Cisco’s advocacy community, Cisco Insider, brings our customers together and provides a way for them to make powerful connections, expand their professional and personal networks, and learn from top experts in their field. One of our goals with our advocacy community is to deepen our relationships with our customers. Our Q&A series allows us to shine a spotlight on some of our most passionate advocates as we learn more about their stories and backgrounds.
We recently sat down with Mateusz Frąk to learn about his journey in network engineering and his passion for sharing knowledge through his blog.
Welcome, Mateusz! It’s so great to chat with you today! Let’s kick things off by learning a little bit about who you are.
Thank you for having me here! I’m Mateusz, and I work at DSV as a senior network automation engineer. DSV is a global transport and logistics company. My role involves implementing, managing, troubleshooting, and enhancing our network automation solutions. These solutions are critical in an organization that provides and manages supply-chain solutions for thousands of customers. I also focus on identifying business issues, allowing us to develop solutions that help network engineers avoid repetitive tasks. We provide various tools that the operations team uses to troubleshoot networks, resulting in faster isolation of common network issues.
Can you tell us about your journey into network engineering? What got you started?
My journey began when I was 18 and attending technical school. I was exposed to various specializations like programming, databases, and networks, and I chose networks because I was fascinated by the topic and curious about what really happens behind the scenes when you load a webpage like Google.
Over the years, I progressed from a junior network administrator to a network engineer, and eventually a network architect. As a network architect, I focused on modernizing a company’s network by adopting software-defined networks (SDN) for both data center and campus environments, using Cisco products. Nearly three years ago, I decided to pivot into network automation, leveraging the skills I had built over the years. This transition allowed me to blend my deep understanding of network engineering with automation, enabling the creation of more efficient and effective solutions.
It’s clear that you’ve had an impressive career progression. How did you get involved with the Cisco Insider Advocates community, and what has your experience been like so far?
I was looking to become more connected with a community of professionals, so during Cisco Live 2024 in Amsterdam, I visited the Insider Advocates booth. After speaking with the community managers, I decided to join the community.
The greatest value of the community, in my opinion, is the ability to ask questions directly to subject matter experts (SMEs) during exclusive Q&A sessions. The responses I’ve received from these sessions have been incredibly insightful, allowing me to improve my skills and tackle challenges in my job more effectively. I’ve also connected with numerous SMEs, tapping into their expertise and applying it to the projects I’m involved with at work. Additionally, it’s been a fantastic way to meet new people from around the globe. I truly appreciate the power of community—it’s what helps me enjoy demanding processes like preparing for the DevNet Expert certification and working on challenging projects. The DevNet Expert certification demonstrates expertise designing and developing network automation solutions through the entire network lifecycle, from concept, development, and deployment to operation and optimization.
Speaking of your DevNet Expert journey, you’ve been documenting your experiences on your blog at mateuszfrak.com. What motivated you to start sharing your journey publicly?
I’ve always been inspired by professionals who generously share their experiences with others, such as John Capobianco, who published Automate Your Network. In his GitHub repository where the book is available, he stated, “I believe in open-source software. I believe people should have universal access to Linux. I believe open-source tools like Ansible should remain open source.” This inspired me to go a step further and say, “I believe people should have universal access to knowledge.”
I’ve also been inspired by Conor Murphy, a technical solutions architect at Cisco, who shares technical blogs. He tackles very challenging scenarios and explains them in a way that’s easy to understand.
I dedicate hours every day to studying new topics and technologies. As I benefit from the free resources shared by Cisco, John, Conor, and many other technical writers, I feel a strong desire to give back by sharing the knowledge and experience I gather each day.
What keeps you motivated to continue writing and sharing your journey?
I hope that my blog will serve as a valuable resource for someone who’s starting their DevNet Expert journey. My goal is to help others feel less stressed during their preparation and the exam itself. I know how challenging it can be to maintain composure in such high-pressure situations. I also want to show that this certification is achievable by anyone who is consistent and dedicated.
My blog is also a way to improve my technical writing skills, enhance my English, and most importantly, deepen my technical knowledge. Writing content for a blog takes time and often requires extensive research to create articles that not only inform, but also inspire readers to think about problems from different angles. This, in turn, might lead them to solutions they hadn’t considered before.
I also have a dream of writing a technical book someday. I believe that the process of writing for my blog will help me develop the skills I need to make that dream a reality.
What can readers expect from your upcoming blog posts?
My DevNet Expert journey is still ongoing, and I’m planning to document my exam attempts soon, along with tips and strategies for tackling a CCIE-level exam. My goal is to help others feel less overwhelmed when preparing for such a demanding certification.
When I started my journey, there weren’t many resources available that discussed these aspects in detail. My first attempt was difficult—not due to lack of knowledge, but because of unexpected factors that affected my performance. Being aware of these small yet significant details can help candidates manage their stress levels better, especially if they’ve read about the experience of someone who has been through it.
In the future, I’ll also share insights from my daily work to give a realistic view of life in IT. While there are many blogs that help IT professionals get started with specific tools, I want to take it a step further, discussing the challenges professionals face and offering solutions that go beyond the basics.
Finally, Mateusz, for those inspired by your journey, where can they follow along and learn more from your experiences?
If you’re interested in diving deeper into my journey, particularly my ongoing DevNet Expert certification process, you can follow along on my blog at mateuszfrak.com. I regularly share insights, tips, and detailed posts about the challenges and solutions I encounter. Whether you’re preparing for certification, or simply looking to expand your knowledge in network automation, I hope my blog can be a valuable resource for you.
It’s been a pleasure to chat with you, Mateusz. Thank you again for joining us and for being part of our community!
Read more advocate interviews.
You might enjoy this interview with Rob Taylor.
Join Cisco Insider Advocates!
For our customers who have already joined our Cisco Insider Advocates community, say hello to Mateusz if you haven’t met yet. And if you’re a Cisco customer but aren’t a community member, consider joining. You’ll be able to:
- Connect with peers in a gamified, online community
- Have an opportunity to meet with Cisco’s executives
- Share your feedback, questions, and best practices
- Get access to ‘insider’ content and resources
- Grow your professional and personal brand
- Amplify your company’s success story with Cisco technology
Ready to get started?
Head over to the Cisco Insider Advocates community and say hello!
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