Being left in the dark is never fun. As many of us are painfully aware, the IT industry changes quickly and the omnipresent force of change that often swoops in under fancy branded terms promises us a safer, simpler, and more efficient future. Think about the last five years for example. SASE, Hybrid Work, 'Software Defined X', and 'X As a Service' have swept the industry by storm, and technologies such as quantum computing, generative AI, and 6G are on the horizon.

These changes come faster than expected and along with them come complexities stemming from configuring, provisioning, and scaling new processes to the fine-tuned needs of your business.

Staying in the loop on news, announcements, and important updates is key to any informed business unit. The problem many of us face, however, is the overwhelming amount of dispersed information that tends to slow down our learning process. Between different websites for blogs, newsletters, whitepapers, and more it can become easy to lose track of relevant items and get sucked into information overload. The Cisco Learning Network (CLN) aims to solve that problem by consolidating the most relevant content into a single site and creating forums for engaging your peers. Powered by the brightest minds in our community, the CLN is a centralized hub where customers and technicians come to learn, grow, and converse.

Similar to a town square in the 1800s, a step into the Learning Network will leave you informed and educated on everything you ever wish to know about Cisco's most sophisticated products.

A Double-Edged Sword

The Cisco Learning Network is great for those interested in one of the many certifications offered by Cisco -but you do not have to be studying for an exam to learn more about the products that your business relies on. While mediums such as Reddit, Quora, and Twitter are great places to discuss products and answer questions, they often lack primary information that comes straight from the source.

Now I am not here to tell anyone to abandon their Reddit Karma or deactivate their Twitter accounts -but if you are interested in the most up-to-date content, knowledge articles, webinars, or design guides for your Cisco products or solutions, then the Cisco Learning Network is right for you.

Deep Technical Expertise 

Understanding the full capabilities of your Cisco product is undeniably valuable. Far too often, we purchase technology and tend to underuse it -just think about the iPhone. For example, there are ways to automate daily tasks such as texting, identifying duplicates in your photo album, and capturing near-professional photos with a few tweaks to the camera app, but users are often blind to these capabilities. Many new technologies run deep, and the same goes for one of Cisco's most popular networking products, Cisco SD-WAN.

One of the key components of the Cisco Learning Network is quick access to Design Guides for various Cisco architectures. The Cisco SD-WAN Design Case Studies are in-depth documents based on Gartner's Magic Quadrant Use Cases and each case study provides the best practices as seen in over 300+ Design Council customer submissions. These case studies follow fictitious businesses, however, the information contained in them will generate real business outcomes. Each case study is updated as new enhancements roll out so you can always trust that they are relevant and up to date.

They may not be your daily morning reader, but one of the key benefits of these documents is that you can pick them up and put them down wherever and whenever you please. The Cisco Learning Network also allows members to share their thoughts, participate in discussions, and ask questions within communities on the Cisco Validated page.

Learning material for Cisco SD-WAN only scratches the surface of what you can find in the Learning Network. Between exam training, active community forums, and enough video content to make you delete your Netflix account -the Cisco Learning Network shines enough light to never leave anyone in the dark.

Be a Part of Something Great

Additional Resources

Cisco SD-WAN Design Case Studies

Cisco SD-WAN Webinar Series