E118 - Toni Pasanen at Fujitsu

On today’s episode of The Route to Networking, we were joined by our host, Ralph Marchant and special guest, Principal Network Architect at Fujitsu. During this episode, they discuss Toni’s start in the Networking industry and the timeline from the start to where he is today with some background on how he got started writing books. Toni also shares some valuable advice with those who are just getting started in the Networking field and the importance of staying humble.

Toni started his career 25 years ago as a help desk specialist, where he helped customers with their day-to-day operations. After two years in the role, he was invited to join the corporate network group, despite having no prior experience or formal education in networking.

Toni’s journey into networking started over a casual coffee chat, where his colleagues saw potential in him and offered him the opportunity to learn on the job. In those days, formal qualifications were not a requirement to get into the networking field. Toni took the chance and quickly fell in love with the work. He spent the next six years working in the corporate network group, where he learned the ins and outs of networking and gained hands-on experience in the field.

After his time in the corporate network group, Toni moved on to Teleware, where he worked on developing course materials for networking certifications, including TCP/IP and Cisco certifications. He ran courses and training sessions to help others develop their skills in the field of networking.

One of his proudest achievements was deploying one of the world’s first UPLS data centre interconnection networks. The project was a challenging one, but Toni and his team were able to successfully deploy the solution, and as a result, Toni was invited to present it at Cisco Live Barcelona in 2009.

In 2009, Toni decided to take the next step in his career by pursuing the prestigious CCIE certification. At the end of that year, Toni joined Fujitsu, where he continued to apply his skills and expertise in networking.

Writing books…

Toni Pasanen’s passion for networking extends beyond his professional career. He is also an author, having written eight books on various networking topics. Toni’s desire to share his knowledge with others has led him to create these resources to help others learn about the field of networking.

The old expression that Toni refers to, “sharing is caring,” is still as relevant today as it was when it was first coined. The idea behind this expression is that by sharing our knowledge and expertise with others, we can help them grow and achieve their goals.

Toni advises individuals to embrace their curiosity. In the networking industry, curiosity is an essential trait that can drive innovation and keep you engaged with your work. It’s crucial to keep asking questions, even if you fear that you might sound silly.

Tune in on the 28/02/2023 to hear the full episode!