Cisco Certification Redesign in 2022: What’s Different and Why It Matters

Cisco’s certification program has rarely stood still for long, and 2022 brought a meaningful set of updates that reshaped parts of its credential portfolio. The most significant development that year was the completion of the DevNet certification track with the introduction of the Cisco Certified DevNet Expert credential, finally giving network professionals an expert level option focused specifically on automation and software development skills.
Alongside this headline change, Cisco also retired a handful of older specialist exams and refreshed others, including an updated version of the CCDE design certification. Taken together, these changes reflected a broader shift already underway across the networking industry, where automation and programmability were rapidly becoming core skills rather than a niche specialization reserved for a small subset of engineers.

Completing The DevNet Certification Track

Before 2022, Cisco’s DevNet certification path offered only associate and professional level credentials, leaving a noticeable gap at the top of the ladder compared to Cisco’s more traditional networking tracks. With the introduction of DevNet Expert, Cisco finally completed this structure, giving automation focused professionals the same three tier progression long available to those pursuing traditional routing and switching certifications.
This completion mattered symbolically as much as practically, since it signaled that Cisco viewed automation expertise as deserving the same level of recognition as its most prestigious networking credentials. Professionals who had already earned DevNet Associate and Professional certifications finally had a clear, defined path toward the highest level of recognition within that specialization.

Introducing The Cisco Certified DevNet Expert Credential

The Cisco Certified DevNet Expert certification was designed to validate a professional’s ability to leverage automation across a broad range of real world scenarios, going well beyond basic scripting or configuration tasks. Candidates pursuing this credential needed to demonstrate competency in planning, designing, developing, deploying, and maintaining software solutions within complex, automation driven network environments.
This certification positioned itself as something genuinely different from Cisco’s other expert level offerings, since it required candidates to think like both network engineers and software developers simultaneously. Rather than focusing primarily on hardware configuration, DevNet Expert emphasized the kind of programmatic thinking and software development lifecycle knowledge that had traditionally lived outside the networking discipline entirely.

What The DevNet Expert Lab Exam Actually Tests

Like other expert level Cisco certifications, DevNet Expert required candidates to pass a written qualifying exam before becoming eligible for an intensive, eight hour hands on lab exam. This lab exam evaluated a candidate’s ability to design automation solutions for hybrid, on premises, and public cloud deployments, while also recommending strategies to minimize risk and protect service availability.
Beyond pure design work, the lab also tested practical skills like modifying existing automation solutions to meet shifting technical and business requirements, working with Git within a continuous integration and deployment workflow, and troubleshooting issues that arise within these pipelines. This combination of design, development, and troubleshooting skills made the exam genuinely distinct from the hardware focused practical exams associated with Cisco’s more traditional expert certifications.

Why Automation Became A Certification Priority

The push toward automation certification did not happen in isolation, but reflected a broader transformation already reshaping how IT services were delivered across the industry. Manual configuration of network devices had become increasingly impractical at scale, since it remained time consuming, prone to human error, and difficult to replicate consistently across large infrastructures.
Automation offered a clear alternative, enabling consistent, repeatable, and auditable processes that could be tested and deployed rapidly through modern development pipelines. This shift also carried significant implications for security and compliance, since scripted policy enforcement allowed engineers to maintain consistent security baselines and respond to incidents far more quickly than manual processes ever could.

How DevNet Differs From Traditional Networking Certifications

Traditional Cisco certifications like CCNA, CCNP, and CCIE have historically centered on routing, switching, and security knowledge, testing a candidate’s ability to configure and troubleshoot network hardware directly. DevNet certifications, by contrast, emphasized a different skill set entirely, blending networking knowledge with software development practices, application programming interfaces, and automation tooling.
This distinction meant that DevNet certified professionals were often viewed differently than their traditionally certified counterparts, valued not just for deep platform knowledge but for understanding software development lifecycles, secure coding practices, and continuous delivery methodologies. This blend of skills positioned DevNet professionals at the intersection of two disciplines that had previously operated largely independently of one another.

