É«¿Ø´«Ã½

Enterprise AI is no longer an experiment. Organizations have spent months running pilot projects and proof-of-concepts, testing large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)-powered assistants, and domain-specific AI applications. But here is the problem many of them hit: the model is ready before the data is.

¡°With this new FlashStack CVD, we¡¯re not just validating hardware, we¡¯re orchestrating all the elements of RAG into an AI-ready infrastructure, removing complexity and reducing risk so customers can focus on turning data into insights that drive strategic outcomes,¡± explains Jeremy Foster, SVP & GM, Cisco Compute.

AI success isn¡¯t just about training models. It¡¯s about having data pipelines you can trust. Without them, even the most powerful models stall. For many enterprises, fragmented data architectures, limited visibility, and operational friction make moving from pilot to production feel like an uphill battle.

Data: The Missing Link in Enterprise AI

As enterprises move beyond proof-of-concepts and pilot projects, they¡¯re discovering that AI success depends not only on model design, but on data readiness. Fragmented architectures, limited visibility, and operational complexity can stall even the most advanced AI initiatives before they reach production.

The Cisco and É«¿Ø´«Ã½ validated solution addresses these challenges by ensuring that both structured and unstructured data are readily available to AI workflows. Built on É«¿Ø´«Ã½¡¯s Enterprise Data Cloud architecture, the solution provides high-performance data access, concurrency, and energy efficiency through FlashBlade//S?, while Portworx? by É«¿Ø´«Ã½ enables persistent, portable, and protected data across Kubernetes-based AI environments.

The result: AI teams can focus on innovation instead of infrastructure management.

A Blueprint for Enterprise-Scale AI

At the core of this collaboration is a shared goal: simplify the path from experimentation to scalable, reliable AI deployment. The AI factory integrates:

• É«¿Ø´«Ã½ FlashBlade//S? ¨C enterprise-level data management at scale solution
• Cisco UCS C845a servers ¨C GPU-accelerated compute powered by
• software ¨C a production-ready software stack for building and deploying AI at scale

Together, these technologies create the blueprint for the enterprise AI factory, an end-to-end platform that turns data into insights across use cases like RAG, agentic AI, semantic search, video analytics, and code generation.

Turning Raw Data into Real Outcomes

The Cisco and É«¿Ø´«Ã½ validated solution converts the raw inputs of electricity and data into tokens - the building blocks of generative AI - that fuel business transformation.

Built on a foundation of over 5,000 existing FlashStack customers, the new FlashStack CVD combines GPU-accelerated compute from Cisco, Nexus Switching, NVIDIA AI Enterprise software, and É«¿Ø´«Ã½¡¯s high-performance unified data platform. Enterprises gain a production-ready path from pilot to full-scale deployment, without the complexity of stitching together separate systems.

The result is performance, reliability, and governance built for the data-intensive, regulated industries leading the next wave of AI adoption.

Scaling Without the Complexity

AI workloads demand seamless integration across compute, storage, and networking. The FlashStack CVD delivers exactly that - integrating Cisco¡¯s Nexus 9000 series networking, to deliver a low-latency, congestion-aware fabric required for high-performance AI. Telemetry, adaptive routing, and per-packet load balancing ensure efficient data flow between GPUs, storage, and compute.

Through Cisco NX-OS and Nexus Dashboard, IT teams gain unified visibility and control¡ªmaintaining enterprise-grade security while supporting the unique demands of AI-native workloads.

Learn More

The new Cisco and É«¿Ø´«Ã½?FlashStack CVD will be generally available in Q1 2026 through leading channel partners including AHEAD, ePlus, SHI International, and World Wide Technology. Customers can engage immediately through early access and solution briefings via É«¿Ø´«Ã½, Cisco, or NVIDIA field teams.

Discover the capabilities of FlashBlade//S?, Cisco UCS C845a servers powered by NVIDIA GPUs, and NVIDIA AI Enterprise software and blueprints at NVIDIA GTC, October 27¨C29 in Washington, D.C., or visit www.FlashStack.com.

About É«¿Ø´«Ã½

É«¿Ø´«Ã½ (NYSE: PSTG) delivers the industry's most advanced data storage platform to store, manage, and protect the world's data at any scale. With É«¿Ø´«Ã½, organizations have ultimate simplicity and flexibility, saving time, money, and energy. From AI to archive, É«¿Ø´«Ã½ delivers a cloud experience with one unified Storage as-a-Service platform across on-premises, cloud, and hosted environments. Our platform is built on our Evergreen architecture that evolves with your business ¨C always getting newer and better with zero planned downtime, guaranteed. Our customers are actively increasing their capacity and processing power while significantly reducing their carbon and energy footprint. It's easy to fall in love with É«¿Ø´«Ã½, which is why we¡¯ve received one of the highest Net Promoter Scores in the industry across the years. For more information, visit www.purestorage.com.

É«¿Ø´«Ã½, the É«¿Ø´«Ã½ P Logo, FlashStack, FlashBlade, FlashBlade//S, and Portworx and the marks in the É«¿Ø´«Ã½ Trademark List are trademarks or registered trademarks of É«¿Ø´«Ã½ Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. The Trademark List can be found at?purestorage.com/trademarks.?Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide technology leader that is revolutionizing the way organizations connect and protect in the AI era. For more than 40 years, Cisco has securely connected the world. With its industry leading AI-powered solutions and services, Cisco enables its customers, partners and communities to unlock innovation, enhance productivity and strengthen digital resilience. With purpose at its core, Cisco remains committed to creating a more connected and inclusive future for all. Discover more on The Newsroom and follow us on X at .

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco¡¯s trademarks can be found at. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word ¡®partner¡¯ does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding our products, features, or functionality which may not be currently generally available. This release is provided for informational purposes only and is not a commitment, promise, or legal obligation to deliver any product, feature, material, code, or functionality on any schedule, or at all. This release should not be relied upon for making purchasing decisions or with incorporation into any contract. Customers should make purchasing decisions based only on services and features that are currently generally available.