It’s weird to think that I’m headed out to Cisco Live for the first time since 2019. The in-person parts of Cisco Live have been sorely missed during the pandemic. I know it was necessary all around but I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed being around others and learning from the community until I wasn’t able to do it for an extended period of time.

Now we’re back in Las Vegas and ready to take part in something that has been missed. I’ve got a busy lineup of meetings with the CCIE Advisory Council and Tech Field Day Extra but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and have a little fun along the way. And yes, before you ask, I’m going to get the airbrush tattoo again if they brought the artist back. It’s a tradition as old as my CCIE at this point.

What else am I interested in?

• I’m curious to see how Cisco responds to their last disappointing quarter. Are they going to tell us that it was supply chain? Are they going to double down on the software transition? And how much of the purchasing that happened was pull through? Does that mean the next few quarters are going to be down for Cisco?
• With the drive to get more and more revenue from non-hardware sources, where does that leave the partners of Cisco? Is there still a space for companies to create solutions to work with aspects that Cisco doesn’t do well? Or will they find themselves in a Sherlock situation eventually?
• I’m cautiously optimistic that a successful conference will mean more of the same going forward. I know there’s going to be reports of COVID coming out of Vegas because there’s no way to have a group that big together and be 100% free. If there is a big issue with rates skyrocketing after a combined two weeks of RSA and Cisco Live it will force companies to rethink a return to conference season.

Tom’s Take

If you’re in Vegas next week I hope to see you around! Even if it’s just in passing in the hallway stop me and say hello. It’s been far too long since we’ve interacted as a group and I want to hear how things have been going. For those that aren’t going to go make sure to stay tuned for my recap.