Updates To The CCDE Certification Path

Alongside the introduction of DevNet Expert, Cisco also updated its Certified Design Expert certification, refreshing the underlying exam content to reflect current industry practices and design considerations. This update ensured that CCDE, one of Cisco’s most respected design focused credentials, continued to reflect genuinely current network design challenges rather than outdated assumptions.
These updates mattered particularly for experienced network architects, since CCDE validates the ability to design complex, large scale network infrastructures rather than simply configure individual devices. Keeping this exam current helped ensure that newly certified professionals were being tested against design challenges genuinely relevant to the infrastructure they would actually encounter in their professional roles.

Retirement Of Older Specialist Exams

As part of the broader 2022 changes, Cisco also retired a handful of older specialist exams that had become less relevant to current industry needs. Among these were exams tied to the Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise Specialist certification path, which were replaced with updated versions reflecting current contact center technology and practices.
These kinds of retirements happen regularly across Cisco’s certification portfolio, reflecting the company’s ongoing effort to keep its credentials aligned with actual industry practice rather than outdated technology. For candidates who had already begun preparing for a retiring exam, these changes served as a reminder of how important it is to stay current with Cisco’s official certification roadmap throughout any preparation journey.

What These Changes Meant For Existing Certification Holders

For professionals who already held DevNet Associate or Professional certifications before 2022, the introduction of DevNet Expert created a clear and welcome opportunity to continue advancing within a track they had already invested significant time and effort into. Rather than needing to pivot toward a different certification family entirely, these professionals could now pursue the natural next step within their existing specialization.
This continuity mattered considerably for career planning, since it allowed automation focused professionals to demonstrate continued growth and expertise without abandoning the foundation they had already built. For those earlier in their DevNet journey, the existence of a defined expert level credential also provided a clearer long term goal to work toward from the very beginning.

The Growing Importance Of Software Skills In Networking

The 2022 redesign reflected a broader truth that had been building for years across the networking industry, namely that software development skills were becoming increasingly essential even for professionals who did not consider themselves developers in any traditional sense. Modern network infrastructure increasingly relies on programmable interfaces, infrastructure as code practices, and automated workflows rather than purely manual configuration.
This shift meant that networking professionals who invested in developing software adjacent skills, even at a relatively basic level, found themselves better positioned for the direction the industry was already heading. The introduction of DevNet Expert formalized recognition of this trend, giving professionals who had already developed these hybrid skills a credential that genuinely reflected their actual capabilities.

How Employers Responded To These New Credentials

Organizations increasingly investing in network automation and infrastructure as code practices found genuine value in the new DevNet Expert credential, since it provided a reliable way to identify candidates capable of bridging traditional networking knowledge with modern software development practices. This combination of skills had become increasingly difficult to find through traditional hiring processes alone.
Employers in industries undergoing significant digital transformation, where rapid, automated infrastructure changes had become essential to staying competitive, particularly valued this new credential. For many organizations, DevNet Expert certified professionals became key contributors to broader automation initiatives that extended well beyond traditional network operations into areas like continuous integration and deployment pipelines.

Career Paths Opened By The DevNet Expert Certification

Earning DevNet Expert certification often translated into access to senior level positions, frequently accompanied by compensation packages reflecting the depth and rarity of this particular skill combination. These roles often carried additional responsibilities beyond pure technical work, including leadership opportunities, cross departmental collaboration, and meaningful influence over broader technology strategy decisions.
For freelancers and independent consultants, this certification also served as a powerful trust signal for clients seeking sophisticated automation solutions, helping differentiate their services in an increasingly competitive consulting landscape. The credential effectively validated a rare combination of skills that many organizations actively struggled to find through conventional hiring channels alone.

Comparing DevNet Expert To CCIE

Professionals often found themselves comparing DevNet Expert to Cisco’s more traditional CCIE certifications, since both represent the highest tier within their respective tracks and both require passing a demanding hands on lab exam. The key distinction lies in focus, with CCIE emphasizing deep expertise in network infrastructure design and troubleshooting, while DevNet Expert emphasizes automation, software development, and programmatic network management.
Rather than viewing these certifications as competing options, many professionals came to see them as complementary credentials suited to different but increasingly intertwined career paths. Some experienced professionals even pursued both certifications over time, recognizing that the combination of deep infrastructure knowledge and automation expertise created an especially powerful and differentiated professional profile.

