One platform for security, networking, identity, and assurance — built for the AI era.
I’m proud to share that IDC MarketScape has named Cisco a Leader in the 2026 IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Vendor Assessment. In an evaluation of 12 SASE vendors, the IDC MarketScape recognized our architectural breadth and flexibility, AI capabilities, identity integration, threat visibility, and R&D. We’re grateful for the recognition—and even more grateful to the customers and partners who make it possible.
In its assessment of Cisco, the IDC MarketScape put it plainly:
“Cisco integrates switches, routers, firewall, browsers, and endpoint components into a unified architecture, supporting distributed enforcement across cloud, branch, and on-premises environments.”
— IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SASE 2026 Vendor Assessment
That single idea – one architecture instead of patchwork products is what customers tell me they need most right now. And it matters more than ever, because AI has changed what SASE must deliver.
Why We Believe This Recognition Matters Now
When I talk with security and networking leaders, the conversation is shifting. A year ago, leaders debated the need to converge networking and security. Now the question is how fast, because Agentic AI has raised the stakes. Data residency and quantum-safe readiness are arriving at the same time, and the architecture must be ready for all of them. Of these three, the most pressing is AI.
Agents are becoming a new workforce. They act, decide, and access systems like employees—but at machine speed and scale. They move among models, tools, and data across branches, clouds, and services, often without the identity and accountability we expect for people. Traditional API keys and service accounts cannot reliably tell us which agent is acting, for whom, or with what authority. Meanwhile, agentic workflows can generate up to 450% more traffic per task than a human, and only 24% of organizations say they can control what their agents actually do with proper guardrails and live monitoring. Speed without trust is just risk moving faster.
That’s the job SASE must do now: give every agent a trusted identity, keep work moving, enforce least privilege on every action, and protect the infrastructure it depends on.
Built to Make Agent Work, Work
We believe the IDC MarketScape recognition validates the foundation we have built, and customers increasingly need that foundation for what is next. Our focus is making agentic work performant, governed, resilient, and accountable—with identity at the center—so it is production-ready.
Performant, because Cisco ThousandEyes and AI Canvas go beyond standard experience monitoring to show teams exactly where work is slowing or stalling. Forrester’s Total Economic Impact study for ThousandEyes reported 60% faster mean time to identify and 88% fewer FTE-hours per incident by year three.
Governed, because safe agents starts with identity. Every agent needs a verifiable identity tied to a human owner, host, and security posture. Our SASE-native Agent Gateway can then broker short-lived credentials and authorize every action—not just every destination—with just-in-time, just-enough access that keeps standing secrets out of agents. Behavioral and audit signals feed back into policy, keeping trust continuous.
Resilient, because the edge and WAN foundation is hardened with full-stack quantum-safe protection, while Cisco Live Protect reduces exposure before the next patch window.
The Work Continues — and That’s the Point
The IDC MarketScape also pointed out that “Cisco is moving toward deeper convergence across its platform via microservices and micro-applications.” Cisco Cloud Control is converging SD-WAN, SSE, and firewall management into one operating experience, with role-based control for networking and security teams.
Complexity is the enemy of good security, and we intend to keep taking it out.
To our customers and partners – thank you. You push us to be better every day, and this recognition is as much yours as it is ours.
For more on Cisco’s placement as a Leader, read the IDC MarketScape excerpt and explore how Cisco SASE keeps work moving, governed, and trusted in the AI era at cisco.com/go/sase.
Learn more
- Report: IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Secure Access Service Edge 2026 Vendor Assessment, (doc #US52978425 July 2026)
- Cisco SASE
- Blog: SASE for the AI Era
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