Software isn’t just a tool anymore—it’s now the backbone of how teams operate. From task management to customer support, every department runs on its own stack. And that works fine until two teams on different platforms need to collaborate.
When the data lives in separate systems, someone has to copy it over manually. That’s slow, error-prone, and doesn’t scale. For teams that work with Cisco’s Technical Assistance Center (TAC), this exact problem led to Cisco Smart Bonding.
But what is it, exactly? And is it enough for what your organization needs?
Key Takeaways
- Cisco Smart Bonding connects your ITSM platform to Cisco TAC, automating case data exchange and reducing manual work.
- It supports platforms like Salesforce and ServiceNow, but requires significant developer effort to implement and maintain.
- Organizations report 20–54% reductions in case ownership time after adopting Smart Bonding.
- Smart Bonding is limited to Cisco’s ecosystem—it doesn’t solve broader cross-platform integration needs.
- For multi-vendor environments or advanced sync logic, dedicated integration platforms like Exalate offer more flexibility without heavy API development.
What Is Cisco Smart Bonding?
Cisco Smart Bonding connects your IT service management (ITSM) platform directly to Cisco’s support systems. The goal is straightforward: sync case data between your environment and Cisco TAC so engineers on both sides see the same information without switching tools.
Through an encrypted API, Smart Bonding enables push/pull data exchange. That means you can share case notes, diagnostic files, and log data, and both sides stay updated in near real-time. Your engineering team configures which data flows in and out.
Note: Read all about API integration.
Smart Bonding is compatible with major ITSM platforms, including Salesforce and ServiceNow. Cisco provides documentation and test scripts to help teams through the setup process, and the service itself is free.
At its core, Smart Bonding is Cisco’s answer to the “swivel chair” problem—engineers manually re-entering case data between their own ITSM system and Cisco’s. It eliminates that duplication and keeps both systems aligned.
Why Do You Need Cisco Smart Bonding?
The main value is efficiency. Without Smart Bonding, engineers waste time copying data between platforms. That’s not just slow—it introduces errors that can cascade through your support workflow.
Here’s what changes when Smart Bonding is in place:
- Reduced case ownership time. Organizations that adopt Smart Bonding report a 20–54% reduction in case ownership time. That’s a measurable improvement in how quickly cases move through the pipeline.
- Fewer data errors. Manual data entry is inherently unreliable. A missing field or mistyped value can delay resolution or trigger the wrong escalation path. Automated syncing eliminates that risk.
- Consistent data availability. Instead of waiting for someone to manually update a record, Smart Bonding keeps data synchronized on a regular schedule. Your teams always have current information when they need it.
- Faster escalation workflows. When case data flows automatically between systems, escalations happen based on real-time information rather than stale snapshots. This matters most during critical incidents where every minute counts.
That said, Smart Bonding solves a specific problem: syncing with Cisco TAC. If your integration needs extend beyond Cisco’s ecosystem—say, connecting ServiceNow to Jira, or Freshservice to Azure DevOps—you’ll need a different approach.
Limitations of Cisco Smart Bonding
Smart Bonding works well within its scope, but it’s worth understanding where it falls short before committing resources.
- Developer-heavy setup. Your team needs to configure your ITSM system to consume Cisco’s APIs. That means dedicated developer time for analysis, implementation, and testing. Cisco recommends assigning both a project manager and a case manager alongside developers—so the resource commitment isn’t trivial.
- Cisco-only scope. Smart Bonding is designed for one integration path: your ITSM system to Cisco. If you’re working with multiple vendors (think ServiceNow to Salesforce, or Zendesk to Azure DevOps), Smart Bonding doesn’t cover those connections. You’d need a separate solution for each.
- Limited sync flexibility. The API provides push/pull capabilities, but advanced sync logic—like conditional field mapping, data transformation, or cross-platform workflow triggers—requires custom development on your end.
- Ongoing maintenance. API integrations break every time. When Cisco updates their API or your ITSM platform rolls out a new version, someone needs to update your integration. That’s an ongoing cost that grows with complexity.
