Every era of work has been defined not just by new tools, but by the new ways we connect and create together. Connection is the engine of progress, innovation, and resilience, whether between people, ideas, or now, intelligent systems.
Today, as artificial intelligence reshapes our world, the fabric of how we work—and who we work and connect with—is changing in ways we have only ever imagined. Tomorrow’s workplaces will look dramatically different—not just because of new technologies, but because the fundamental nature of work itself is evolving.
The Workplaces of Tomorrow
Today’s work is defined less by location, and more by how intelligence—human and artificial—comes together and scales. Collaboration now stretches beyond physical rooms and digital screens, reaching across geographies, platforms, and even forms of intelligence, both human and artificial.
This shift unlocks enormous potential: decisions can be made faster, creativity flourishes, and organizations can scale in ways that simply weren’t possible before. But realizing this promise requires something more profound than just more technology. It calls for entirely new models of collaboration—ones that connect people to people, people to AI, and even AI to AI. We call this Connected Intelligence.
Why Now: The Reality Facing Employee and Customer Experiences
The path to this future is not without its challenges. Today’s leaders are grappling with rapid AI-driven change. They’re asked to reimagine everything—from the IT that delivers workplace infrastructure and security to how teams are built and how culture is sustained. The influx of agents, robots, and smart devices is creating a workforce that’s as much digital as it is physical, and leadership must now extend to orchestrating collaboration among mixed teams of humans and AI.
Employees feel this transformation daily. The sheer volume of tools, notifications, and fragmented workflows can be overwhelming. Many worry about staying relevant as automation advances, while others seek greater meaning, belonging, and connection in a hybrid, distributed world.
And customers? Their expectations have evolved just as rapidly. They want instant, personalized experiences—seamlessly delivered across every channel and device. Meeting these demands using siloed systems and isolated intelligence is increasingly untenable.
Despite their different roles and challenges, leaders, IT teams, employees, and customers all share a fundamental need: simplicity that builds trust in everyday tools, experiences, and decisions about technology investments.
But trust can only be built when experiences are intuitive, systems are interoperable, and intelligence is truly connected. In other words: they need Connected Intelligence.
Connected Intelligence: A New Model for a New Era of Innovation
Connected intelligence is not just a technological evolution. It’s a new blueprint for customer and employee experience in the AI age. Instead of relying on isolated efforts and siloed knowledge, we create a living, learning network where every connection multiplies value.
Imagine if employee and customer experience wasn’t limited by time zones, by tools, or even by the boundaries of human cognition. What if teams could harness expertise from anywhere, combine it with real-time AI-powered insights, and orchestrate human and digital agents working in perfect harmony?
At Cisco, we’re not just connecting people—we’re connecting intelligence across every dimension of work, whether it’s between people, between people and AI agents, or between AI agents. Our decades of leadership in networking, security, and collaboration enable us to build the secure, integrated foundation for this new era of work. And that changes everything.
At the heart of Connected Intelligence are three foundational elements—each one critical to amplifying our collective capability and building the workplace of tomorrow.
Collaboration Without Limits: Reaching Distance Zero
In the past, physical distance and the ticking clock placed hard limits on what teams could accomplish. Connected Intelligence changes the equation entirely. We’re entering the next evolution of Distance Zero—where location and time no longer stand between an idea and its realization. Whether you’re collaborating with colleagues on the other side of the world or bringing together expertise in the moment it’s needed most, intelligence is now always at your fingertips.
This means seamless, immersive meeting experiences that feel as natural as being in the same room, regardless of physical location, powered by intelligent devices that adapt to every interaction.
Agentic Teammates: A New Kind of Collaboration
Our notion of “team” is evolving. Collaborations is no longer a strictly human affair. Today’s workplaces feature autonomous digital agents—AI-powered teammates—who operate alongside people and with each other, often in real-time, often in “multi-player mode.” These agents aren’t just automating repetitive work—they’re contributing insights, orchestrating complex workflows, and freeing up humans to focus on our highest-value, most creative work. The result? A dynamic, adaptive workforce that’s always learning, always improving, always multiplying its impact.
Open Ecosystems: Innovation Through Interoperability
The final building block is openness. True Connected Intelligence thrives in ecosystems where platforms, devices, and partners are interoperable by design. It’s about unlocking possibility—not locking users in. When you can seamlessly bridge across applications, connect with partners, and leverage best-in-class solutions from around the industry, innovation accelerates. This is achieved through open APIs and robust integrations that allow your existing tools and new innovations to work together effortlessly, creating a unified experience across your entire digital landscape.
This spirit of openness is the foundation for resilient, future-ready organizations, where flexibility and choice power every experience.
Multiplying What Matters Most
These three pillars—Distance Zero, agentic teammates, and open ecosystems—aren’t just technical shifts. They redefine how we create, how we solve, and how we grow together. The workplace of tomorrow is not a place; it’s a living, learning network where every connection multiplies the value we can deliver.
We are entering—and creating—a world where intelligence flows freely, where work is powered by partnership across human and digital boundaries, and where openness unlocks new frontiers of innovation.
At Cisco, our vision for Connected Intelligence is simple: multiply what matters most—creativity, inclusion, trust, and impact. That’s not just the future of work. It’s the future we’re building, right now.
Wow! Connected Intelligence and Agentic Al will the future norm. Hoping Cisco will prepare us for the new technologies.