Cisco Revamps Partner Program to Focus on Architectures

Cisco Systems has revamped its partner program to better align its channel partners with the company’s three major areas of focus and shift them beyond technology solutions into architecture-based solutions.

The company’s Channel Partner Program is introducing new architecture specializations for Borderless Networks, Collaboration and Data Center, and will require its partners to go through training and certification in at least one of the specializations, depending on their partner level.

“We’re doing because Cisco sees four major markets – video, collaboration, data center virtualization and the cloud – and all have a significant market change associated with them,” said Ricardo Moreno, senior director, Strategy, Planning and Programs at Cisco. “This is an opportunity for partners to show their value in both processes and services. Services are by far the best element to drive partner profitability, and we want to ensure they accelerate the adoption of architectures and help those that are not there yet.”

Cisco began aligning its technology and marketing conversations around the three technology pillars – Borderless Networks, collaboration and data center – in 2009, touting the benefits of an architecture-based solutions rather than a technology-focused solutions. However, its partner program still featured training and certification that centered on particular technologies. Fast forward to 2011 and Cisco is now rectifying that discrepancy.

The company has announced three new specializations that will eventually be required for partners: Advanced Borderless Network Architecture Specialization, Advanced Collaboration Architecture Specialization, and Advanced Data Center Architecture Specialization.

The training will encompass not only the technology, but also the processes and services and how to bring those together, Moreno noted. “We want partners to understand the impact of the three together – it’s broadening the approach to selling the technology.”

Partners can submit their application for the specializations starting in August 2011 and beginning in August 2012, partners must achieve certification in all three architecture specializations to achieve Cisco Gold Certification or at least one for Cisco Silver Certified Partners. Cisco Premier Certified Partners can have either one of the architecture specializations or the Cisco Express Foundation Specialization.

“We are trying to recognize and build on our partners’ existing capabilities, enabling them to evolve toward a more profitable model and ensure they are more relevant to their customers,” Moreno said. “It’s a more holistic approach to addressing customers’ needs.”

Partners have at least until August 2012 – and as late as July 2013, depending on their anniversary date – to become certified under the new program, which Moreno noted is actually less expensive than the old program.

“So what is the real impact for our partners? First, when we compare the new Gold requirements to the existing program, it is about $50,000 less expensive for partners to achieve the first certification,” Moreno said. “We have reduced the lab requirements, reduced the number of training hours and removed a lot of the less-relevant training courses.”

Current Gold partners will have to invest anywhere from 12 to 150 hours of training over 12 to16 months, he said. To help ease the financial pain of making the transition, Cisco is giving the first 500 partners up to $5,000 in Cisco learning credits for training courses and also is putting the majority of its courses online, which is free for partners.

“For partners, this means much larger margin opportunities,” Moreno said.

Cisco has joined a growing trend of vendors shifting their partner sales’ strategies to focus on selling solutions, not technologies. Brocade, for one, has made it a priority within its partner ranks, and has invested much of its own money to educate its partners to make the shift– a strategy Vice President of Worldwide Channels Barbara Spicek said is the vendor’s responsibility.

It’s a pretty safe bet that Cisco’s moves will cause some grumbling among its channel partners because of the time and money involved, regardless of how much Cisco has ponied up. It’s also a safe bet that such a shift was necessary to stay in lock-step with the competition. My only question is, Why did Cisco wait so long to make the change?

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