Cisco Retires Azure Local Bundles, No Direct Replacement Offered

Cisco has officially announced the End-of-Sale (October 24, 2026) and End-of-Life (January 24, 2027 last ship date) for its Compute and Azure Local Bundles, with no direct replacement offered. Customers are advised to explore alternative hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solutions with Cisco Compute.

Cisco quietly disclosed in its July 24 End‑of‑Life and End‑of‑Sale notice that it will stop selling Azure Local bundles in October. The company confirmed it will not provide a direct replacement, but urged customers to explore alternative HCI solutions built on Cisco Compute.

Cisco Compute and Azure Local Bundles are integrated hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solutions that combine Cisco UCS servers, networking, and Microsoft’s Azure Local operating system to deliver on‑premises mycloud‑like environments with hybrid connectivity to Azure. They are now being retired, with no direct replacement.

Key Dates 

Milestone	Definition	Date
End-of-Life Announcement	Public release of EoL notice	July 24, 2026
End-of-Sale Date	Last day to order via Cisco	October 24, 2026
Last Ship Date	Final possible shipment	January 24, 2027

Affected Products

• UCS-MAH-B00R00-M6 — Microsoft Azure Stack MX HCI Bundle
• UCS-MAN-S71A2T0V0 — AzureStack HCI CTO Node C240 M7sn w/Mellanox
• UCS-MAN-S72A2T0V0 — AzureStack HCI CTO Node C220 M7sn w/Mellanox

👉 Cisco has stated no direct replacement exists for these bundles. Customers should evaluate alternative HCI solutions within Cisco Compute.

Why Cisco is Retiring Azure Local Bundles

• Microsoft hardware policy changes: Microsoft no longer supports “Validated Nodes” for Azure Local, requiring vendors to adopt Premier or Integrated Solutions. Cisco chose not to adapt.
• Strategic shift: Cisco has already exited its HyperFlex HCI line (2023) and now recommends Nutanix for customers needing HCI.
• Market positioning: Cisco remains a niche player in x86 servers and is focusing on Compute + networking integration rather than competing directly in sovereign cloud/HCI stacks.

Customer Options

• Cisco Takeback and Recycle Program: Helps businesses dispose of surplus hardware responsibly.
• Migration to Cisco Compute: Cisco encourages evaluation of other HCI solutions integrated with its Compute portfolio.
• Third-party HCI alternatives: Nutanix and other vendors remain viable options for enterprises needing hybrid cloud flexibility.

Risks & Considerations

• Support continuity: Customers with active contracts will continue to receive support until the EoL milestone.
• No direct replacement: Migration planning is essential; enterprises should avoid last-minute transitions.
• Microsoft dependency: Azure Local’s evolving requirements may limit flexibility for organizations tied to Cisco hardware.

Cisco Compute and Azure Local Bundles gave enterprises a consistent Azure environment across cloud and on‑premises, backed by Cisco’s hardware reliability and Microsoft’s software stack. Their retirement means customers must now plan migrations to either Cisco Compute alternatives or third‑party HCI vendors like Nutanix.

TP-Link India Begins Local Wi-Fi 7 Manufacturing, Riding DoT’s 6 GHz Spectrum Delicensing Wave

• Phased roadmap to serve Indian demand and, over time, evaluate export markets
• Among the first global networking brands to commit Wi-Fi 7 manufacturing to India following the DoT's January 2026 notification
• ~92% of TP-Link's India sales already locally manufactured; Wi-Fi 7 extends localisation to the next-generation portfolio. 
• Builds on TP-Link's largest global manufacturing facility ambition, planned in India over a five-year horizon, alongside Mumbai HQ and Bengaluru R&D centre

TP-Link India, part of TP-Link Systems Inc., today announced the commencement of local manufacturing of its Wi-Fi 7 product portfolio in India, making it among the first global networking brands to localise Wi-Fi 7 production following the Department of Telecommunications’ January 2026 notification delicensing the lower 6 GHz spectrum band.

The company will begin manufacturing with the Omada EAP770 enterprise access point, with plans to progressively expand localisation across its broader Wi-Fi 7 portfolio in a phased manner to cater to domestic demand and, eventually, select international markets.

The Government’s decision to delicence the lower 6 GHz spectrum enables the deployment of Wi-Fi 7 solutions for both enterprise and home users across India.

Currently, nearly 92% of TP-Link India’s product portfolio sold in the country is already manufactured locally through Indian EMS partners, with the company targeting a localisation level of 96–97% over the next three years.

The DoT notification unlocks 500 MHz spectrum in the 5925–6425 MHz band for licence-exempt usage, paving the way for nationwide adoption of Wi-Fi 7 technology. Wi-Fi 7 is expected to significantly enhance network capacity, lower latency, and improve reliability for cloud computing, video collaboration, IoT ecosystems, and AI-driven applications across high-density environments.

