After nearly two decades at Cisco, the anticipation for Cisco Live remains as strong as ever. It’s the one time of year we trade our Webex screens for the invaluable energy of face-to-face connection, turning real-world customer feedback into the future of Secure Email. From the speaker’s podium to the “Meet-the-Engineer” sessions, here is why this community continues to inspire Sergio Pinto after all these years. Discover how he experienced the event as our part of our “Voices of Cisco Live” mini-series
The Enduring Magic of Cisco Live
After almost two decades at Cisco and more Cisco Live events than I can easily count, you might expect the excitement to fade. Surprisingly, it hasn’t. If anything, the anticipation I feel each time Cisco Live approaches is just as strong as it was during my first years at the company. There’s something unique about this event—something that keeps drawing people back year after year.
Every attendee experiences Cisco Live in their own way. The event means different things to different people, depending on their personal goals. Some come to learn about emerging technologies and deepen their technical expertise. Others are eager to get hands-on with the latest equipment in the World of Solutions. Many attend to better understand Cisco’s strategic direction and how it will shape the future of networking and security. For me, it’s all of that—and more.
From Webex to Reality: The Power of Human Connection
A big part of my Cisco Live experience revolves around connection. As someone who works in the Secure Email Business Unit and operates 100% remotely, most of my interactions during the year happen over Webex. That’s great, we collaborate efficiently across continents, but nothing quite replaces meeting people face-to-face. Cisco Live gives me that opportunity.
Throughout the week, I get to meet a wide variety of people who care about email security: customers trying to better protect their organizations, partners discussing technical deployments and integration strategies, and colleagues who want to talk about product direction or future roadmap ideas. These conversations are incredibly valuable. They remind me that behind every feature we design or every improvement we plan, there are real organizations relying on our solutions to keep their users safe.
The Feedback Loop: Shaping the Future of Security
One of the most rewarding aspects of Cisco Live is hearing directly from customers. Some come with very specific questions: How can we strengthen our defenses against advanced phishing? How do we better integrate email security with the rest of our security stack? Others simply want to understand what’s coming next and how they should prepare for evolving threats.
These discussions are a two-way street. While I have the opportunity to explain how our solutions work and where we’re going, I’m also listening carefully. Feedback from customers and partners often highlights areas where we can improve. Sometimes it’s a feature request. Other times it’s about usability, deployment flexibility, or better visibility for administrators. Cisco Live gives us an invaluable feedback loop that directly influences how we evolve the product.
The Speaker’s Privilege: Diving Deep into the Tech
Another highlight of the event for me is speaking. As a speaker, I have the privilege of spending about 90 minutes with a room full of people who genuinely want to learn. In today’s world of short attention spans and quick online content, having that much focused time with an engaged audience is something special. It allows us to go deeper—explaining not just what a solution does, but why it matters and how it fits into the broader security landscape.
Preparing these sessions takes effort. There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes: building the narrative, updating technical details, incorporating recent product changes, and making sure the content is both informative and practical. But when you’re standing in front of a room of customers and partners who are eager to learn, it’s incredibly rewarding. Sharing knowledge is one of the things I enjoy most about my role. When someone leaves a session with a better understanding of how to protect their users—or with an idea they can immediately apply in their environment—you know you’ve made an impact.
Strengthening Our Global Community
Cisco Live also has a special dimension when you have a global role. Over the years, many colleagues across Cisco have become friends. But because we’re spread across different countries and time zones, we rarely meet in person. Cisco Live becomes the place where those digital relationships become real again. You finally get to grab a coffee together, catch up on projects, share stories from the past year, and talk about what’s coming next.
Those moments matter more than people might realize. They strengthen the professional network that helps us collaborate throughout the year. They also remind us that behind all the technology, presentations, and product releases, Cisco is fundamentally about people.
The Hustle: Hard Work Behind the Scenes
That said, Cisco Live is not a vacation—it’s hard work. In addition to preparing and delivering sessions, my schedule is usually packed from morning to evening. I participate in Meet-the-Engineer sessions and Whisper Suites, where customers and partners can have more focused technical discussions. These are often some of the most interesting conversations of the week because they dive directly into real-world challenges.
On top of that, there are many unscheduled meetings that appear throughout the event. Account teams may bring customers who want to discuss specific requirements. Partners might want to review deployment architectures. Internal teams often take the opportunity to align on ideas that are difficult to cover in regular virtual meetings. And then there are the community activities, such as Capture the Flag competitions, where engineers can challenge themselves and have some fun testing their skills. Supporting these initiatives adds another layer to the experience and contributes to the vibrant technical atmosphere that makes Cisco Live so unique.
The Unique Energy of Cisco Live EMEA
Despite the long days and packed schedule, the energy at Cisco Live is contagious. You’re surrounded by thousands of engineers, architects, partners, and technology enthusiasts who all share the same curiosity and passion for learning. There’s a constant buzz of conversations about new features, security challenges, automation strategies, and future possibilities.
That’s part of what makes Cisco Live EMEA one of my favorite events. It strikes the perfect balance. It’s large enough to bring together a global community of experts and innovators, yet still intimate enough that you can run into familiar faces in the hallway and have meaningful conversations. The host cities also play a role—great locations that allow attendees to continue networking after the sessions end, whether over dinner, while exploring the city, or during informal gatherings with peers.
A Personal Milestone and the Road to London 2027
This year’s event was also personally special for me. I was honored to be recognized with the Distinguished Speaker award. For anyone who has presented at Cisco Live, you know how much preparation and passion goes into building a great session. Receiving this recognition—especially knowing it reflects feedback from attendees—was incredibly meaningful. It’s a reminder that sharing knowledge, experiences, and practical insights truly resonates with the community.
After nearly 19 years at Cisco, events like this remind me why I still love what I do. Technology evolves constantly, and cybersecurity challenges never stand still. Being able to engage directly with the community that uses, deploys, and depends on our solutions keeps the work meaningful and inspiring.
And perhaps that’s why the excitement never fades. I’m already looking forward to the next one. I hope to see many of you at Cisco Live EMEA 2027 in London!
This article is part of our mini-series, Voices of Cisco Live, where we follow different Cisco employees who had their own unique experience and perspective on the event.
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