Cisco Live 2025: what you definitely shouldn’t miss​

Book your sessions and plan your agenda: Block’s techies break down everything you need to know to maximise your learning experience in Amsterdam.

Cisco’s technology has global reach, so it’s no wonder its annual conference, Cisco Live, is equally a behemoth. The event has built quite the reputation over the past 30 years, not just because of Elton John’s surprise appearance at the 2024 event in Las Vegas. It’s collection of technical seminars, learning maps, technology tracks, talks and much more place it at the heart of any tech innovator’s calendar.

However, the sheer scale of Cisco Live – which takes place in Amsterdam between 9th-14th February 2025 – provides ample opportunity for you to miss the sessions capable of most enhancing your knowledge surrounding networks, collaboration, and smart buildings.

In an effort to avoid Cisco Live overwhelm, the technical specialists here at Block have provided their tried and tested tips to conquering the conference, including the sessions that have piqued their interest this year.

Pre-book sessions: whisper suites, engineer meetings, and breakout sessions

Cisco Live is vast with a jam-packed agenda of activities for you to get involved in. Many of these are drop-in, but there are some worth booking. This includes the whisper suites which are ideal if you’re keen to be one of the small group of people to know about new releases before they’re announced to the world.

“This is a section of the event where customers and partners can hear from Cisco, under NDA about new products and features,” explains Rob Brady, Head of Solutions.

He also recommends booking in any one-to-one meetings with senior Cisco engineers in advance, giving you the opportunity to do a tech deep dive on something specific to your interests.

Break-out sessions also provide a level of concentrated analysis on specific technology, but not at a one-to-one level. “These are big room presentations covering every element of Cisco tech,” says Rob. “These need to be booked in advance but even if they’re full you can usually queue up and get in once it’s started.”

Depending on your pass type, you may also be able to book a free exam, which could be worth taking advantage of.

View and book via the Session Catalogue here.

Capture the Flag sessions​

Head to the hands-on labs to get up close and personal with tech in real world settings. Underpinned by a competitive Capture the Flag game, you’ll be tasked with solving real lab challenges using Cisco technologies. This is your chance to earn points, climb the leaderboard while also learning new skillsets. Plus, taking part in some challenges will give you the opportunity to earn Cisco Continuing Education Credits which can go towards your recertification.

“The Capture the Flag sessions are a great way to get hands on with the tech in a real world setting and are actually one of the best things about Cisco Live,” says Rob. “All the big room presentations can be watched back any time, free of charge, but getting hands on with the tech will be of real value in my opinion.”

For those victorious, there’s an official awards ceremony on Thursday, February 13^th to collect your winnings.

Don’t sweat, there’s an on-demand library

If there’s too much to see, and too little time, don’t worry about missing the high profile sessions because they’re all recorded for future use. (You can access them by registering at Ciscolive.com.)

It might be worth focusing on the rarer and highly prized hands-on and NDA sessions, while dedicating some time to watching the sessions back at a later date.

“We’d encourage you to invite your colleagues to register at Ciscolive.com for access to all historical recordings,” confirms Paul Yarwood, Architect – Enterprise Solutions.

Down to the important sessions

• • Zero trust: Securing the evolving workplace

    “Zero Trust is the security model of choice for modern networks. This Intermediate level technical session provides an excellent grounding in the core design principles and technology components (ISE, Catalyst Centre, SD-WAN, Secure Network Analytics), used to provide Security Controls in Cisco SD-Access Networks,” says Paul.

  • AIOps 101: What is AIOps and how it can help you

    “Clinical networks are increasingly critical, while at the same time having to become more complex to support modern connectivity and security requirements,” says Adam Husband, Architect – Enterprise Solutions. “Being able to leverage AI/ML tooling will become an important part of how our customers are able to keep these critical services available.”

  • Mastering ISE upgrades: Best practices, tips, and tricks

    “There’s a lot to remember when upgrading ISE,” says Lee Armitage, Technical Success Specialist in Enterprise Networks. “There’s bound to be some good tips here to ensure it goes well.”

  • Cisco secure access unveiled

    “Our customers need to provide consistent networking experiences wherever users are located,” says Rob. “Cisco secure access provides protection across existing customer networks and those where there are currently limited controls (e.g. cloud apps or hybrid workers).”

  • How sustainability data can unlock business and environmental benefits

    “With the NHS committing to delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service, understanding the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of the technologies and products we provide is important,” says Nick Wonacott, Marketing Executive. “Data is at the heart of understanding, reporting, and reducing the footprint of the solutions we can and do provide.”

  • Ways to Fail with Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN… and How to Prevent That

    “Deep dive into real-world issues in SD-WAN and how to avoid potentially introducing these into your SD-WAN solution,” says Lee.

  • SD-WAN Analytics for Optimized Monitoring and Predictive Networking

    “With the growing adoption of SD-WAN, robust analytics are needed to gain comprehensive insights into application and network performance,” says Kamran Roostaee, Enterprise Networks Principal Consultant.

As a proud Cisco Gold Partner, we’re excited to be attending this year’s Cisco Live Conference. Drop us an email to schedule a meeting and catch us while we’re there.