15 Networking Experts To Follow on LinkedIn

Technology is fast-paced and constantly changing, but it seems like the past few years have broken every record. Covid-19 and the transition to remote work, high-profile cyber security attacks and massive geo-political shifts have enhanced and intensified the need for new networking solutions, and vendors are quick to respond with new networking point solutions which address the problems de jour.

But how can IT teams and network architects make heads or tails of these rapid shifts? Such intense global and industry-wide changes require the advice of experts who are familiar with both the technical and business landscape, and can speak to the newest technology trends.

Below, we’ve listed 15 of the top experts in enterprise networking and SD-WAN that we recommend following on Linkedin. They are masters in their domain, and industry leaders who can help you stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the world of enterprise networking. They have many years of hands-on and consulting experience, so when they speak about enterprise networks, it’s always worth hearing what they have to say.

1. Greg Ferro

https://www.linkedin.com/in/etherealmind/

@etherealmind

Greg is a co-founder of Packet Pushers, an online media outlet that has covered data, networking and infrastructure for over 12 years. Packet Pushers provides valuable information that can help nearly any professional in the networking field including insights on: public cloud usage, SD-WAN, five minute vendor news, IPv6, and more. Home to a series of podcasts, blog posts, articles, a Spotify channel, and even a newsletter – it’s a multi-media experience. Besides Packet Pushers, Greg runs another well-known industry blog, EtherealMind.com.

2. Ivan Pepelnjak

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanpepelnjak/

@ioshints

Ivan is a blogger at ipSpace.net, an author, a webinar presenter and a network architect. His writings and webinars focus mainly on network automation, software-defined networking, large-scale data center tech, network virtualization technologies and advanced IP-based networks. By following him and/or ipSpace.net, you will have access to a plethora of network technology resources, including online courses, webinars, podcasts and blogs.

3. Orhan Ergun

https://www.linkedin.com/in/orhanergun/

@OrhanErgunCCDE

Orhan is an IT trainer, an author and a network architect. On Linkedin, Orhan shares his ideas and thoughts, as well as updates about his recent webinars, blog posts and training courses, to his ~40,000 followers. He also spices up his updates by sprinkling in funny memes with inside IT humor. Orhan’s courses can be found on his website at orhanergun.net, where he focuses on network design, routing, the cloud, security and large-scale networks.

4. Jeff Tantsura

​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-tantsura/

Jeff is a Sr. Principal Network Architect at Azure Networking, as well as a writer, editor, podcaster, patent inventor and advisor to startups in networking and security areas. His podcast, “Between 0x2 Nerds”, is bi-monthly and discusses networking topics including: network complexity, scalability, up-and-coming technologies and more. The podcast hosts industry experts, software engineers, academia researchers and decision-makers – so when listening to it, you can expect to hear from professionals with a wide variety of opinions, points of view and areas of expertise!

5. Daniel Dib

https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieldib/

@danieldibswe

Daniel Dib is a Senior Network Architect experienced in routing, switching and security. He is also a prolific content creator, writing blog posts for his own networking-focused blog “Lost in Transit”, as well as additional publications, like “Network Computing”. It’s a  great choice if you’re interested in learning more about CCNA, CCNP, CCDP, CCIE, CCDE and all of our various certification courses. His social media posts cover both professional and personal matters, for those of you who like to get to know the person behind the professional. 

6. David Bombal

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal/

@davidbombal

David Bombal is an author, instructor and YouTuber, creating content for networking professionals across multiple channels. Focusing on topics like network automation, Python programming, ethical hacking and Cisco exams, his videos, podcasts and courses provide a wide range of resources for beginners and advanced learners. David’s online Discord community is also worth visiting, as an online venue for ongoing IT support and communication.

7. John Chambers

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnchambersjc/

@JohnTChambers

John is the CEO of JC2 Ventures and was previously at Cisco for 26 years, serving as CEO, Chairman and President, among other positions. With more than 263,000 followers on Linkedin and more than 22,000 on Twitter, John is an important source of information for networking professionals interested in a broader, more strategic view of the technological market.