For organizations that primarily interact with Cisco TAC and have developer resources available, these limitations may be acceptable. But for multi-vendor environments, the cost of maintaining separate point-to-point integrations adds up fast. That’s where purpose-built integration platforms become relevant.
What Makes a Good ITSM Integration?
Whether you’re evaluating Smart Bonding or looking at alternatives, these are the capabilities that matter most for ITSM integrations.
Granular Field-Level Control
You need to decide exactly which fields sync between platforms. Not everything should flow both ways. Your engineering team might need customer request details from a sales team, but not the customer’s billing information. The ability to control this at a field level—rather than an all-or-nothing sync—is essential.
Conditional Logic and Data Transformation
Real-world integrations aren’t simple mirrors. You might want to sync only high-priority cases, or map different status values between platforms (e.g., “In Progress” in ServiceNow becomes “Active” in Azure DevOps). A good integration lets you define these rules without custom code.
Independent Configuration Per Side
In cross-company integrations, each organization should control what data it sends and receives independently. This is especially important for MSP relationships, where sharing full system access isn’t appropriate. Each side should be able to modify its sync rules without affecting the other.
Platform Coverage
Your integration tool needs to support the platforms you actually use. Beyond the usual suspects like ServiceNow and Jira, look for support across Freshservice, Freshdesk, Zendesk, Azure DevOps (Cloud and Server), Salesforce, GitHub, Asana, and others. The broader the connector ecosystem, the fewer point-to-point integrations you need to maintain.
Security That Matches Enterprise Requirements
Any integration that moves data between platforms needs to meet your organization’s security standards. Look for encryption in transit (TLS 1.2/1.3), role-based access controls, and compliance certifications like ISO 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II..
Using Exalate for Cisco and Cross-Platform Integration
Exalate is a purpose-built integration platform designed for connecting ITSM, development, and CRM platforms. Where Smart Bonding handles one integration path (your system to Cisco), Exalate handles many and does so without requiring your team to build and maintain custom API integrations.
How It Differs from Smart Bonding
With Smart Bonding, your developers configure API connections, write integration logic, and maintain the setup over time. Exalate replaces that process with a ready-made platform that connects systems through pre-built connectors and scripting capabilities.
Exalate supports connections between ServiceNow, Jira, Freshservice, Freshdesk, Zendesk, Azure DevOps (Cloud and Server), Salesforce, GitHub, Asana, and more. It also supports custom connectors for proprietary systems with available REST APIs, extending your integration reach beyond any single vendor’s ecosystem.
Practical Use Cases
Multi-Vendor Support Environment
Case: A managed services provider handles Cisco TAC cases in ServiceNow while their clients use Jira and Freshservice. Engineers waste time manually transferring case updates between platforms.
Solution: Exalate connects ServiceNow to both Jira and Freshservice, syncing case details, comments, and status updates automatically. Each connected system maintains its own sync rules, so the MSP controls what data they share without exposing internal workflows.
Real-world application: The MSP reduces case resolution time by eliminating manual data transfer, and clients see real-time status updates in their own platform without requesting access to the MSP’s ServiceNow instance.
Cross-Functional Escalation Between Support and Engineering
Case: A SaaS company’s support team uses Zendesk, but engineering works in Azure DevOps. When a support ticket requires a code fix, the handoff between teams is slow, and details get lost in translation.
Solution: Exalate syncs relevant Zendesk tickets to Azure DevOps work items automatically when escalation criteria are met. Status changes, comments, and attachments flow back and forth so both teams stay aligned.
Real-world application: Support agents see engineering progress without leaving Zendesk, and developers get the full context of customer-reported problems without joining a support tool they don’t use daily.
Partner Collaboration with Independent Data Control
Case: Two companies co-develop a product using different project management tools (Jira and Asana). They need to share task progress without giving each other full system access.
Solution: Exalate enables each organization to independently control what data they send and receive. Company A shares task status and due dates from Jira, while Company B shares milestone completions from Asana, without either side accessing the other’s internal project data.
