performance-ai-era?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q2_internetreport_q2fy26ep3_podcast  [EBOOK] Delivering Assurance at the Speed of AI: https://www.thousandeyes.com/resources/delivering-assurance-at-the-speed-of-ai-ebook?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q2_internetreport_q2fy26ep3_podcast  ———    Want to get in touch?    If you have questions, feedback, or guests you would like to see featured on the show, send us a note at InternetReport@thousandeyes.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn or X.   ———    ABOUT THE INTERNET REPORT  This is The Internet Report, a podcast uncovering what's working and what's breaking on the Internet—and why.     Tune in to hear ThousandEyes' Internet experts dig into some of the most interesting outage events from the past couple weeks, discussing what went awry—was it the Internet, or an application issue?    Plus, learn about the latest trends in ISP outages, cloud network outages, collaboration network outages, and more.    Catch all the episodes on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform:    - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-report/id1506984526    - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ADFvqAtgsbYwk4JiZFqHQ?si=00e9c4b53aff4d08&nd=1&dlsi=eab65c9ea39d4773    - SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ciscopodcastnetwork/sets/the-internet-report

Kat's out of town, so Ian is joined by Brad Oliver, Director of the US Commercial Collaboration SMB & Midmarket Sales Organization at Cisco to talk hobbies, work/life balance and fighting off burnout. You have to be able to bring your best self everyday, but how do you go about doing that? Just two bros talking life, love and pursuit of happiness. Truly an episode for the people. If you came for Cisco information...sorry, but click here so our boss doesn't fire us! id.cisco.com/app/ciscoid_aemcloudprodsaml_1/exk14lk1xf6SKDANc5d7/sso/saml

We are joined by our producer extraordinaire, Alex Giroux the Associate Director of Brand and Customer Experience at Agital to talk all things marketing from the brain of an ad agency leader. From how direct mail is so cool that Kat keeps hers (but somehow is responsible enough to develop disposable camera pictures) to AI content creation, Alex has us covered on the latest and greatest marketing trends for both B2B and B2C. Whether you are in marketing or in business, this episode should resonate for you! And if it doesn't, you can just watch the YouTube with the sound off like Ian. If you enjoy the pod, and want to keep our bosses happy, please click here: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html

Cisco SE Talks: Conversations on AI - Episode 6 is LIVE! We're thrilled to welcome in an expert panel from the AHEAD team—Heather Dimovski (Client Solutions Engineering Manager), Mark Sweeting (Senior Solutions Architect), and Chris Knox (Senior Solutions Architect)—joined by Cisco SE Pradnya Vichare! As part of the episode, we dive deep into game-changing manufacturing AI Use-Cases that are unlocking massive operational gains. We uncover the unique Cisco + AHEAD partnership and how we're solving the biggest customer challenges head-on! Don't miss the conversation that shows how Cisco stands as the key infrastructure leader in the AI revolution! Watch the full episode now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1itKNwstQ4&list=PLFT-9JpKjRTBR60Rlx_nt_u6S6_YDjELi

The demands of AI workloads are reshaping Internet infrastructure, giving rise to a more distributed model and resulting in an increasingly complex service delivery chain for NetOps teams to manage. Tune in to the full episode to learn more or use the chapters below to skip to the sections that you find most interesting. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:53 How Internet Infrastructure Is Changing 02:24 Converting Legacy Central Offices & Telephone Exchanges 06:46 Neoclouds 10:06 Hyperscalers & a More Distributed Model 12:11 NetOps Considerations 13:26 Key Takeaways 14:54 Get in Touch ——— For more insights, check out the links below: [PODCAST] Beyond "Break-Fix": Assuring Performance in the AI Era: https://www.thousandeyes.com/blog/internet-report-assuring-performance-ai-era?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q1_internetreport_q2fy26ep2_podcast [EBOOK] Delivering Assurance at the Speed of AI: https://www.thousandeyes.com/resources/delivering-assurance-at-the-speed-of-ai-ebook?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=fy26q1_internetreport_q2fy26ep2_podcast ——— Want to get in touch? If you have questions, feedback, or guests you would like to see featured on the show, send us a note at InternetReport@thousandeyes.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn or X. ——— ABOUT THE INTERNET REPORT This is The Internet Report, a podcast uncovering what's working and what's breaking on the Internet—and why. Tune in to hear ThousandEyes' Internet experts dig into some of the most interesting outage events from the past couple weeks, discussing what went awry—was it the Internet, or an application issue? Plus, learn about the latest trends in ISP outages, cloud network outages, collaboration network outages, and more. Catch all the episodes on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform: - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-report/id1506984526 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5ADFvqAtgsbYwk4JiZFqHQ?si=00e9c4b53aff4d08&nd=1&dlsi=eab65c9ea39d4773 - SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ciscopodcastnetwork/sets/the-internet-report

WHERE IS THE MONEY? The million dollar question that Kat and Ian cannot answer. Please leave a comment after minute 6 if you can answer this question for us. From here, your favorite duo hits the highlights on SMB pain points with marketing. From cost to time consumption, Kat and Ian debunk allll the myths for SMBs. AND if you're more interested in exactly what Cisco is selling, check it out here: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/solutions/small-business/index.html#tabs-a107e9a621-item-6caff3e5bb-tab

In this episode, Tim Szigeti, Distinguished Engineer talks to us about Quantum computing, the latest progresses and what are the potential impact and opportunities it creates. We also discuss what is Cisco doing in the Quantum field.

We're back with Sammy Brenner (Cisco's US Public Sector Sales Director, NBD) for part two! Usually sequels are worse than the original, but this one may be better! We dive RIGHT in to how to network at work, how to (and how not to) get referrals into jobs and how to grow your career from three people all in different stages of their career and journey. Grow where you are, even if you're old like Ian. If you want to apply (and hopefully interview) for a role at Cisco, we've got you covered: www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/careers.html Also, check out Sammy's podcast Meraki Unboxed here (after you listen to ours): https://community.meraki.com/t5/Meraki-Unboxed-Podcast/Episode-138-Converging-Forces-The-Next-Wave-in-Networking/ba-p/283068