VAST Data today announced it has extended its collaboration with Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), the leader in enterprise networking and security, to further simplify AI deployments for enterprises. Through this growing partnership, Cisco plans to offer the VAST Data Platform natively on select Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) servers as an integrated solution via Cisco’s global sales team and network of channel partners around the world.

This builds upon VAST and Cisco’s partnership established in June at Cisco Live 2024, where Cisco announced the VAST Data Platform would be the first data platform optimised and supported with Cisco Nexus HyperFabric AI – which brings together compute, networking, and storage in a single system to power enterprises applications. Pairing VAST’s AI-ready data platform with Cisco’s decades of enterprise networking experience, this full-stack enterprise AI solution simplifies the design, deployment, and management of AI infrastructure for Generative AI, RAG-based inferencing, and fine-tuning AI workloads.

“As AI adoption grows, it’s clear that data centres will be a pivotal proving ground where business is won and lost. The challenge is that the complexity with managing, configuring, updating, and patching a modern data centre is only getting harder with AI,” said Jeremy Foster, SVP and GM of Cisco Compute. “Cisco is proud to work with innovative companies like VAST to massively simplify the overall operation of AI-ready data centres, enabling customers to reduce time, resources and costs required by delivering an integrated stack of the next-generation of storage, compute and networking.”

VAST offers Cisco customers unified storage, database and data-driven function engine services that were built from the ground up for AI. Cisco Nexus HyperFabric AI integrates seamlessly with VAST’s industry-disrupting Disaggregated Shared Everything (DASE) architecture, the first truly parallel software architecture designed to feed the world’s largest GPU clusters.

“Enterprises are seeking ways to modernise their data infrastructure to accommodate rigorous AI workloads, while consolidating and simplifying their technology stack to limit complexity,” said John Mao, Vice President, Technology Alliances at VAST Data. “This tight integration and joint selling motion between VAST and Cisco will help to accelerate enterprise AI adoption by providing end-to-end visibility of compute, networking, storage and data management – allowing organisations to seamlessly build and scale their AI operations. We’re excited to have the support of Cisco’s entire sales organisation and global partner network to help bring the VAST Data Platform into the hands of more customers on their AI journey.”

Available in the first half of 2025, Cisco customers and partners will be able leverage the power of VAST natively on select Cisco UCS servers with Cisco Nexus HyperFabric AI.