Preparing For The Updated CCDE Exam

The updated CCDE exam required candidates to demonstrate design expertise reflecting current network architecture challenges, including considerations around scalability, security, and the growing role of automation within large scale network designs. Preparing for this updated exam meant candidates needed to move beyond older design patterns that no longer reflected genuinely current best practices.
This update reinforced the importance of staying current with Cisco’s evolving design philosophy rather than relying on outdated study materials or assumptions carried over from earlier exam versions. Candidates who approached their preparation with this awareness were better positioned to demonstrate the kind of forward looking design thinking the updated exam was specifically designed to evaluate.

What These Changes Signaled About Cisco’s Direction

Looking at the 2022 redesign as a whole, the changes signaled a clear and intentional direction toward recognizing automation and software development as core, rather than peripheral, networking skills. By completing the DevNet track with an expert level credential, Cisco effectively elevated automation expertise to the same tier of recognition long reserved for its most traditional and prestigious certifications.
This direction proved to be more than a passing trend, as subsequent years brought continued investment and expansion of automation focused content across Cisco’s broader certification portfolio. Professionals who recognized this signal early and began building automation skills alongside their traditional networking knowledge positioned themselves well for the continued evolution of the field in the years that followed.

Lessons For Professionals Planning Their Certification Path

The 2022 redesign offers a useful lesson for any networking professional planning their certification journey, namely that staying attentive to where an industry is heading often matters as much as mastering current best practices. Professionals who had already begun investing in automation skills before DevNet Expert existed found themselves well positioned to pursue the new credential as soon as it became available.
This pattern tends to repeat throughout any certification journey, where staying broadly aware of industry trends, rather than focusing narrowly on currently available credentials alone, often leads to better long term career positioning. Professionals who build adjacent or complementary skills proactively, even before a formal certification exists to validate them, frequently find themselves ahead of the curve when new credentials eventually emerge.

How To Stay Current As Cisco Continues Evolving

Given how frequently Cisco continues to update and reshape its certification portfolio, staying current requires regularly checking official certification resources rather than relying on outdated information or assumptions from previous years. Certification requirements, exam content, and even entire track structures can shift meaningfully over time, making ongoing awareness an essential part of any serious certification strategy.
Professionals planning their certification path should build in periodic check ins to verify that their chosen track still reflects Cisco’s current structure and priorities, rather than assuming the landscape remains static once they begin their preparation. This habit of staying informed, established early in a certification journey, tends to serve professionals well throughout their entire career as Cisco and the broader industry continue to evolve.

Conclusion

The Cisco certification changes introduced in 2022 marked a meaningful moment in the broader evolution of networking credentials, formally recognizing automation and software development as essential skills deserving of expert level certification status. The introduction of DevNet Expert completed a track that had previously lacked a clear top tier destination, giving automation focused professionals the same structured progression long available within Cisco’s traditional networking certifications. This change reflected a genuine industry shift rather than a superficial rebranding effort, as manual network configuration increasingly gave way to automated, programmable infrastructure management across organizations of every size.
Beyond the headline DevNet Expert announcement, the accompanying updates to CCDE and the retirement of older specialist exams reinforced a broader pattern that has defined Cisco’s certification program for years, namely a willingness to continuously refine its credentials to match genuinely current industry practice. For professionals navigating this evolving landscape, these changes underscored the importance of staying informed and adaptable, rather than assuming that any single certification path would remain static indefinitely.
Looking back, the 2022 redesign proved to be an early signal of changes that would continue accelerating in the years that followed, as automation, cloud integration, and software adjacent skills became increasingly central to nearly every corner of Cisco’s certification portfolio. Professionals who recognized and adapted to this direction early, building both traditional networking expertise and automation skills in parallel, positioned themselves particularly well for the continued evolution of the networking field in the years since.