“Manufacturing Wi-Fi 7 products in India reflects our long-term commitment to supporting the country’s digital infrastructure ambitions and the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” said Sanjay Sehgal MD and CEO, TP-Link India. “With the opening of the 6 GHz band, India is entering a transformative phase in enterprise connectivity. We are continuously strengthening our manufacturing capabilities, expanding our R&D ecosystem, and investing in partner development to not only address India’s evolving technology requirements, but also position India as a strategic manufacturing and supply hub for global markets.”

TP-Link India has introduced a comprehensive range of Wi-Fi 7 access points covering indoor, outdoor, and in-wall deployments under its Omada portfolio, led by the locally manufactured EAP770 access point under the Make in India initiative. The company intends to further expand its India-manufactured Wi-Fi 7 portfolio in the coming months.

The Omada EAP770 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 ceiling-mount enterprise access point designed for high-density deployments including campuses, hospitals, retail environments, hospitality networks, and educational institutions. The solution integrates seamlessly with TP-Link’s Omada Software Defined Networking (SDN) platform, enabling centralised and cloud-based network management across distributed locations.

About TP-Link India: TP-Link India, a part of US-headquartered TP-Link Systems Inc., is a globally recognized leader in networking and connectivity solutions, offering a wide range of routers, switches, security cameras, and smart home devices. It also offers a suite of enterprise connectivity solutions via its dedicated brand Omada. The parent company is consistently ranked by analyst firm IDC as the No. 1 provider of Wi-Fi devices, supplying to more than 170 countries and serving billions of people worldwide. With a strong focus on reliability, performance, and innovation, TP-Link India continues to drive seamless connectivity for homes and businesses worldwide.

NTT DATA and Cisco Partner to Power Networking for the AI Era

NTT DATA, a global leader in digital business and technology services, and Cisco today unveiled a new co-sponsored IDC InfoBrief, Wired for Intelligence: A CIO Guide to Enterprise Networking for AI. The study shares strategic guidance for organizations seeking to accelerate transformation by modernizing their network infrastructure.

As organizations integrate AI into more applications, from manufacturing and healthcare to financial services, the demand for high-speed, low-latency, and secure networks is surging. Legacy infrastructure is no longer sufficient to support the scale and complexity of AI workloads. NTT DATA and Cisco are responding to this shift by helping clients evolve from outdated architectures to intelligent, adaptive infrastructure that can power AI-driven innovation.

“As two market leaders, NTT DATA and Cisco are well positioned to help clients modernize their digital infrastructure foundations for the AI era. The network exists as a catalyst for growth and organizations can unlock powerful new capabilities and achieve AI-driven business transformation at scale,” said Dilip Kumar, Global Head, Technology Solutions, NTT DATA, Inc.

The Critical Foundation Empowering AI-Driven Growth

The study highlights that network modernization is at the heart of AI success. More than 78% of companies say that networking capabilities are either important or very important when selecting providers for GenAI infrastructure — underscoring the need for networks that can handle and secure ever-scaling AI workloads while running complex AI training, inference, and storage clusters with ease. At the same time, modernization also infuses AI into network operations through AI-driven configuration, anomaly detection, self-healing, and intelligent monitoring to accelerate issue resolution and elevate user experience. Already, industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services are leveraging AI in networking to improve operational efficiency, ensure secure connectivity and reduce costs.

“Network modernization is about more than replacing old hardware—it’s about allowing enterprises to lead in an AI-driven world,” said Brink Sanders, Senior Vice President of Global Networking Sales, Cisco. “Our partnership with NTT DATA equips clients with the technology and expertise needed to build secure and connected networks.”

“Your network will make or break your AI transformation. Overcoming the challenges of legacy networking technologies is essential. This IDC InfoBrief gives organizations the steps to transform enterprise networking from a bottleneck into a business advantage,” said Chris Barnard, Vice President, European Telecoms and Infrastructure, IDC.

NTT DATA is Enabling Network Modernization Through Intelligent Services

NTT DATA’s comprehensive suite of intelligent services helps clients modernize their digital infrastructure and build secure networks. These services span the full lifecycle from advisory to sourcing, professional services, support and managed services to enable organizations to modernize and unlock the full potential of AI.

With many companies undergoing hardware refresh cycles due to the emergence of AI, NTT DATA’s services are designed to meet this critical moment:

• Advisory: Strategic guidance to align network modernization with AI goals.
• Strategic Technology Sourcing: Recommending and procuring the right technology to transform network to be AI-ready.
• Professional Services: Architecting and deploying scalable, secure and high-performance networks.
• Software-Defined Infrastructure Services: Driving business outcomes through adoption of automation and AI agents into infrastructure operations and license optimization.
• Adoption Services: Maximizing value from infrastructure investments through greater adoption of software, continuous improvement and change management.
• Managed Network Services: End-to-end network management to ensure seamless data flow from edge to cloud, minimizing latency and enhancing application responsiveness.

NTT DATA recently launched AI-powered Software Defined Infrastructure (SDI) services for Cisco products to deliver intelligent automation and real-time insights to optimize infrastructure, reduce costs, and drive business outcomes.

IDC InfoBrief:, sponsored by NTT DATA and Cisco, Wired for Intelligence: A CIO Guide to Enterprise Networking for AI, doc #EUR253592825, July 2025.