Cisco tells Europe it wants full-stack AI with local control
Cisco tells analysts that its sovereign systems can operate air-gapped, and Cisco cannot access customer data from a distance.
At a session for analysts in the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), Cisco tells that customers want full-stack AI infrastructure. Gordon Thomson is the Cisco president for the region. Thomson tells that all public sector customers speak about sovereignty, which is local control of data and systems. Cisco works with Supermicro on ready-built AI racks and tests sovereign set-ups for used equipment.
What is new
- Cisco and Supermicro will sell pre-integrated AI racks with NVIDIA parts.
- Sovereign infrastructure was only for new Cisco equipment. Cisco explores pilots for used equipment.
- Air-gapped systems have no connection to external networks.
The numbers
Adele Trombetta leads Cisco services in the region. Trombetta tells that more than 15,000 customers use Cisco IQ, an AI support tool. One third of them are in EMEA. It is free with a support contract.
Only the cloud version is in use. A UK health user tells that it gave help quickly at night. Cisco gave no test results.
What is not known
The air-gapped version of Cisco IQ is not available. Trombetta tells that such a system has no AI innovation, and Cisco adds small language models. The writer of the source tells that buyers must pay more for sovereignty.
Insight: Cisco uses free support tools to pull customers into its stack
In October 2026, Cisco opened Cisco IQ to all partners and opened Model Foundry to partners that tune its models. Cisco tells that IQ is free in the support contract and that very important sites must have Signature support. This reads as a move to make Cisco support the layer that partners and sovereign buyers use. Paid tiers and premium sovereignty then follow. Leaders must check where the free tool leads.
Sources
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