Cisco Live US 2026 welcomed public sector leaders from across the country, bringing together government and education organizations to explore the latest innovations, strategies, and best practices in technology. Through tailored sessions and keynotes, the event tackled the unique challenges and opportunities these organizations face—from building digital resilience and securing critical infrastructure to modernizing K-12 networks and preparing campuses for the AI era. Here are the highlights for public sector customers from this year’s conference.

High Impact Sessions

This year’s event featured several high impact public sector sessions, spanning government and education, each pairing a forward-looking vision with real-world customer examples.

• Government – In the Powering the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Government session, Rodney Mckinney addressed the government mandate to deliver AI-enabled innovation without compromising security, resilience, or public trust. The session covered how Cisco’s AI-ready infrastructure helps agencies scale AI-enabled services while protecting critical infrastructure, strengthening cyber defense, and preparing the workforce for new operating models.
• Education – In AI-Ready Infrastructure Powering the Future of Higher Education, Neal Tilley was joined by Jesse Beauman, CTO and Deputy CIO at UNC Charlotte, and Ozlem Cankurtaran, Director of Enterprise Infrastructure at UNC Charlotte. Together, they explored the road to an AI-native campus—built on infrastructure that adapts to agentic operations, prioritizes data governance, and delivers inherent security—connecting and protecting students, staff, and faculty while enhancing productivity across campus operations.
• Education – Mary Schlegelmilch’s session, AI-Ready Infrastructure Powering the Future of Learning, showed how AI is transforming education by personalizing learning experiences, streamlining campus operations, and improving administrative processes, all on Cisco’s secure, reliable AI-ready campus solutions.

Celebrating a Customer Success Story: Yale University

One of the proudest moments of the week was honoring Yale University with the Modernized Infrastructure Maestro Award.

By replacing their legacy network with a secure, scalable Cisco architecture, Yale built a resilient foundation that supports a complex academic and research environment—boosting performance, strengthening cybersecurity, and positioning the University to lead future innovation in teaching, learning, and research. It’s a powerful example of the transformation public sector institutions are driving with Cisco.

For a full list of winners, click here.

Federal Civilian Tech Forum

Our Cisco Federal team extends a sincere thank you to every public sector customer who joined us at Cisco Live US 2026.

A special thank you goes to those who attended our federal-specific breakout events on Monday. Your participation helped us learn, connect, and grow together.

Our Federal Civilian Tech Forum featured a dynamic customer panel that shared insights on addressing aging infrastructure, rising performance demands, cloud adoption, and enhanced network visibility—perspectives that are invaluable as agencies work to redesign, manage, and secure their networks more effectively. Immediately following, our standing-room-only Emerging Defense and Intelligence event explored the evolving security landscape, including Comply-to-Connect, AI-ready infrastructure, and the latest advancements in Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC).

Explore Cisco Live US 2026 On-Demand Sessions

Be sure to check out must-watch sessions such as Powering the Foundation for Tomorrow’s Government, AI-Ready Infrastructure Powering the Future of Higher Education, and AI-Ready Infrastructure Powering the Future of Learning,  for in-depth perspectives on how AI is transforming security and connectivity in the public sector.

Don’t miss the opportunity to catch up on all the valuable insights and innovations shared at Cisco Live US 2026 by exploring the Cisco Live on-demand session library. Whether you want to revisit your favorite presentations or discover new topics relevant to your organization, the on-demand sessions offer flexible access to expert-led discussions, product demonstrations, and industry best practices. It’s the perfect way to stay informed, inspire your team, and make the most of Cisco Live—anytime, anywhere.

Click here for the Cisco Live on-demand library