Cisco's AI Strategy and the Future of Enterprise Growth

What does strategy look like when the technology industry seems to change every few months?

Recorded at Cisco Live, this episode features Ammar Maraqa, Cisco's Chief Strategy Officer, whose role spans corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, venture investments, technology incubation, strategic partnerships, and long-term planning. Few people have a broader view of where the technology industry is heading and how companies can position themselves for what comes next.

During our conversation, Ammar shares why he believes many organizations are thinking about AI the wrong way. Rather than viewing it as a productivity tool or cost-saving exercise, he argues that AI represents a much deeper shift in how work gets done, how organizations operate, and how leaders should think about growth.

We explore Cisco's approach to strategy in an era defined by constant disruption, including why the company focuses on testing assumptions rather than repeatedly changing direction. Ammar also explains how Cisco uses a combination of building, acquiring, partnering, investing, and incubating to accelerate innovation and stay close to emerging technologies.

The discussion also examines what Cisco learns from engaging with startups, entrepreneurs, venture investors, customers, and partners around the world. From advances in AI infrastructure and silicon to agent orchestration, observability, security, and enterprise adoption, Ammar shares the themes he believes deserve the closest attention from business leaders today.

We also discuss one of the biggest challenges facing organizations: the growing gap between what AI is capable of and what companies are actually prepared to adopt. Ammar explains why infrastructure, data, security, workflow redesign, and organizational change remain essential ingredients for success, regardless of how powerful the underlying models become.

Along the way, he offers insights into business model disruption, the future of enterprise software, and why some companies successfully reinvent themselves while others struggle to adapt.

If you're interested in strategy, innovation, AI adoption, or the forces shaping the next decade of enterprise technology, this conversation provides a thoughtful perspective from someone helping guide one of the industry's most influential companies through a period of extraordinary change.

How often does your organization challenge the assumptions behind its strategy, and would those assumptions still hold true if you were making them today?