Pure Storage and Cisco have announced a new FlashStack Cisco Validated Design (CVD), adding to the collection of AI PODs, a key module within the Cisco Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA.
The collaboration brings together compute, storage, networking and software in one unified, production-grade platform to help enterprises move from generative AI pilot projects to large-scale deployment with confidence.
“Too often, enterprises focus on GPUs and compute power, but without reliable data, the model never reaches its potential” said Maciej Kranz, GM, Enterprise, Pure Storage: “Our collaboration with Cisco and NVIDIA removes those data barriers, giving customers the performance, simplicity and efficiency they need to operationalise AI.”
Enterprise AI is no longer an experiment. Organisations have spent months running pilot projects and proof-of-concepts, testing large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)-powered assistants and domain-specific AI applications. But the problem many of them face is that the model is ready before the data is.
“With this new FlashStack CVD, we’re not just validating hardware, we’re orchestrating all the elements of RAG into an AI-ready infrastructure, removing complexity and reducing risk so customers can focus on turning data into insights that drive strategic outcomes” said Jeremy Foster, SVP and GM, Cisco Compute.
AI success is not just about training models. It is about having data pipelines that can be trusted. Without them, even the most powerful models stall. For many enterprises, fragmented data architectures, limited visibility and operational friction make moving from pilot to production an uphill battle.
Data: the missing link in enterprise AI
As enterprises move beyond proof-of-concepts and pilot projects, they are discovering that AI success depends not only on model design but on data readiness. Fragmented architectures, limited visibility and operational complexity can stall even the most advanced AI initiatives before they reach production.
The Cisco and Pure Storage validated solution addresses these challenges by ensuring that both structured and unstructured data are readily available to AI workflows. Built on Pure Storage’s Enterprise Data Cloud architecture, the solution provides high-performance data access, concurrency and energy efficiency through FlashBlade//S™, while Portworx by Pure Storage enables persistent, portable and protected data across Kubernetes-based AI environments.
The result is that AI teams can focus on innovation instead of infrastructure management.
A blueprint for enterprise-scale AI
At the core of this collaboration is a shared goal: simplify the path from experimentation to scalable, reliable AI deployment. The AI factory integrates:
- Pure Storage FlashBlade//S™ – enterprise-level data management at scale
- Cisco UCS C845a servers – GPU-accelerated compute powered by NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 GPUs
- NVIDIA AI Enterprise software – a production-ready software stack for building and deploying AI at scale
Together, these technologies create the blueprint for the enterprise AI factory, an end-to-end platform that turns data into insights across use cases like RAG, agentic AI, semantic search, video analytics and code generation.
Turning raw data into real outcomes
The Cisco and Pure Storage validated solution converts the raw inputs of electricity and data into tokens – the building blocks of generative AI – that fuel business transformation.
Built on a foundation of over 5,000 existing FlashStack customers, the new FlashStack CVD combines GPU-accelerated compute from Cisco, Nexus switching, NVIDIA AI Enterprise software and Pure Storage’s high-performance unified data platform. Enterprises gain a production-ready path from pilot to full-scale deployment without the complexity of stitching together separate systems.
The result is performance, reliability and governance built for the data-intensive, regulated industries leading the next wave of AI adoption.
Scaling without the complexity
AI workloads demand seamless integration across compute, storage and networking. The FlashStack CVD delivers exactly that – integrating Cisco’s Nexus 9000 series networking to deliver a low-latency, congestion-aware fabric required for high-performance AI. Telemetry, adaptive routing and per-packet load balancing ensure efficient data flow between GPUs, storage and compute.
Through Cisco NX-OS and Nexus Dashboard, IT teams gain unified visibility and control, maintaining enterprise-grade security while supporting the unique demands of AI-native workloads.
The new Cisco and Pure Storage FlashStack CVD will be generally available in Q1 2026 through leading channel partners including AHEAD, ePlus, SHI International and World Wide Technology. Customers can engage immediately through early access and solution briefings via Pure Storage, Cisco or NVIDIA field teams.
