DevNet Express for the Network Engineer

A new journey

There is an old proverb that says “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

I am fortunate enough to have recently been on a family holiday to Scandinavia. In my case, the journey was more like 38,000 kilometers (24,000 miles), from the first step out of my front door in Wellington, New Zealand!

Cisco offices in Wellington, New Zealand.

As it turns out, the journey was an integral part of the holiday, as much as the places we visited.

Whether it was the beautiful train journey from Oslo to Bergen, the amazing ferry voyage along the Norwegian coastal fjords, or driving through autumn colours of the Swedish countryside, the memories of these journeys will stay with us for a very long time.

Norwegian fjords

Journeys are for the taking

A family holiday in Scandinavia is just one of the journeys I’ve been on recently. Another has been my voyage into the world of network programmability.

Just like the family holiday, a lot of the experience has been about the journey itself. The things you learn along the way. The unexpected detours that take you to magical places you never would have visited otherwise. The fantastic people you get to meet.

It turns out, that there are other people interested in taking this programmability journey, too. A lot of them. These people are not only enjoying the journey, they are achieving outcomes that are benefiting themselves and the organizations they work for. Reaching destinations, if you like.

Even better, they are encouraging others to join them on the journey, too.

The proof?

Over 6,500 people have joined the Cisco developer community across Australia and New Zealand, since the local DevNet journey started at CiscoLive Melbourne in 2015.

The DevNet Express from Cisco Live Melbourne to Building 20 in San Jose is going to need a lot more carriages!

Enjoy the Journey. Make Connections.

I’d like to share with you a little confession. As an engineer, I do really enjoy technology and the outcomes it can help deliver. Events like CiscoLive are fantastic for showcasing that technology to our customers and partners, and helping them learn more about it.

Do you know the real reason I love events such as CiscoLive, DevNet Express and partner forums, the thing that makes all of the conversations interesting, worthwhile and ultimately rewarding?

The people. The power of networking made personal. Connections.

To me, that is the true power of the DevNet community that has been nurtured and built over the past few years.

We often get focused on connecting things, when ultimately, what we are best at as humans is connecting with other humans.

Technology can help us connect more easily, frequently, and have richer experiences – who as a human isn’t interested in that?

Reaching your destination

Our partners have already embarked on their own journeys in network programmability, with great success.

Get to know Datacom New Zealand, who won the Cisco New Zealand Innovation Partner award at Cisco Live Melbourne this year. They have successfully upgraded their core data center networks, by leveraging new automation capabilities, enabled by a programmable data center fabric.

You can read more about it (including a video demonstration) here:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6460276610309423104

Take your first step.

Thanks to my DevNet friends Silvia Spiva and Chris Oggerino, at CiscoLive US this year, I had the opportunity to share some of my thoughts on the impact of programmability and how you can get started.

As I mention in the video, there are a ton of resources for you to use at all stages of your programmability journey:
* Learning tracks to guide you,
* Sandboxes to play in along the way;
* An ecosystem exchange to help you find fellow travellers

Every journey begins with a single step. What are you waiting for?

Join the growing community in New Zealand (and Australia!) that are learning new skills and solving real-world challenges, by taking your first step today.

Take the next step in your journey today with DevNet.