Latest news with #Cisco360PartnerProgram
Tahawul Tech
22-07-2025
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
'This approach ensures that the partner's unique strengths are recognised and rewarded'
Renton D'Souza, Vice President, Comstor MEA and Priya Limaye, Partner Organisation Lead, Cisco Gulf Region discuss the value of the Cisco 360 Partner Program in this exclusive interview. How does Cisco 360 differ from the various programs Cisco has introduced throughout its 30-year history? Priya : The new Cisco 360 Partner Program represents the most significant evolution of our industry-leading partner program in nearly three decades. It is designed to accelerate the value partners bring to customers by better addressing their rapidly evolving and complex needs – modernising infrastructure, powering AI workloads anywhere, and keeping customers' organisations secure, resilient, and high-performing. The new program reflects a strategic shift in how Cisco and its partners create and deliver value for their customers in today's fast-paced, competitive market. What objectives does Cisco seek to accomplish with the rollout of the program? Priya : The program will redefine what it means to be a successful Cisco partner measuring value over transactions: how partners serve the needs and ambitions of their customers while harnessing the collective strength of Cisco's partner ecosystem in ways that drives growth. The program will elevate partners' stature with customers and upgrade the partner experience with simplified processes and new ways to plan and track performance. For the Cisco 360 Partner Program, we invited partners into the process early to help build it. Our focus is clear: helping partners achieve predictable and profitable growth. We are shifting incentives toward areas like technology innovation rooted in campus refresh, AI and security, software adoption, renewals, and deeper customer engagement to drive long-term success. How does Cisco 360 introduce a new way to measure partner value through its Partner Value Index? Priya : The Cisco 360 Partner Program introduces the Partner Value Index, a new framework that measures the partner's contributions across four key dimensions. First, it assesses the foundational aspect, which reflects the maturity of partner's lifecycle or managed services practices. Next, it evaluates capabilities, focusing on partner's investment in technical and other skills. The framework also considers performance, looking at how effectively the partner is able to land, retain, and renew customer value. Finally, it measures engagement, examining how the partner connects with customers throughout their journey. This approach ensures that the partner's unique strengths—whether in Security, Networking, Collaboration, Cloud & AI, Services and Observability, or across multiple portfolios—are recognised and rewarded. Which new designations are included in the program, and how do they enhance a partner's value to customers? Renton: Cisco is introducing two new partner designations—Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner—to replace the Gold, Premier, and Select levels. This change is designed to showcase partner investments and capabilities, helping customers select the best partner for their needs. As Cisco transitions to the 360 Partner Program, the focus will shift from traditional Architecture Specialisations to Solution-based Specialisations. Cisco is also creating next-generation Specializations for Preferred Partners to highlight their deep technical expertise in specific portfolios or across multiple areas. How is Comstor assisting partners to achieve a seamless transition to the Cisco 360 program? Renton: At Comstor, we are dedicated to helping our partners maximise the benefits of this program. We have been actively raising awareness through training sessions, webinars, and focused discussions during our channel events. Our sales and business development teams are working closely with partners to facilitate a seamless transition to the new program. Additionally, our teams are ensuring full alignment with Cisco to co-innovate and grow together. Image Credit: Comstor & Cisco
Tahawul Tech
30-04-2025
- Business
- Tahawul Tech
Cisco 360 provides a new way to measure partner value
Rashad Baradi, Country Distribution Manager, Cisco – KSA, and Sherif Azzam, Business Unit Manager, Comstor – KSA, elaborate on the ways that the Cisco 360 program is the next step in the evolution of the Cisco Partner Program. What makes Cisco 360 different from other programs launched by Cisco during the past 3 decades of its existence? Rashad: Cisco 360 program has been built with input from over 1,000 hours of feedback from partners, customers, and industry analysts. It builds on our rich hardware and networking legacy while evolving with today's shift to software, subscriptions, and services. The program supports all types of partner models, focusing on what matters most—driving value through go-to-market strategies, building capabilities, and engaging deeply with customers. Its portfolio-based framework ensures partners grow with us as we innovate. The Cisco 360 Partner Program reflects global impact, agility, and simplicity—and most importantly, it represents Cisco's commitment to working together and winning as one ecosystem. Unlike the programs of the past three decades, Cisco 360 has been designed to attract more MSPs and MSSPs with its focus on the value partners bring as opposed to the large transactions they capture. A key focus of the program is to vastly simplify Cisco's complicated program structure that included several different incentives and rebate programs, such as VIP and Perform Plus. What are the goals Cisco is trying to achieve through the rollout of the program? Rashad: The goals of the new program are for Cisco to drive double-digit growth in the markets it serves while boosting the profitability of partners, through which Cisco does 90 percent of its business. As Cisco's business has evolved over the years, it wants to ensure that partners also experience similar growth. Cisco has about 10,000 transaction partners today and the goal is to also open the door for new partners that perhaps haven't done—or have done very little—business with Cisco, including MSSPs. Can you explain how Cisco 360 offers a new way to measure partner value? Rashad: The Cisco 360 Partner Program introduces the Partner Value Index, a new framework for measuring your contribution across four dimensions: • Foundational: The maturity of your lifecycle or managed services practices. • Capabilities: Your investment in technical and other skills. Performance: How you land, retain, and renew customer value. • Engagement: How you connect with customers throughout their journey. This approach ensures that your unique strengths—whether in Security, Networking, Collaboration, Cloud & AI, Services and Observability, and/or across multiple portfolios—are recognised and rewarded. What are the new designations that will be followed under the program and how do they help in amplifying a partner's value to the customers? Rashad: Cisco aims to highlight the investments and capabilities that set partners apart. That is why two new designations have been introduced under the new program: Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner. With the introduction of these designations, the existing Gold, Premier and Select levels will be discontinued. These new designations reflect partners' strengths and commitment to excellence. These new designations will also enable customers to choose their preferred partner(s). Also, as we transition to the Cisco 360 Partner Program, the shift from traditional Architecture Specialisations to Solution-based Specialisations will continue. Cisco is developing next gen Specialisations that will allow partners to differentiate their technical expertise either more deeply into one specific portfolio or across portfolios; going forward, these specialisations will be available to Cisco Preferred Partners. What is Comstor doing to help partners with a smooth transition to Cisco 360 program? Sherif: Cisco 360 is the most significant evolution of Cisco's Partner program in 25 years, designed from the ground up to help Partners build their workforce, enable outcomes, and lead the way for our industry. As Comstor, we are fully focused on ensuring that our partners take full advantage of the program. We have been creating awareness about the program and its benefits through training, webinars and dedicated sessions during our channel events. Our sales and business development teams are engaged with our partners to ensure a smooth transition to the new program. Also, our teams are fully aligned with Cisco to be able to answer any queries that partners might have. Image Credit: Cisco & Comstor
