Cisco revamps incentives in biggest change to partner program in a decade

Cisco has announced a refresh of its partner program, which includes new incentives, features, and tools designed to boost partner differentiation.

Unveiled at the Cisco Partner Summit event in Miami, the initiative’s new incentive structure aims to better reward partners selling Cisco hardware, software, and software as a service (SaaS) offerings. 

In addition, six new solutions specializations are to be added over the coming nine months, the networking giant confirmed. 

The company said the streamlined Cisco Partner Incentive aligns with its transition to more software and services-based offerings, pulling together key elements of its various partner incentives to help partners drive predictable growth.

The framework will be implemented in a phased approach beginning in the second half of 2024, and will specifically support new logo acquisition, up-sell, and cross-sell opportunities. 

Its three-track approach covers non-recurring offers, recurring offers, and customer value, with partners able to earn rebates based on various sale and subscription factors. Partners can also earn bonus rewards-based investments in their Cisco practice or selling solutions, the company said. 

Cisco PXP enhancements

As well as its new incentives, Cisco has added new AI/ML-powered predictive insights to its Partner Experience Platform (PXP) alongside a revamped dashboard that eliminates the need for third-party tools.

The platform’s improvements cover its Growth Finder tool, expanded practice maturity lifecycle customer insights, incentive insights, as well as the Cisco Partner Journeys framework. 

PXP has also been bolstered with a Sustainability Estimator which is available to environmental sustainability-specialized partners. 

Launching on November 20, the tool will serve up a host of IT sustainability related insights, covering estimated energy savings, emissions reduction, cost reduction, and environmental impact.

Partner managed services

In a bid to help elevate partners’ premium support offering, Cisco has also introduced Partner Advanced Support for MSPs, which includes guided access to API integrations that build on their existing services. 

Cisco said MSPs will have faster access to its Technical Assistance Center (TAC) support hub, enabling them to deliver quicker, multi-product support, predictive insights, and resolutions. 

The company has also integrated Cisco Lifecycle Advantage (CLA) into its Cisco PX Cloud to help improve customer success and time-to-value.

Cisco Solution specializations

Additionally, Cisco has rebranded its Small Business Specialization to the Small and Medium Business (SMB) Specialization and will include specialization content across four primary categories. 

This includes Smart SMB, Hybrid SMB, Secure SMB, and Remote SMB.

The connectivity specialist is also gearing up to launch two new Internet of Things (IoT) specializations during the first half of 2024, which it said will focus on the ruggedized IoT segments, as well as expanded recognition for non-industrial IoT partners.

Commenting on the changes, Cisco said its latest partner program revamp will help drive greater business value across the whole of the customer lifecycle.

“The Cisco Partner Incentive is the biggest change we’ve made to partner incentives in more than a decade and is the capstone on the Cisco Partner Program evolution started in 2020,” said Marc Surplus, Cisco’s vice president of partner strategy and programs.

“In broadening Cisco’s suite of Solution Specializations, we are helping our partners differentiate in the market and demonstrate their expertise in the technologies and solutions sought by customers.”