Cisco Live 2025: Jokel and Pandey on Enterprise AI Infrastructure and the Internet of Agents

In this episode from Cisco Live, Maribel Lopez sits down with two Cisco executives, Vijoy Pandey, SVP of Outshift at Cisco and Nathan Jokel, SVP of Corporate Strategy and Alliances at Cisco, to discuss how AI is fundamentally changing enterprise infrastructure over the next year. The conversation explores the evolution from deterministic to probabilistic computing, the emergence of agentic workflows, and practical advice for business leaders navigating the AI transformation.Host: Maribel LopezGuests:Vijoy Pandey, SVP of Outshift at CiscoNathan Jokel, SVP of Corporate Strategy and Alliances at CiscoRecorded at: Cisco LiveEpisode OverviewIn this episode from Cisco Live, Maribel Lopez sits down with two Cisco executives to discuss how AI is fundamentally changing enterprise infrastructure over the next year. The conversation explores the evolution from deterministic to probabilistic computing, the emergence of agentic workflows, and practical advice for business leaders navigating the AI transformation.Key Topics DiscussedThe Three Waves of AI Infrastructure EvolutionWave 1: AI training in public cloud (mostly behind us)Wave 2: AI inference moving to enterprise data centers for control, security, and economic reasonsWave 3: AI moving to the edge with physical and embodied AI requiring new infrastructure for robots and devicesFrom Deterministic to Probabilistic ComputingVijoy explains the fundamental shift happening in computing:Traditional computing: deterministic, machine-speed but limitedHuman intelligence: agentic but slowNew paradigm: AI agents with human-like behavior operating at machine speed and scaleThe Internet of AgentsA collaboration platform where AI agents from different vendors can:Get discovered and authenticatedCompose workflows togetherExecute tasks collaborativelyBe evaluated for performanceReal-world example: Building a sales funnel portal using agentic interfaces from Salesforce, ServiceNow, Microsoft, and Cisco security - all working together without manual UI clicking.AI and Energy ChallengesThe Problem: By 2028, projected 63 gigawatt shortfall for new data center capacitySolutions:Invest in diverse energy sources (nuclear, renewables, battery storage)Build data centers near power sources (e.g., Cisco's Middle East partnerships)Develop more energy-efficient infrastructureFocus on smaller, specialized models instead of racing for maximum parametersCisco's Specialized AI ModelsFoundation SAC 8B: 8 billion parameter model specialized for security policyDeep Network Model: Expert model trained on network configurationsOutshift: Cisco's Innovation EngineCisco's internal incubator tackling problems adjacent to core business in:Space: Areas adjacent to networking, security, observability, collaborationTime/Risk: Higher-risk ventures that can't enter at Cisco scale initiallyCurrent Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs):Internet of AgentsQuantum Internet - building quantum networks for distributed quantum computing STAY CONNECTEDSubscribe to the AI with Maribel Lopez audio podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1947446Subscribe to my LinkedIn newsletter — AI Decoded with Maribel Lopez: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/ai-decoded-with-maribel-lopez-7312533413582827520/Lopez Research blog: https://www.lopezresearch.com/research/Follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maribellopez/Follow me on X: https://x.com/MaribelLopez