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Shannon McFarland

Vice President, Developer Relations & Experience

DevRel

Shannon McFarland is the Vice President of Cisco DevNet - Cisco's Developer Relations organization. His mission centers on fostering a thriving developer community built on collaboration, education, and awareness. With a strong focus on ensuring exceptional API and developer experiences, Shannon is committed to driving innovation and empowering developers worldwide. Shannon's passion for open source principles drives him to champion its adoption and contribution within the industry. He firmly believes in the power of mentoring to shape future generations of developers and prioritize initiatives that promote diversity and inclusivity, creating a more welcoming and supportive tech ecosystem for all. Together, he believes we are shaping a brighter future for developers and advancing the boundaries of technology through shared knowledge and collaboration. Shannon has been a Cisco Distinguished Engineer, an author (Enterprise IPv6 Networks), a frequent speaker at multiple global conferences, a multi-patent co-author, and a CCIE (#5245 - Route/Switch).

Articles

May 12, 2025

7

DEVELOPER

MCP for DevOps, NetOps, and SecOps: Real-World Use Cases and Future Insights

5 min read

MCP for DevOps, NetOps, and SecOps: Real-World Use Cases and Future Insights In the previous post on MCP for DevOps: Architecture and Components, we discussed what MCP is and is not. We dove into a few architectural components and gently touched on use cases. Now, let’s explore a few possible use cases for MCP in DevOps/NetOps/SecOps. […]

April 29, 2025

3

DEVELOPER

MCP for DevOps – Series Opener and MCP Architecture Intro

10 min read

MCP for DevOps – Series Opener and MCP Architecture Intro You have undoubtedly heard about Anthropic’s MCP (Model Context Protocol) open source project. If you haven’t, I hope your vacation on a remote island without internet access was lovely! As a die-hard YouTube Premium fan, I am inundated with video recommendations with themes like “What […]

May 15, 2024

2

DEVELOPER

Announcing the Build for Better Code Challenge Winners

3 min read

We invited the Cisco DevNet community to use automation and AI to demonstrate the significant role technology can play in addressing tech's ecological footprint. We were blown away by the community participation.

March 14, 2024

DEVELOPER

“Build for Better” – Revolutionize Sustainability with AI, Observability, and Cisco Tech

2 min read

Join the "Build for Better" sustainability coding challenge and build energy-efficient solutions that could be the catalyst for a greener and more sustainable future.

March 13, 2024

DEVELOPER

Shift Left Exhaustion – Part 2: Smart Shift Left

3 min read

See how smart shift left provides developers with a streamlined way of learning about the new tasks they must take care of, and other practical steps to achieve a balanced approach to shift left.

March 7, 2024

DEVELOPER

Avoiding Shift Left Exhaustion – Part 1

5 min read

"Shift left" is a potentially game-changing approach to software development that is transforming the way developers work, and ushering in a new era of software development... Or is it?!

February 20, 2024

DEVELOPER

Accessing the Power of AI-led Digital Transformation with API Abstraction

3 min read

See how this year, like no other, organizations will tap into APIs to sidestep the complexity and cost of developing and maintaining their own AI solutions and models.

January 26, 2024

DEVELOPER

Shift-left Convergence with Generative AI Improves the Programmer’s Role

3 min read

We’re seeing profound transformation within software programming as the realities of new tools, approaches, and technologies come together. See how collaboration and converged platforms, plus the help of AI, will allow programmers to produce better software in less time.