Organizations seeking to adopt AI technology are looking for secure ways to do so, and Cisco and ServiceNow are deepening their partnership to meet this need. The collaboration, announced at the RSAC 2025 Conference, aims to integrate their platforms more closely, particularly through the combination of Cisco AI Defense and ServiceNow SecOps.
Background of the Partnership
Cisco and ServiceNow are established players in the IT industry, providing essential infrastructure, cybersecurity, and IT service management (ITSM) solutions. Their partnership is not new but has previously been limited to loose integrations where one company’s tools could use the other’s environment as a data source. Examples include enhancing ServiceNow’s Configuration Management Database (CMDB) with data from Cisco environments and feeding ServiceNow data into Cisco’s security modules.
Expanded Integration
The latest announcement represents a more fundamental integration. According to Jeetu Patel, CPO of Cisco, and Amit Zavery, president and CPO of ServiceNow, the companies are working to bring their platforms closer together. This involves the product teams considering each other’s developments when creating new components. The first major integration is between Cisco AI Defense and ServiceNow SecOps.
Cisco AI Defense and ServiceNow SecOps Integration
Cisco AI Defense is designed to enable the secure deployment of AI within organizations. ServiceNow SecOps links existing security tools to the operational side of organizations. The integration of these two solutions will allow joint customers to secure and responsibly deploy AI applications. ServiceNow positions itself as an “AI control tower” in this partnership.
The integration offers several key features:
- Greater visibility into AI workloads: Cisco AI Defense detects AI workloads and forwards findings to the ServiceNow platform.
- Vulnerability management: Identified vulnerabilities are sent to ServiceNow Vulnerability Response for monitoring and remediation.
- Incident Response: Cisco AI Defense provides telemetry to ServiceNow Security Incident Response, enabling action to be taken.
- Enhanced security posture: ServiceNow Security Posture Control monitors Cisco AI Runtime Protection, responding to any gaps found.
- Compliance mapping: The integration allows mapping Cisco AI Defense capabilities to ServiceNow Integrated Risk Management standards, helping organizations demonstrate compliance in AI.
Availability and Future Developments
The integration of Cisco AI Defense and ServiceNow SecOps will be available in the second half of 2025, with field trials starting soon. Cisco and ServiceNow have promised additional integrations between their portfolios later this year, positioning this partnership as strategically important for both companies.
This deeper collaboration between Cisco and ServiceNow is set to enhance the security and responsible deployment of AI technologies within organizations, addressing a critical need in the industry.
