What Makes a Partnership Truly Exceptional?
Good partnerships are built on trust, reliability, and shared values. Great partnerships, however, go further. Every interaction with our channel partners is an opportunity to deepen trust, enhance transparency, and create lasting solutions. Cisco’s cybersecurity priorities drive exceptional partnerships by focusing on cybersecurity competencies [proficiencies], simplifying our portfolio, and expanding the market through ecosystem growth.
Celebrating Our Cybersecurity Journey
Let me start by reflecting on our progress in cybersecurity; it’s impressive to see how far we’ve come. Five years ago, Cisco might not have been top of mind when it came to security solutions. However, through steady investments in strategic acquisitions, hiring industry-leading talent, and developing a comprehensive security portfolio, we have achieved a pace of innovation and breadth that is tough to beat—and our partners have noticed.
Evolving Together: Cybersecurity and Our Partner Program
Our partner program is evolving, and security is one of the first portfolios to be a part of the new Cisco 360 Partner Program Partner Value Index. The Partner Value Index enables partners to highlight their proficiency in key Cisco portfolios and acknowledges their commitment to providing customers with the highest level of expertise and services.
Cisco has also invested $80 million dollars in Cisco U and quarterly training events to enable partners to grow their skills and differentiate themselves in a competitive market. We want our partners to understand the value of the complete Cisco portfolio and how our security solutions seamlessly integrate with customer environments, even ones that aren’t Cisco-centric.
As we expand the cybersecurity program, we’re focused on three pillars: partners, programs and route-to-market:
1. Focused Partner Enablement:
- Enablement and Growth: Our partners are investing in Cisco security, and we’re investing in them. Since the launch of the Security Partner Value Index, nearly 1,000 partners have transitioned to Security Solution Specialization, with over 150 achieving Secure Access Blackbelt Implementation Services. Additionally, 771 partners have newly specialized in security.
Click here to learn more about the Cisco Black Belt Academy.
- Listening and Learning: We want Cisco to be the security vendor of choice for partners. Through joint account planning, global advisory boards and monthly reviews, we’ve established clear lines of communication, meeting partners and their customers where and how they do business.
2. Program Simplification:
- Streamlined Offerings: We’ve simplified our security portfolio from 30+ products to 3 suites that address customer outcomes. We’ve also significantly reduced core programs- and introduced new programs to help partners take advantage of the customer lifecycle.
- Security Concierge Team: To mitigate complexity, our Security Concierge team assists with approvals, competitive pricing, and navigation within Cisco. Partners can leverage our concierge team to facilitate demos, trial units, and generate pipeline; it’s a one-stop simplification resource.
Click here to learn more about Cisco Security Concierge Deal Support
- Partner Profitability: At Cisco, we are dedicated to helping our partners build security offerings that drive meaningful profitability. Our deal registration process ensures your efforts are protected and recognized, fostering trust and collaboration while streamlining approvals. With a clear focus on delivering 30%+ total deal margins, we back our commitment to a channel-first approach with actions, not just words. It’s no surprise that over 90% of our security bookings are transacted through the channel— because when our partners succeed, we succeed.
3. Expanding Our Ecosystem:
- Enablement and Growth: Our partners are investing in Cisco security, and we’re investing in them. Since the launch of the Security Partner Value Index, nearly 1,000 partners have transitioned to Security Solution Specialization, with over 150 achieving Secure Access Blackbelt Implementation Services. Additionally, 771 partners have newly specialized in security.
- Mind the Gap: The global cybersecurity workforce gap has reached 4.8 million professionals, according to ISC2[1], leaving organizations vulnerable to advanced threats. Many customers lack the resources to monitor and respond to threats 24/7, creating opportunities for Cisco partners to bridge this gap. By leveraging tools like Managed XDR and access to Security Operations Centers (SOCs), partners can provide advanced threat detection, reduce operational burdens, and enable customer IT teams to focus on advancing other strategic priorities. These solutions ensure customers are protected in today’s complex, cloud-first environments.
[1] 2024 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study:
As organizations face increasing complexity—spanning on-premise, cloud, and SaaS environments—Cisco has increased their partner-managed ready security services that include Managed XDR, Managed Firewall, and Secure Access solutions. These solutions help partners streamline purchasing, provisioning, and ongoing management, enabling consistent operating models and reducing operational overhead. The cost savings of managed ready solutions are passed on to the customer– a win-win.
…”We start from the customer and work backwards. If the customer is successful, the partner ecosystem is successful, and then and only then can we be successful.”
– Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President Chief Product Officer at Cisco
Our Commitment to Partners
Cisco’s commitment to nurturing stronger partnerships is unwavering. We deeply value each relationship and continuously work to bring profitable outcomes to you, our partners. By focusing on our core principles, we create tremendous value for you and your customers, ensuring mutual success and growth. Join us on this journey toward optimal partnerships and explore our innovative security solutions that lead the market.
Together, let’s achieve more.
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