Real-world application: Both teams track shared deliverables in their own tool, reducing coordination meetings and eliminating the risk of exposing sensitive project information.
AI-Assisted Configuration
Exalate includes Aida, an AI documentation assistant that helps teams navigate setup and configuration. For more complex scenarios, AI-assisted scripting accelerates the creation of custom sync rules. This reduces the learning curve and gets integrations running faster, especially for teams without dedicated integration engineers.
Enterprise-Grade Security
Exalate maintains ISO 27001:2022 certification and SOC 2 Type II compliance. Data in transit is encrypted with TLS 1.2/1.3, and role-based access controls let you manage who can configure and modify integrations. For a detailed view of Exalate’s security posture, visit the Trust Center.
Want to see how much time and cost your organization could save by replacing manual integrations?
Calculate time and money savings from automated bidirectional sync.
Conclusion
Cisco Smart Bonding solves a real problem: automating data exchange between your ITSM system and Cisco TAC. For organizations with developer resources and a primary need to integrate with Cisco, it’s a solid, free option that delivers measurable improvements in case handling efficiency.
But most organizations don’t just integrate with one vendor. When your environment spans ServiceNow, Jira, Freshservice, Zendesk, Azure DevOps, Salesforce, and others, maintaining separate point-to-point integrations becomes unsustainable. That’s where a platform like Exalate fits, connecting multiple systems through a single integration layer, with the flexibility to handle everything from simple field syncs to complex, conditional cross-company workflows.
Book a call with an integration expert to see how Exalate can help you with your specific use case.
FAQs
What is Cisco Smart Bonding used for?
Cisco Smart Bonding automates data exchange between your ITSM platform and Cisco’s Technical Assistance Center (TAC). It syncs case notes, diagnostic files, and log data between systems so engineers don’t need to manually copy information. This reduces case ownership time by 20–54% and eliminates errors from manual data entry.
Is Cisco Smart Bonding free?
Yes. Cisco provides Smart Bonding at no cost, along with documentation and test scripts to help your team get started. However, the implementation requires developer resources on your end to configure your ITSM system to consume Cisco’s APIs, so there are internal labor costs to account for.
Which platforms does Cisco Smart Bonding support?
Smart Bonding supports major ITSM platforms, including Salesforce and ServiceNow. The integration works through Cisco’s encrypted API, which provides push/pull capabilities for data exchange. If you need integrations beyond Cisco’s ecosystem, platforms like Exalate support a wider range of connectors, including Jira, Freshservice, Freshdesk, Zendesk, Azure DevOps, GitHub, Asana, and more.
Can Exalate replace Cisco Smart Bonding?
Exalate can handle cross-platform integration needs that go beyond what Smart Bonding covers. While Smart Bonding focuses on syncing with Cisco TAC, Exalate connects multiple ITSM, development, and CRM platforms through pre-built connectors and scripting capabilities. For organizations that need both Cisco integration and broader cross-platform connectivity, Exalate complements Smart Bonding by covering the integrations Smart Bonding doesn’t address.
How long does it take to set up Cisco Smart Bonding?
The setup involves four phases: analysis (checking API compatibility), implementation (connecting systems), testing (using Cisco’s test plan), and deployment. Cisco recommends assigning a project manager and case manager alongside developers. The timeline depends on your ITSM system’s complexity, but expect weeks to months for full deployment, compared to integration platforms like Exalate that can have connections running much faster.
What’s the difference between Smart Bonding and an integration platform like Exalate?
Smart Bonding is a point-to-point API integration between your ITSM system and Cisco. You build and maintain it using developer resources. Exalate is a ready-made integration platform with pre-built connectors, AI-assisted configuration via Aida, and support for dozens of platforms. Smart Bonding handles one connection; Exalate handles many, with less ongoing maintenance.
Recommended Reads:
- API Integration: A Practical Guide to Maximizing Business Efficiency
- Automated Integration: A Key to Scalable and Agile Business Operations
- The Comprehensive Guide to iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service)
- Integration as a Service (IaaS): Everything Explained
- An Overview of Integrated Service Management (ISM)
