Next year will also see a "multistage capability" -- including partnering and internal development -- from Cisco to improve security in a virtualized or cloud computing environment. Earlier this year, Hattar spelled out some of the opened up by such environments that could impede widespread adoption of those computing paradigms. 

Cisco will unveil security strategies for particular areas of data center computing -- including end user endpoint, virtualized device, network level and server virtualization -- as well as a holistic architecture for safeguarding data centers and cloud computing environments, she said.

"I expect, in early '09, Cisco will finally articulate a cloud strategy," says Forrester's Whiteley. "By the end of '09 I'm expecting to see Cisco put more skin on the game with their own service offering."

Cisco is also looking to leverage the software-as-a-service model for delivering security capabilities, Hattar said, while declining to get into specifics. And Cisco next year will launch an initiative to demonstrate how companies can increase employee productivity through technology during times of economic stress.

"It's times like this when companies have the opportunity to outpace the competition, and when they adopt certain technology they can double, quadruple the productivity," Hattar says. "We're on a path to showcase and highlight those."