Today at its annual partner conference Cisco unveiled its new 360 Partner Program with a host of changes and enhancements that it touts as the most significant changes to its partner structure in nearly 30 years. The phased rollout will occur through all of 2025, with the formal launch date scheduled for February 2026.
Cisco aims to simplify designations and promote specialization amongst its partners
The new 360 Partner Program will offer two designations, called Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner. These designations can be earned for each portfolio, meaning partners aiming for security recognition, for example, can be recognized as a Cisco Preferred Security Partner, with the same being true of other portfolio types, including networking. Cisco says this offers simplification alongside the ability to improve awareness and understanding with customers as to the value of designated partners.
“Today, it’s about helping customers unlock the power of technology to achieve their business outcomes. That’s the foundation of the Cisco 360 Partner Program. Whether through lifecycle practices, technical capabilities, or managed services, partners can drive profitable growth with our new value-based program. With a 15-month transition, partners have time to prepare and maximize their potential in Cisco 360 Partner Program,” said Rodney Clark, Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Small and Medium Business at Cisco.
In addition to the new two-tier structure, the new program also shows a continuing interest by Cisco in encouraging its partner base to pursue specialization and expertise within a portfolio. Financial incentive structures will also continue in the new program, with emphasis placed on measuring how partners drive value for their customers through managed services, customer base expansion, and more.
“The new program will continue to shift from traditional Architecture Specializations to Solution-based Specializations, and ultimately to next generation specializations that will be accessible to Preferred Partners only,” the company said in a statement announcing the program.
Cisco sets nearly $80 million commitment to education and skills training for partners
In addition to the designation and incentive updates, Cisco has also announced a nearly $80 million investment in partner education through new enablement resources available within the 360 Partner Program. The company said these new resources will be “AI-centric and AI-driven,” with on-demand and instructor-led courses available more frequently and across seller topics such as cloud, networking, and AI. The AI specialization, which has been expanded, will be available free of charge to Cisco partners according to a blog post on the site.
$18 million of the total has been earmarked for quarterly training events the company is calling “Ladder Ups,” which will be free to all Cisco partners. The other $60 million has been allocated to provide free education resources to Cisco Preferred Partners. Qualified partners in this tier will now receive 10 annual all-access subscriptions to Cisco’s online training platform to grant upskilling opportunities to their employees.
Changes not final until 2026; all existing certifications and designations honored in the interim
All Cisco partners currently in the program will have their status and incentives intact through 2026, when the new program will be fully launched in February of that year. Current designations will be honored in the interim, and Cisco promised the transition will be gradual, with partner success at the forefront of planning.
“We are excited about the launch of the Cisco 360 Partner Program, which represents the culmination of our long-standing and collaborative relationship with Cisco,” said Steve Bland, the Group Alliance, Director at Computacenter, a global technology and services provider. “Having worked closely with Cisco on the development of this innovative program, we are confident that it will significantly enhance our ability to meet the evolving needs of our customers. The program’s emphasis on skills development, combined with Cisco’s substantial investment in training, underscores their commitment to our mutual success. We look forward to leveraging these new opportunities to drive growth and deliver exceptional value to our clients.”
Earlier this year Cisco unveiled Hypershield following its acquisition of Splunk. Read more about the software-based approach to cybersecurity.