At the recent Splunk .conf25 event in Boston, Cisco introduced a state-of-the-art data architecture, the Cisco Data Fabric, which leverages the Splunk platform. This innovative framework is designed to assist businesses in extracting AI-driven insights from various machine-generated data, including metrics, logs, events, and traces.
The Cisco Data Fabric seeks to unify and integrate diverse data from multiple environments, whether it be cloud-based, on-premises, or even from systems like Snowflake and Splunk Indexes. By utilizing capabilities from Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud, this fabric employs AI and machine learning to process data for enhanced analytical insights while also connecting different data silos into a cohesive viewing experience.
Kamal Hathi, Cisco’s senior vice president and general manager for the Splunk business unit, highlighted the goal: "This is really the notion of weaving data together wherever it is, leading AI into it, and delivering a turnkey solution that allows customers to leverage this machine data…" He emphasized the fabric’s ability to manage seemingly infinite data sources by creating a federated and distributed view.
Key features of the Cisco Data Fabric include:
- Time Series Foundation Model (TSFM): Advanced pattern analysis and anomaly detection on time series data.
- Intelligent data foundation: Real-time insights from data across various operations like SecOps and DevOps.
- Borderless real-time search and analysis: Searching and analyzing data regardless of its storage location, including Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure.
- Flexible and open architecture: A design that allows adaptation to any environment through open standards and integrations.
Additionally, Cisco unveiled the Splunk Federated Search for Snowflake. This integration simplifies the data management process and enables organizations to analyze data across platforms seamlessly, providing a holistic view of business impacts affected by performance changes.
The Cisco Data Fabric is available now, while full features, including the TSFM, will progressively roll out through 2026. The TSFM will be made available to the open-source Hugging Face community in November.
