On the sidelines of GITEX Global 2025, Abdelilah Nejjari, Managing Director – Gulf and Levant at Cisco, shares how the company is redefining networking for the AI-driven era. As enterprises accelerate digital transformation, Nejjari notes that nearly all IT executives in the region are prioritising network modernisation — driven by the growing demand for speed, security, and resilience.
Citing Cisco’s regional insights, Nejjari revealed that over 98 percent of IT executives in the region view networking as critical to business success, while 97 percent plan to use network context to drive better decisions. “Infrastructure plays an integral role in every AI strategy — it’s the foundation for optimisation, productivity, and transformation,” he said. “The goal now is to make AI work for you — to ensure it delivers measurable outcomes, built on a secure and intelligent network foundation.”
At this year’s GITEX, Cisco’s showcase centres on three pillars — AI ready data centres, future-proofed workplaces and digital resilience — illustrating how networks are evolving into intelligent platforms that deliver visibility, agility, and trust. Nejjari also pointed to emerging challenges such as hallucinations, prompt injections, and malicious code, and outlined Cisco’s dual approach of “AI for security” and “security for AI.”
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