8. Tom Hollingsworth

https://www.linkedin.com/in/networkingnerd/

@networkingnerd

Tom is a networking analyst at Foskett Services and the creator of networkingnerd.net, an online media outlet where he offers a tongue-in-cheek take on networking news and trends. In his latest post he compares Apple Air Tags and lost luggage at airports to SD-WAN. If blog posts aren’t your thing, you can also hear what Tom has to say on his “Tomversations” YouTube playlist or by attending the “Tech Field Day” events he organizes.

9. Matt Conran

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewconranjnr/

Matt is a cloud and network architecture specialist with more than 20 years of networking experience in support, engineering, network design, security and architecture. Matt juggles consultancy as an independent contractor with publishing technical content on his website “Network Insight” and with creating training courses on Pluralsight. On his website, you can find helpful explainer videos and posts on a variety of networking topics including cloud security, observability, SD-WAN and more.

10. Russ White

https://www.linkedin.com/in/riw777/

@rtggeek

Russ White is an infrastructure architect, co-host of “The Hedge”, a computer network podcast, and blogger. He has also published a number of books on network architecture. His Linkedin posts are a bulletin board of his latest blog and podcast updates, so by following him you can stay on track of his latest publications, ranking from hands-on network advice to info on how technology will be shaped by global events.

11. Ben Hendrick

www.linkedin.com/in/bhendrick/

Ben is the Chief Architect in the Office of the CTO of the Global Secure Infrastructure Domain at Microsoft. His Linkedin posts focus mainly on recent cybersecurity updates, covering specific events as well as industry trends. With nearly 35 years of network and security experience, you can be sure his daily updates are based on broad insights and a deep familiarity with the networking and security space.

12. Ashish Nadkarni

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishnadkarni/

@ashish_nadkarni

Ashish leads two research groups at analyst firm IDC. Both of them – Infrastructure Systems, Platforms and Technologies (ISPTG) and BuyerView Research – are part of IDC’s Worldwide Enterprise Infrastructure practice. Ashish delivers reports, blog posts and webinars, and his Linkedin feed to keep up with the latest trends and technologies in networking. Examples of his previous posts include preparing for IT infrastructure supply shortages, storage for AI workloads, and takeaways from networking industry events.

13. Erik Fritzler

https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikfritzler/

@FritzlerErik

Erik has nearly 25 years of experience in network architecture and regularly posts blogs on “Network World”. He specializes in SD-WAN, Network Design, and Engineering and IT Security. In his recent blog post “Why WAN metrics are not enough in SD-WAN policy enforcement”, he discusses how SD-WAN captures metrics that go far beyond the typical WAN measurements including application response time, network transfer time, and server response time.

14. Matt Simmons

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattsimmonssysadmin/

@standaloneSA

Matt is an SRE at SpaceX, where he is responsible for the infrastructure around the ground control plane. His team owns the OS installation on bare metal, up through the Kubernetes orchestration layer, as well as monitoring, CI/CD and more. If you’re interested in learning about technological “How To’s” and the science of space, Matt’s Linkedin is the place for you. Matt also has a Github repository where he hosts projects and experiments that may be helpful to networking professionals.

15. Cato Networks

https://www.linkedin.com/company/cato-networks/

https://twitter.com/CatoNetworks

Did you know that Cato Networks is also on social? Our social channels are a great way to keep on top of SASE and Security Service Edge (SSE) updates, read original research and even get access to “member only” exclusive events. We run surveys, host giveaways and include updates from industry experts, like our CEO and COO, Shlomo Kramer (co-founder of Check Point,) and Gur Shatz (co-founder of Imperva).

Who Do You Follow?

As business needs and technologies evolve, it can be difficult to constantly keep up with the changes. Experts like the 15 listed above can help, by passing on their know-how, insights and experience through their Linkedin, blogs, Youtube channels, or whatever way you prefer to consume content.

So, who do you follow? Share with us on Linkedin.