You're Not Alone: Business Cases, AI, and Real Conversations
AutoCon 4 Highlights, Takeaways, and What's Next for the Network Automation Community
AutoCon 4 descended on Austin, Texas the week before Thanksgiving, and based on the post-event survey results, the community showed up in force and left energized. Over 700 people attended the main conference and 250+ participated in the pre-event workshops. We asked everyone to tell us what they thought, and you delivered.
Here's what the numbers say: 91% of conference attendees rated their overall experience 4 or 5 out of 5. 94% said they "absolutely" had fun. And perhaps most telling, over half of workshop attendees and 45% of conference attendees were returning for their second, third, or fourth AutoCon. That kind of retention in a community event speaks volumes.
The Hallway Track Wins Again
When we asked what was most valuable about AutoCon 4, one theme dominated: the people. Time and again, respondents cited the "hallway track"—those unscheduled conversations between sessions, at meals, and during evening events—as the highlight of their experience.
"Too often we feel like lone soldiers trudging through the muck to bring networking out of the stone ages," one attendee wrote. "When we attend AutoCon we are reminded we are not alone... AutoCon reinvigorates us with new hope, ideas, and universe expanding eureka moments."
Another captured what many expressed: "For someone who doesn't have colleagues to bounce ideas off of and talk shop, it's refreshing to have network specific folks to chat with."
This is exactly why we do what we do. Network automation practitioners often operate as the only person in their organization pushing this direction. AutoCon exists to remind you that you're part of something bigger.
Talks That Resonated
Several presentations generated significant buzz both in the surveys and in hallway conversations:
John Capobianco's general session talk on AI and network automation was the highest-rated presentation, with attendees calling it "one of the best conference talks in recent memory." His workshop on RAG and MCP was equally praised for being immediately applicable.
Jeff Gray's opening keynote on building a business case for network automation struck a nerve. Multiple attendees mentioned they came to AutoCon specifically needing to justify automation investments to leadership, and Jeff's framework gave them exactly what they needed. "Like the paint by numbers to do just that," one wrote.
Andy Lapteff's lightning talk "Confessions of a CLI Lifer Who Learned to Love Automation" resonated deeply with those still on their automation journey. "It's inviting for newbies who may be experiencing the same struggles," one attendee noted. "Even someone of his stature is in the 'in progress' stage with Python."
Greg Freeman's closing keynote from Lumen showcased production-grade automation at scale, giving attendees a glimpse of what's possible. "Fascinating to see and hear the things they have built."
Eyvonne Sharp's leadership track session "Beyond the Code" was called "best-in-show" by several respondents. The emphasis on people-centric leadership filled a gap that technical conferences often miss.
Workshop Highlights
The two days of pre-conference workshops continue to be one of AutoCon's strongest offerings, with 89% satisfaction ratings. Attendees valued the dedicated time to go deep on specific technologies with expert guidance.
Top-mentioned workshops included John Capobianco's RAG/MCP session, Nokia's gRPC workshop ("very cool and could be applied easily in production"), the Design-Driven Container Labs session, Network Testing with NUTS ("nice mix between entertaining and learning"), and InfraHub's Data Modeling workshop.
As one attendee put it: "Perfect place to quickly get in touch with new technology where at home I miss the time to settle in for a couple of hours."
New This Year: The Track Experiment
AutoCon 4 introduced parallel tracks for the first time: Leadership and Advanced alongside the General Session. The verdict? The Leadership track was a clear win—"a smash hit" according to multiple respondents who appreciated content that addressed the human side of technical change.
The Advanced track concept was well-received, though attendees told us the content didn't always match the label. This is valuable feedback we're taking to heart as we plan future events. Several people suggested renaming it to "Technical Deep Dive" and being more rigorous about what qualifies.
What We're Hearing
Survey feedback isn't just about praise; it's about understanding where we can do better. A few themes emerged clearly:
More depth, please. Several respondents asked for more technical "how we actually did this" content versus high-level overviews. As one engineer put it: "More demos, less slides."
Balance in content. While AI was a significant theme this year (reflecting industry reality), several attendees wanted to ensure we maintain focus on production-proven approaches.
Workshop logistics. Power outlets, room temperature, and presentation visibility were common points. We hear you on the dark-mode slides being hard to see.
We're not committing to specific changes here—that requires more deliberation—but know that we read every piece of feedback and it directly influences our planning.
Key Takeaways from the Community
We asked attendees for their number one takeaway. The responses paint a picture of a community energized but realistic about the work ahead:
"We are not behind. Everyone is."
"Network automation is still in its infancy despite it seeming so advanced in the industry."
"We're further ahead than I thought! Many others experience the same imposter syndrome."
"Network Engineers are rediscovering software engineering fundamentals."
"AI is not just a hype anymore."
"The use of AI is secondary to quality data and automation."
Looking Ahead: AutoCon 5 in Munich
For many attendees, the announcement of AutoCon 5 in Munich was itself a highlight. We're excited to bring the community together in Europe and continue building on what's made these events special.
To everyone who attended AutoCon 4, took the time to fill out surveys, and shared candid feedback: thank you. This community belongs to all of you, and your input shapes what it becomes.
As one attendee summarized perfectly: "Easily one of the most impactful places I have been to for my career. I can't say enough amazing things on how well put together this conference and these workshops were."
See you in Munich.
