We had a fantastic day at Cisco Connect UK 2024! We welcomed 550 customers, partners, industry leaders, and Cisco experts, all actively participating in learning, engaging, and connecting with one another.

The event was kicked off with a keynote by Chintan Patel, CTO (Cisco UK & Ireland), followed by a guest keynote from Dr Stephanie Hare, a renowned expert in Artificial Intelligence.

Attendees had the opportunity to choose from 19 breakout sessions, each offering valuable insights and knowledge from Cisco and industry leaders. The interactive demos at the Hub provided a unique opportunity for our customers and partners to engage in one-on-one sessions with Cisco solution experts.

We also celebrated our first customer awards ceremony, with our Cisco Leaders, David Meads (CEO UK & Ireland) and Adele Every (Managing Director, Public Sector), recognising customers for their excellence and integration of Cisco technology.

We are pleased to report that participants donated over £500 to The Eve Appeal. Cisco will match this amount, bringing our total donation to over £1,000! Donations are still welcome here.

Thank you to everyone who attended the event. We look forward to seeing you next year!

1. Hybrid Work Hero

Presented to the customer who has implemented the best hybrid work strategy to empower their teams and/or reimagine their workspaces

Winner:

• National Trust: Clare Quick, Director of IT Operations

Nominees:

• Government Property Management: Allan Gardner, Head of Technology
• Close Brothers Ltd: Mark Holden, Unified Communications Lead
• RSA Insurance Group, PLC, Samantha Bradley, UK & I Modern Workplace Manager

2. Transformation Trailblazer

Recognises the customer who excels in using Cisco solutions to simplify network and technology challenges and ensure secure global connectivity.

Winner:

• Buckinghamshire Council:
• Tony Ellis, IT Service Director
• Stewart Hall - Head of Infrastructure and Platforms
• Marc Tomlin - Network Technical Architect
• Clive Swindlehurst - ONE IT Programme Manager
• Prod Sarigianis - Head of Business and Partnerships

Nominees:

• Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust: Mark Holland, Head of Technical Architecture and Infrastructure
• Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Trust: John Martland, Technical Director

3. Reimagine Applications Visionary

Honours the forward-thinking customer that leverages Cisco Full-Stack Observability (FSO) solutions to transcend traditional monitoring, achieving a comprehensive view of their applications' performance, security, and relevance to business outcomes.

Winner:

• Admiral Insurance: Luke Erickson, Head of IT Service Operations

Nominee:

• Barts Health NHS Trust: Fay Stevenson, ICT Director

4. Cybersecurity Defender of The Year

Recognises the customer who prioritises security in every aspect of their business by leveraging Cisco security solutions to enhance resilience, maximise user uptime, and maintain business continuity, securing endpoints and empowering employees across all environments.

Winner:

• All England Lawn Tennis Club: Kevin Ward, Lead Network Engineer

Nominee:

• Rolls-Royce: Paul Knight, Head of Global Enterprise Architecture

5. Sustainability Changemaker

Celebrates a customer who leverages Cisco's innovative solutions to help reduce environmental impacts and drive sustainability.

Winner:

• Wrexham County Borough Council: Simon Billington, IT Director

Nominees:

• NatWest: Mark Holden, Head of Data Networks - Data Services and Seun Akiode, Scrum Master Data Networks & Climate Lead - Network Services
• St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Multi Academy Trust: Amanda C. Greaves, Executive Head Teacher

6. Industry Excellence

Celebrates the organisation whose usage of their Cisco solution solves common challenges faced across their respective industry.

Winner:

• McLaren Racing: Edward Green, Head of IT
• EasyJet: Simon Challis, Platform Lead - Observability & AIOps