

NAN098: Democratizing the Learning Environment for Network Engineers
11 snips Aug 20, 2025
Deepak Ahuja, CTO and founder of CloudMyLab, shares his mission to make learning accessible for network engineers. He discusses his journey from India to Cisco, emphasizing hands-on, cloud-based labs that empower aspiring engineers. The conversation dives into the innovative concept of digital twins and the importance of practical environments for real-world challenges. Ahuja highlights the role of automation and AI in modern networking, urging engineers to adapt their skills to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.
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Path From Cisco To CloudMyLab
- Deepak described his Cisco career and how mentoring CCIE students exposed access gaps for engineers worldwide.
- That inspired him to found CloudMyLab to democratize lab access and reduce cost barriers.
Hosted Labs Remove Setup Friction
- Virtual lab tools exist but running them locally still costs time and hardware and distracts from learning.
- Cloud-hosted, ready-to-run labs let learners focus on practicing rather than setup and troubleshooting.
Use Hosted Labs For Faster Practice
- Do use hosted lab-as-a-service when studying to avoid wasting time on deployment and crashes.
- Choose platforms like EVENG or CML as first-class options depending on your certification focus.