Build-in-Public · Cisco Live 2026
5 predictions I’ll grade myself on
Most AE candidates pitch themselves as confident industry readers but never publish anything that can be checked. These five predictions are grounded in first-hand conversations — primarily from the Feitian booth at RSAC 2026 in March — and I will grade each one publicly within 48 hours of Cisco Live ending.
Calibrated confidence means not everything is 90%. Predictions are locked. Grading coming within 48 hours of the event closing.
- #1Agentic AI80% confidenceLocked — grading pending
At Cisco Live 2026, Splunk will demo at least one agent that triages SOC alerts and takes autonomous remediation action at GA, not just preview.
RSAC 2026 · Field grounding
“At the Feitian booth at RSAC 2026, three SOC architects told me their teams had already prototyped autonomous triage for low-confidence alerts. The capability exists. Cisco Live will be where Splunk commits to it publicly.”
Grading commentary will appear here within 48 hours of Cisco Live closing.
- #2Identity75% confidenceLocked — grading pending
Duo agent identity will get a Fortune 50 customer reference at Cisco Live 2026 (specifically named on stage).
RSAC 2026 · Field grounding
“A Fortune 100 identity architect at our RSAC booth said his team was already piloting Duo agent identity. Cisco needs a named customer story at Cisco Live to justify the RSAC announcement.”
Grading commentary will appear here within 48 hours of Cisco Live closing.
- #3Vendor Strategy65% confidenceLocked — grading pending
Cisco will announce MCP gateway pricing — OR commit to one within 6 months — during Cisco Live keynote.
RSAC 2026 · Field grounding
“Pricing was the most common second-question I got at the Feitian booth across every product line. Cisco knows this. They’ll either disclose or commit at Cisco Live.”
Grading commentary will appear here within 48 hours of Cisco Live closing.
- #4Identity55% confidenceLocked — grading pending
At least one major identity vendor at Cisco Live will announce hardware-rooted agent identity capabilities (TPM, HSM, or secure enclave attestation for agents). If yes, name them.
RSAC 2026 · Field grounding
“Three out of five CISOs at our booth asked about hardware-rooted agent identity, unprompted. Nobody at RSAC had a vendor answer. The market is asking; somebody at Cisco Live should answer.”
Grading commentary will appear here within 48 hours of Cisco Live closing.
- #5Agentic AI80% confidenceLocked — grading pending
Splunk’s agentic SecOps story will include at least one specific dollar number — either ROI estimate, alert volume reduction percent, or analyst time savings — backed by a customer logo.
RSAC 2026 · Field grounding
“At RSAC 2026 every SOC buyer I talked to asked for ROI numbers before they even saw the demo. Splunk learned this. They’ll lead with numbers at Cisco Live.”
Grading commentary will appear here within 48 hours of Cisco Live closing.
I’ll update each prediction above within 48 hours of Cisco Live ending (June 5, 2026). Publishing predictions you grade yourself on is a better signal than claiming you “follow the industry closely” — which every candidate says.