The relentless pace of digital transformation is compelling IT departments to deliver services faster and more reliably than ever before, yet they often find themselves constrained by complex, manually intensive infrastructure management processes. Inconsistent configurations, security vulnerabilities stemming from delayed patching, and slow provisioning cycles are common obstacles that hinder agility and introduce significant operational risk. Addressing these challenges requires a fundamental shift from traditional, hands-on administration to a more automated, code-driven approach. Recognizing this critical need, technology leaders Cisco and Red Hat have deepened their collaboration, introducing a suite of integrated tools designed to streamline and automate the full lifecycle of IT infrastructure. This partnership merges Cisco’s robust hardware and management platforms, such as its Unified Computing System (UCS) and Intersight, with the powerful capabilities of the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. The goal is to provide a unified, programmatic foundation for managing complex environments, enabling organizations to achieve greater operational efficiency, enhance their security posture, and accelerate service delivery in an increasingly demanding digital landscape.
Unifying Infrastructure and Automation
The Power of Validated Designs
A significant pillar of the enhanced collaboration is the release of a new Cisco Validated Design (CVD) specifically engineered to simplify and accelerate day-2 operations, which encompass the crucial ongoing tasks of management, maintenance, and optimization that follow initial deployment. This CVD offers a pre-tested, repeatable architectural blueprint that integrates Cisco UCS and Intersight with the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, providing IT teams with a reliable and standardized framework for automating complex workflows. By following this validated approach, organizations can drastically reduce the time and effort required to implement automation, bypassing the trial-and-error phase that often accompanies such initiatives. The design focuses on creating a seamless operational experience, enabling teams to consistently enforce configurations, automate compliance checks, and streamline patching and remediation processes across their entire infrastructure. This standardized architecture not only improves operational consistency and reduces the risk of human error but also empowers teams to manage their environments at scale, freeing them from repetitive manual tasks to focus on more strategic, value-added activities that drive business innovation.
Expanding the Automation Toolkit
Central to this initiative is the massive expansion of the Cisco Intersight Ansible Collection, which has grown tenfold from a modest 10 modules to over 100 certified modules, providing an extensive and robust toolkit for infrastructure as code (IaC) practices. This dramatic increase in available modules equips IT teams with the granular control needed to automate a wide array of sophisticated tasks, from initial hardware provisioning to continuous configuration management and security enforcement. With this expanded collection, organizations can programmatically manage their Cisco UCS hardware, dynamically scaling resources up or down in response to changing demands without manual intervention. This level of automation is critical for achieving consistent security and compliance, as it allows for the automated application of security policies, rapid patching of vulnerabilities, and continuous monitoring to prevent configuration drift. By leveraging the comprehensive capabilities of the new Ansible Collection, businesses can build resilient, agile, and secure infrastructure that accelerates deployment cycles and minimizes the operational burden on their IT staff.
Driving Operational Excellence
Addressing Core IT Challenges
The integrated solution directly confronts some of the most persistent challenges plaguing modern IT departments, including configuration inconsistencies, security gaps, and sluggish provisioning timelines. By harnessing the combined power of Cisco’s infrastructure management and Red Hat’s automation, organizations can establish a single source of truth for their infrastructure configurations, effectively eliminating the configuration drift that often leads to instability and security vulnerabilities. The expanded Ansible collection enables the creation of automated playbooks that enforce desired states, ensuring that all systems remain compliant with internal policies and external regulations. This capability is particularly vital for enhancing security posture; automated workflows can be implemented to rapidly deploy patches and remediate vulnerabilities across the entire environment, significantly reducing the window of exposure to potential threats. Furthermore, the automation of hardware provisioning through Cisco UCS allows IT teams to respond to business needs with unprecedented speed, transforming a process that once took days or weeks into a matter of minutes.
A Roadmap for Future Innovation
The partnership between Cisco and Red Hat has laid a strong foundation for future advancements in IT automation, with a clear roadmap for delivering additional capabilities. Plans are already underway to develop and release new Ansible-certified content and more Cisco Validated Designs tailored to modern, high-demand use cases. These future offerings will target critical areas such as container orchestration with Red Hat OpenShift, high-performance computing for artificial intelligence with Cisco AI PODs, and streamlined management of converged infrastructure solutions. This forward-looking strategy demonstrated a commitment to supporting organizations as they adopt next-generation technologies and navigate the complexities of hybrid cloud environments. By continuing to expand their integrated toolkit, Cisco and Red Hat have positioned themselves to help customers not only solve today’s operational challenges but also build a more agile, resilient, and automated foundation for the innovations of tomorrow.
