INTELLIGENT DATACENTRES
Cisco unveils server for
Artificial Intelligence and
Machine Learning
rtificial intelligence (AI) and
Machine Learning (ML) are opening
up new ways for enterprises to
solve complex problems. But they will also
have a profound effect on the underlying
infrastructure and processes of IT. According
to Gartner, “Only 4% of CIOs worldwide report
that they have AI projects in production.”
That number will grow dramatically
over the next few years. And when it does,
IT will struggle to manage new workloads,
new traffic patterns, and new relationships
within their business.
To help meet these emerging challenges,
Cisco is unveiling its first server built from
the ground up for AI and ML workloads.
The new Cisco UCS server speeds up
deep learning, a compute-intensive form of
ML that uses neural networks and large data
sets to train computers for complex tasks.
Packed with powerful NVIDIA GPUs, it is
designed to accelerate many of today’s best-
known ML software stacks. Data scientists
and developers can experiment with ML on
a laptop.
But deep learning at scale demands much
more compute capability. It requires an IT
architecture that is capable of taking in vast
sets of data. And tools that can make sense
of this data and use it to learn.
That is why Cisco is working with its
technology partners to validate many of
today’s most popular ML tools: to help
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Roland Acra, SVP and
GM for Cisco’s Data
Center Business Group
simplify deployments and accelerate time
to insight.
“Over the next few years, apps powered
by AI and ML will become mainstream in
the enterprise. While this will solve many
complex business issues, it will also create
new challenges for IT,” said Roland Acra, SVP
and GM for Cisco’s Data Center Business
Group. “Today’s powerful addition to the
Cisco UCS lineup will power AI initiatives
across a wide range of industries.
“Our early-access customers in the
financial sector are exploring ways to
improve fraud detection and enhance
algorithmic trading. Meanwhile in
healthcare, they’re interested in better
insights and diagnostics, improving medical
image classification, and speeding drug
discovery and research.”
With the addition of the Cisco UCS C480
ML, Cisco now offers a complete range
of computing options designed for each
stage of the AI and ML lifecycle. From data
collection and analysis near the edge, to data
preparation and training in the data centre,
to the real-time inference at the heart of AI,
customers are covered.
“We believe the power of ML should
be available for all organisations, whether
in the cloud or on-premises, and we’re
excited to continue our collaborative efforts
with Cisco,” said David Aronchick, Product
Manager at Google Cloud.
“We’re pleased to see Cisco creating
hybrid cloud solutions for ML and also
contributing code to the Google-led open
source project, Kubeflow. Organisations
running Kubeflow on the new UCS C480
deep learning server will benefit from
consistent ML tools that work great both
on-premises and on Google Cloud.”
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