https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2022 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Channel Partners 101 (CP 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Technology Solutions Brokerages
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2022 NextGen 101 Rankings
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • Channel Futures TV
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Advertise
    • 2022 Editorial Calendar
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2022 MSP 501
    • Channel Influencers
    • Circle of Excellence
    • DE&I 101
    • Channel Partners 101 (CP 101)
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • MSP Summit
    • Channel Partners Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • About Us
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

New/Changing Channel Programs


Cisco’s New Spin On Potential HP Price War

  • Written by The VAR Guy 1
  • July 9, 2009
Some words echo across the IT channel. A case in point: Back in June, Cisco Systems Senior VP Chuck Robbins allegedly uttered three infamous words that declared war on Hewlett-Packard. Fast forward to the present, and Cisco Senior VP Wendy Bahr (pictured) is striving to soften Robbins' words with new perspectives.

Bahr CiscoSome words echo across the IT channel. A case in point: Back in June, Cisco Systems Senior VP Chuck Robbins allegedly uttered three infamous words that declared war on Hewlett-Packard. Fast forward to the present, and Cisco Senior VP Wendy Bahr (pictured) is striving to soften Robbins’ words with new perspectives. It’s an interesting case study in channel competition, and blogger-driven gossip. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

First, the back story. At Cisco Partner Summit on June 4, The VAR Guy reported:

During a private meeting with channel partners, Robbins allegedly told VARs they must “Refuse To Lose” when competing with HP, according to three of The VAR Guy’s trusted sources. And Robbins allegedly tossed in this gem: “I am your personal deals desk.”

In other words, if Cisco partners need a better deal to beat HP on price, the partners should call Robbins directly. The Cisco partners said they wouldn’t take Robbins up on the offer because they don’t want to alienate their existing Cisco account representatives. But the message is clear: The war is on with HP.

Fast forward to the present. Robbins’ words seem to be haunting Cisco… gradually moving from the blogosphere into the IT media. Follow-up stories about the potential Cisco-HP price war have appeared here and here on CRN.

Cisco Channel Blog

Eager to clarify the situation, Cisco is taking its message direct to its own partners — through the company’s channel blog.

In a July 9 blog entry, Cisco Senior VP Wendy Bahr emphasizes value over sales volume:

By knowing they will be rewarded for the value they deliver to the customers, not the volume they deliver to the vendor, our partners have the confidence to build their businesses around solving customers’ toughest issues and addressing their greatest opportunities.

Finally, Bahr addresses the “Refuse to Lose” comment allegedly uttered by Robbins, stating:

So if “value” remains our focus, what did we mean by “Refuse to Lose”?

We recognize that in this challenging economic environment it’s more important than ever that we help our customers realize the value from their IT investment. And at Cisco Partner Summit, we candidly discussed our passion to work with our partners to meet the challenge of competition from price and volume-driven vendors.

Hmmm. So, which “price and volume-driven vendor” keeps Cisco up at night? Bahr didn’t mention names in her blog entry. But Cisco certainly seems to have HP on its mind.

Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center.

Tags: Agents Cloud Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Leadership New/Changing Channel Programs

Most Recent


  • New Chapter
    The Gately Report: SonicWall Partners to Play Big Role in Company's Next Chapter
    Meantime, a financially motivated threat actor is increasingly targeting hospitality, hotel and travel organizations.
  • Changing the Partner Conversation
    Advantage Communications, Pushing Agent-MSP Convergence, Lands Extreme Networks Partnership
    Advantage will provide white-labeled telecom life cycle management to elite Extreme Networks customers at no cost.
  • Revamping
    As Broadcom Deal Looms, VMware Revamps Partner Connect in a Big Way
    What’s coming and when? Find out. Hints: New methods of compensation, progression, more focus on services.
  • Cloud marketplace
    Need Help With Your Marketplace Strategy? Ingram Micro Cloud Has a Plan
    The cloud marketplace vendor is debuting a membership program for VARs and MSPs.

2 comments

  1. Avatar Mum's the Word July 10, 2009 @ 7:42 am
    Reply

    Var Guy, thank you for keeping your original sources on the Robbins quotes confidential. I look forward to seeing you at Cisco Partner Summit 2010.

  2. Avatar The VAR Guy July 10, 2009 @ 7:52 am
    Reply

    The VAR Guy promises not to reveal your name… as long as you pump more info toward our resident blogger during Cisco Partner Summit 2010.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Partner programs
    Commvault Adds New MSP Partner Program with Specific Pricing
  • Benefit, Plus Sign
    TBI, Avant Add New Cloud, Security Suppliers to Lineups
  • Refresh Icon
    SnapLogic Partners Get Program Revamp with New Focus on Specializations
  • clouds
    Nutanix Elevate Program Now Open to Service Providers Globally

Upcoming Events

View all

MSP Summit

September 13, 2022 - September 16, 2022

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

May 1, 2023 - May 4, 2023

Galleries

View all

7 Channel People Making Waves This Week at Verizon, Brightspeed, Okta, Nutanix, More

August 19, 2022

The Gately Report: SonicWall Partners to Play Big Role in Company’s Next Chapter

August 19, 2022

As Artificial Intelligence Advances, Is Human Error Holding Up the Contact Center?

August 19, 2022

Industry Perspectives

View all

How to Take Shared Responsibility for Securing Cloud

August 11, 2022

Seize the Application Modernization Opportunity

August 2, 2022

A Growth Mindset: Your Organization’s Strategic Differentiator

August 1, 2022

Webinars

View all

Outsmarting RaaS: Implementation Strategies To Help Your Clients Before, During, and After a Ransomware Attack

August 23, 2022

Why it is Important to Upgrade Aging Servers and How to use Live Optics to Upgrade Efficiently

August 25, 2022

Executives at Home are Not Alright: An Intro to Digital Executive Protection

September 8, 2022

White Papers

View all

Work Goes Remote – (and Other Top ITOps Trends)

May 25, 2022

The New Bottom Line: How MSPs Can Meet the Healthcare Crisis While Evolving Their Businesses

April 19, 2022

How to build a Security Operations Center (on a budget)

April 4, 2022

Channel Futures TV

View all

ThreatLocker Preaches Zero Trust, Addresses Industry Competition

Cisco Taking Partners of All Types to ‘New Heights’

August 19, 2022

Kaseya-Datto: Channel Exec Talks MSP Benefits from Acquisition

August 19, 2022

RingCentral Partner Revenue Growth Hits Highs in 2022

August 19, 2022

Twitter

ChannelFutures

.@RingCentral's Wendy Harmon explains why partners have reason to celebrate this year. @MSP_Summit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

Channel development manager Jason Pryce of @datto on @KaseyaCorp's acquisition, security push and more. @MSP_Summit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

.@FrontierCorp workers on #strike in California for subcontracting. @CWAUnion dlvr.it/SWwXhh https://t.co/c8QQZyBaq5

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

.@MichelleRagusa of @CiscoPartners gets us ready for @MSP_Summit by talking #SMB, security and more. #MSPSummit… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

.@IGIcyber sidles up to @meetgradient to bring ease of use and added value to MSPs. dlvr.it/SWwRSG https://t.co/vLFDPfAyQ1

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

Now Available: Expo Pass to Channel Partners Leadership Summit & #MSPSummit this September 13-16! Take a look at th… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

How do you stay on top of your game? 💪 By connecting & sharing knowledge with other elite partners, ready to stay r… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022
ChannelFutures

How do you stay on top of your game? 💪 By connecting & sharing knowledge with other elite partners, ready to stay r… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

August 19, 2022

MSP 501

The industry's largest and most comprehensive partner awards program.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X