Chuck Stickney outlines the benefits of the DevNet Specialization for Partners

This blog is part two of a two-part series about the DevNet Specialization, and the journey Cisco partners take to obtain new technical skills and how they are used.  Check out this Cisco Champions Radio podcast to learn more about the DevNet Specialization. 

Gain skills in software programmability and automation to your business

DevNet Specialization is a program we launched in May 2020 during Cisco Live US. This program recognizes Cisco partners that have demonstrated technical capabilities and business practices around software programmability and automation on Cisco products and services.  

In part 1 of this series, we discussed how the DevNet Specialization program allows partners the ability to truly differentiate themselves – creating new offerings with their own intellectual property. We also featured two partner journeys through the eyes of a DevNet software practice, and discussed how partners who specialize in DevNet skills can enable and grow all areas of their business. 

Show customers a path to digital transformation

DevNet programmability and automation concepts can transform partner pre-sales and post-sales activities. Further, these concepts can be leveraged by everyone in your team. Paul Giblin, from our DevNet Specialized partner Presidio, is a great example of this. Paul is a DevNet Creator, a Cisco Champion and a frequent participant on the Cisco Champions Radio podcasts. Paul works as an enterprise architect in Presidio’s pre-sales practice.  

This means Paul is not formally part of a software automation team, yet he’s a vocal advocate for Cisco DevNet. He has found that having these skills allows him to up-level conversations with customers.  Showing the art of the possible for technology and process integrations, not just legacy service delivery.  

Like many of our DevNet community, Paul didn’t set out to be a programmer. Some early web development, gaming, and tinkering was his entry point – leveraging his curiosity to figure out how things worked. 

As a network engineer, he experimented with simple automation – extracting configuration variables from spreadsheets and pasting those into devices. He came to realize that configuring network devices via CLI is a form of programming and looked to DevNet to learn ways to turn one-off scripting into more wholistic script automation.  

Paul believes that “DevNet is the bridge” that allows him to show customers a path to digital transformation.  The pace of technology change can be overwhelming for our customers. Having these DevNet skills and capabilities allows services to be delivered with the agility necessary to meet a customer’s unique requirements. DevNet can help you innovate, while ensuring the predictability, speed, and accuracy customers demand. 

Thank you, Paul. We agree completely. With the year 2020 about to close, we encourage you to earn a DevNet Certification and become a member of the Class of 2020. Use those skills to begin your own automation journey. If you’re interested in using those skills to create solutions and offers for your customers, we encourage you to join the DevNet Specialization for partners. 

How is your organization innovating with DevNet?

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