At its Partner Summit, Cisco Outlines Changes to its Partner Program and Rolls Out AI Solutions

This week, Cisco is holding its annual Partner Summit in Los Angeles. The annual event brings together many of Cisco’s channel partners to hear what’s new with the partner program and to get a sneak peek at new products.

The partner community has been critical to Cisco’s success for decades, as about 90% of Cisco’s business flows through the channel. One of the consistent themes from Partner Summit is that the company always announces changes to the partner program. Sometimes, it’s significant changes, and other times, minor tweaks, but Cisco is changing the program to align with current trends to ensure its partners are successful, which has the derivative effect of Cisco being successful.

Before the event, I got a preview of the news from Cisco’s leadership, including Jeremy Foster, SVP and GM of Cisco Compute; Rodney Clark, SVP of Partnerships and SMB; Elizabeth De Dobbeleer, VP of Cisco Partner Program; and Par Merat, VP of Learning. The team outlined several initiatives to enhance the Cisco Partner Program and address emerging technological demands. Below are the highlights of what was announced.

Cisco partner program evolution

At the event, Cisco announced the new Cisco 360 Partner Program. Rodney Clark said that Cisco is making significant changes to the partner program to minimize complexity and increase value for partners. He explained that although Cisco’s partner ecosystem is robust, the feedback they’ve received highlighted areas for improvement.

“We’ve had this ecosystem in place for over 25 years,” he said. “The feedback from our partners is that we are a market leader. But we have gotten feedback around the complexity of our program.”

Clark emphasized Cisco’s commitment to addressing these challenges by simplifying operations without compromising profitability. “We want to ensure that we evolve a program that doesn’t have a material impact on profitability. Or, if it does, it’s an increased opportunity for our partners to drive profitability with our program,” he said.

Feedback from partners to me is that the program is complex, although much less so than five years ago. I don't think we'll ever have a day when a partner refers to the program as "easy–peasy,” but it’s good to see simplification being a core tenet of the program.

Redefining partner value

Elizabeth De Dobbeleer looked deeper into the revised program and described the upcoming changes as “probably one of the most significant changes we have made in close to 25 years.”

She said the new Cisco 360 Partner Program will redefine partner value based on four dimensions: foundational investments, capabilities, performance, and engagement. “We are redefining partner value and what it means to be a capable partner for Cisco,” De Dobbeleer said.

She explained that Cisco would move from its traditional tiered system to a value-based framework with two new designations: Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner. “This will allow us to reward and incentivize partners invested across these portfolios,” she said.

In defining partner value, she added that Cisco aims to recognize contributions across various roles, including non-traditional contributors like consultants or influencers who do not transact deals directly.

“Engagement is about what happens before landing, and then landing, adapting, expanding, and renewing,” De Dobbeleer said. She emphasized that this broader definition of value will enable more partners to thrive in Cisco’s ecosystem.

It will be interesting to see how Cisco's partners adapt to this model. Most partner programs define "value" as the revenue created, which can cause some destructive behaviors. A partner may continue to sell legacy products because the process is more straightforward, and deals close faster than with emerging technology. Some partners, such as C1 and World Wide Technology, already operate on the premise of value and should embrace this. Smaller, less sophisticated partners will take some time to adjust. Those that do will be in a better competitive position.

Timeline and visibility

Cisco has set a timeline for the new program, with full implementation expected by February 2026. The new value index will begin with the security portfolio, and other portfolios (collaboration, cloud and AI, and networking) will become visible by mid-2025.

According to De Dobbeleer, this 15-month transition period provides partners ample time to adapt, during which they will receive feedback and visibility into their performance through Cisco’s Partner Experience Platform (PXP). She reassured the partners. “We are committed to giving partners 15 months to move to the new program,” she said. “We will be making more portfolios visible until the summer of next year.”

Empowering partners with technical skills

Par Merat emphasized the importance of technical skills in today’s rapidly evolving AI landscape. “In an AI-powered world, skills and technical talent are at the forefront of every business leader,” she said.

According to Merat, Cisco is investing nearly $80 million into its AI-driven learning platform, Cisco U. It will provide Cisco partners with ten free all-access annual subscriptions. Merat highlighted the platform's personalized and comprehensive nature. “Cisco U effectively and efficiently simplifies and streamlines the learning experience through AI/ML-powered personalized training,” she said.

The platform offers pre- and post-assessments, hands-on labs, and certification paths across technical areas such as network security, AI, and cloud automation. She also shared that partners will have access to continuous learning opportunities, stating.

“We will provide quarterly ladder-up training events for all Cisco partners,” she said. The company will make additional training programs in cybersecurity available through the end of the calendar year.

Cisco is best known as a product company, but its "secret sauce" is its learning programs. Teaching engineers how to build networks the Cisco way creates an army of technical people who recommend Cisco products. Prior to being an analyst, I worked at a VAR and was very well-versed in Cisco, so I knew I would be more successful if I recommended Cisco products. In my case, and with many engineers, it all starts with the learning programs. Under Merat, the programs have kept up with technology shifts and allowed engineers to remain relevant.

AI-ready data centers and hyper fabric

Jeremy Foster introduced several updates regarding Cisco’s AI-ready data centers and infrastructure solutions. He outlined two main focus areas: modernizing traditional workloads and scaling AI applications for enterprises.

 “The things we’re seeing across customers right now...customers looking to refactor and modernize traditional workloads to get ready for AI,” he said. He also introduced Cisco’s new C885 server, designed specifically for AI workloads.

“This is our first server in a lineup of AI-dedicated type use case boxes,” he said. He noted that Cisco’s approach is to support a wide range of hardware, including NVIDIA and AMD accelerators, to help customers run their most demanding AI use cases.

Foster also highlighted Cisco’s focus on simplifying AI deployments through Cisco Validated Designs (CVDs). “These validated designs make it easy for customers to get up and running with AI solutions inside their data center, saving them time, helping them avoid risk,” he said. He also emphasized the significance of Cisco’s new Hyper Fabric solution, which simplifies AI network deployments.

This hits the mark on what customers are looking for. ZK Research and Cube Research recently ran an AI Network survey where we asked what customers are looking for from the vendor community, and the top response was validated designs.

Some final thoughts

All channel eyes were on Partner Summit 2024, the first under Rodney Clark's leadership. Clark took over from Oliver Tuszik, who was very well-liked by the partners. Tuszik’s success sets a high bar, and Clark has made some significant changes to the program to align with what customers need today.

Cisco’s updates to its partner program represent a significant evolution aimed at simplifying processes while enhancing value for a broader range of partners. By focusing on critical areas like technical skills development, AI infrastructure, and a more inclusive partner value framework, Cisco is aligning its program with the needs of a rapidly changing technological landscape.

The company’s decision to provide extensive transition time, protect existing investments, and emphasize training underscores its commitment to helping partners succeed. As Par Merat noted, “We are committed to empowering our partners with the skills and the technical tools to thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape.”

These changes signal Cisco’s intent to maintain its leadership while fostering deeper, more flexible partnerships with its ecosystem.

Zeus Kerravala is the founder and principal analyst with ZK Research. Read his other Network Computing articles here.