CASE STUDY

Through the agreement , the NFL will continue to rely on the same Cisco technology and expertise used for the Super Bowl , NFL Draft and NFL Kickoff to bolster their operations across a growing slate of international games – including Madrid in 2025 .

Over the past several years , the NFL and Cisco have worked together to develop a networking and cybersecurity playbook that is now coming to life

across the partnership , leveraging the collective power of Cisco ’ s industry-leading networking , security and observability expertise and solutions .

The NFL ’ s growing international operations are also leveraging this playbook , with solutions including switching for networking , and a combination of onpremises hardware and cloud-based software from the Cisco Security portfolio , including Cisco Umbrella , Cisco XDR , Cisco Firepower and Cisco Secure

Malware Analytics . Cisco ’ s world-class CX services team continues to support the NFL from deployment to monitoring and troubleshooting in real-time .

“ Cisco has been a trusted partner of the NFL for many years , providing the networking and cybersecurity technology that we rely on to connect and protect our biggest events , as well as our daily operations ,” said Gary Brantley , CIO , NFL .

“ As we continue to expand our presence globally , Cisco ’ s proven track record in delivering on the biggest stages , in constantly evolving , digital environments , allows us to execute with confidence .”

On an international stage , the NFL requires a technological infrastructure that prioritises simplicity , visibility , reliability and protection . Cisco Secure Firewall helps the NFL with end-to-end visibility , simplified security management and network segmentation across distributed and hybrid networks , while Cisco XDR allows the league to investigate , prioritise and remediate the highest priority incidents with AI-enhanced speed , efficiency and decisiveness .

The solutions across the Cisco Security portfolio complement each other to provide the highest level of security and confidence for the NFL and guest environments . This integrated , end-to-end deployment at Super Bowl LVIII this past February successfully blocked 39,000 security intelligence events and 354,000 connections to or from blacklisted areas of the world , ensuring 100 % network uptime to keep the game and all its operations running smoothly .

“ The NFL International Games presents an enormous opportunity for the NFL , so we are proud to be the partner they trust to deliver the connectivity and security required to operate globally ,” said Rob McQueen , Vice President of Global Sponsorships at Cisco .

“ Failure is not an option in these dynamic , highpressure environments and Cisco technology continues to deliver for the biggest leagues , teams , events and stadiums everywhere .”

62 INTELLIGENTCIO NORTH AMERICA www . intelligentcio . com