# Cisco: how AI models rank it, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Named in 51 judge labels across 10 categories by 12 of 12 models. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/cisco/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD-WAN | 2% | 6 | 6% | 18 |
| SASE platforms | 0% | 17 | 31% | 13 |
| Next-generation firewalls | 0% | 20 | 18% | 11 |
| Zero trust network access | 0% | 70 | 100% | 3 |
| Endpoint detection and response | 0% | 37 | 0% | 1 |
| Endpoint protection | 0% | 55 | 0% | 1 |
| Security awareness training | 0% | 60 | 100% | 1 |
| SIEM platforms | 0% | 21 | 0% | 1 |
| Threat intelligence platforms | 0% | 73 | 0% | 1 |
| Web application firewalls | 0% | 77 | 100% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "Cisco – Market Leader ... Cisco dominates with ~55,000 customers globally" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, SD-WAN)
- "Shortlist 3–5 vendors: Cisco Meraki (easy for mid-market)" (Grok 4.1 Fast, SD-WAN)
- "Seamless integration (SecureX); strong routing/HA; good for branches ... Lower raw performance vs. leaders; ecosystem lock-in" (Grok 4.1 Fast, Firewalls)
- "Choose Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN if you need granular control, complex routing, and have dedicated WAN engineers" (MiniMax M2.5, SD-WAN)

## And against it

- "you might want to avoid the enterprise-heavy giants like Cisco and Palo Alto" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, SASE)
- "Vendors to scrutinize: Cisco ... users and admins still frequently complain about navigating fragmented dashboards and dealing with complex integrations." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, SASE)
- "Forrester excluded Cisco entirely from its 2025 SASE Wave because management interfaces weren't sufficiently unified." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, SASE)
- "Be Cautious: The "Black Box" Proprietary Appliances ... (e.g., early versions of Cisco, Barracuda, or Netscreen)" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, WAF)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.