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BLOG | Feb 18, 2026

Navigating the Agentic AI Era: Forward’s Perspective from Cisco Live EMEA

Cisco Live EMEA 2026 Amsterdam has officially wrapped up, and the path forward is clear: we have entered the Agentic AI Era.
Manish Kalra
Manish Kalra 
Senior Director
Product Marketing
 
Who should read this post?
  • CIOs, CTOs, CISOs
  • Network leaders concerned with advancing Agentic AI operations and workflows
What is covered in this content?
  • How businesses can succeed in the Agentic AI Era by implementing a unified platform where networking, security, and operations work as one system

Cisco Live EMEA 2026 Amsterdam has officially wrapped up, and the path forward is clear: we have entered the Agentic AI Era. The event was centered around an industry shift towards a unified platform where AI agents don't just respond; they act.

At Forward Networks, we aren’t just watching this shift happen; we are providing the foundation required to make it a reality. By delivering an independent, mathematically accurate verification layer, we ensure that agentic operations are trustworthy and behave exactly as intended across the live network.

One Platform for Agentic AI

In a recent Cisco blog, Jeetu Patel (Cisco EVP and Chief Product Officer) outlined the innovations Cisco is making for the Agentic AI era. He explained that infrastructure is no longer just a cost; it is a strategic asset. Cisco’s message is clear: to succeed in this new era, organizations need a unified platform where networking, security, and operations function as a single system.

At Cisco Live, Cisco outlined innovations focused on:

  • Critical infrastructure for AI: High-performance networking that eliminates bottlenecks.
  • Breaking down complexity for IT: Moving beyond manual ticketing toward autonomous troubleshooting and closed-loop execution with humans firmly in control.
  • Security reimagined for agents: Real-time guardrails to ensure agents behave as intended.

How Forward Networks Advances Agentic AI

The direction is clear: to succeed in the Agentic AI Era, organizations need a unified platform where networking, security, and operations work as one system. This is where mathematical accuracy and behavioral verification become essential, and where Forward Enterprise and Forward AI deliver.

  1. Delivering Mathematical Accuracy for AgenticOps

AgenticOps is only as good as the data it accesses. Forward Networks creates a digital twin of the entire network based on mathematical accuracy. Forward AI then provides agents with the data from the digital twin, computes potential outcomes, and returns results that can be inspected, verified, and trusted.

  1. Security Guardrails and Verification

As Jeetu Patel articulated, trust is the primary barrier to unlocking agentic AI. By serving as a data verification layer, Forward AI reduces human and machine error by providing evidence for every action.

  1. Reducing Complexity through Conversational Intelligence

The Cisco platform aims to break down silos. Similarly, Forward AI uses a natural language interface that allows anyone to ask complex questions about their multi-vendor environments. Whether troubleshooting a connectivity issue or auditing security posture, Forward AI enables access to deep network knowledge about reachability, routing behavior, and configuration drift without requiring deep domain expertise or constant escalation.

From Plan to Execution

The move to Agentic AI is officially a deployment strategy, and Forward Networks is already serving as the digital twin foundation for agentic operations within some of the world’s largest global enterprises. By leveraging the mathematical foundation of our digital twin, Forward AI enables teams to bridge the gap between a plan and its execution, simplifying the complexity of modern scale and providing a secure, practical path for the next generation of network operations.

Join Our Post-Event Webinar

If you missed us in Amsterdam or want to dive deeper into how Forward AI transforms network operations, we invite you to join our upcoming deep-dive session.

We will demonstrate how Forward AI provides the mathematical accuracy your network needs to thrive in the Agentic AI era.

Webinar: Navigating the Future of Network Operations with Forward AI

North America

February 18th, 2026, | 10:00 AM PST

Register Here

EMEA

February 24th, 2026, | 10:00 AM GMT

Register Here

Industry Recognition

Winner of over 20 industry awards, Forward Enterprise is the best-in-class network modeling software that customers trust

Customers are unanimous:
Forward Enterprise is a game-changer

From Fortune 50 institutions to top level federal agencies, users agree that Forward Enterprise is unlike any other network modeling software

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