Cisco 360 Partner Program for MSPs and Managed Services

Technological innovation, supercharged by AI, is reshaping customer expectations. Businesses now demand outcomes—delivered with simplicity and agility—not just technology products. This shift has propelled managed services to the forefront of our industry, making it a critical differentiator and a top priority for our partners. 

At Cisco, we are committed to empowering our partners’ success in this transformation. As Tim Coogan, SVP, Global Partner Sales  states, this is a keystone of our channel strategy and the new Cisco 360 Partner Program: 

“Our customers are telling us loud and clear that managed services are increasingly how they adopt transformative technology. And our partners are telling us that this business model is where they expect the biggest growth. That makes managed services critical to Cisco’s future as well. This is why we’ve built managed services into the foundation of the Cisco 360 Partner Program—because we believe in meeting customers where they are and empowering partners to deliver outcomes that matter most.”

Customer Demand Meets Partner Priority

The data is clear: managed services are the primary growth driver for B2B IT channel partners. A February 2025 Canalys survey of over 1,000 global respondents found that 49% named managed services their most important revenue opportunity, far outpacing hardware sales at 16% with other initiatives following at precipitously smaller rates. The survey also identified managed services as the top contributor to gross margin.¹ 

This focus on managed services makes perfect sense when you consider the tangible advantages for partners:

• Boosted Profitability: Managed services create predictable, recurring revenue streams with higher margins that can be optimized over time, boosting investor confidence and supporting investment considerations. 
• Enhanced Customer Engagement: Managed services enable a full lifecycle engagement, ensuring you have continual reasons to engage with your clients—from landing the initial sale and helping the customer onboard and adopt the solution to expanding the opportunity and renewing—leading to increased lifetime values, mindshare, and satisfaction. 
• Strategic Value: By focusing on business outcomes instead of speeds and feeds, you elevate from being a vendor to an integral strategic advisor. It is much harder for a competitor to enter an account when the customer feels compelled to call you first to discuss new priorities. 

Cisco’s 3P Strategy: Our Commitment to Your Managed Services Journey 

I’ve previously written about Cisco’s commitment to MSPs through our “3P” strategy: Platform, Preference, and Performance. This multi-faceted approach continues to capture what is most essential for our shared success as the Cisco portfolio, our partners, and our partner program are constantly evolving.

• Platform: Start with Great Technology –  Our “One Cisco” portfolio brings together the unparalleled strength of our industry-leading technology. From networking and security to observability and collaboration, our platforms are designed with APIs for seamless integration, centralized management, and automation. We continue to invest in MS-specific product managers who understand the features needed for operational success at scale, enabling you to deliver comprehensive, outcome-based solutions.
• Preference: The Keystone of Our Strategy – We are committed to elevating and simplifying the partner experience for you as an MSP. This includes providing a rich set of tools and resources, delivered by industry experts, to help you integrate platforms, optimize your practice maturity, and accelerate your managed services business. We want to reduce the time and cost of your evolution, no matter where you are in your journey.
• Performance: Rewarding Your Growth – The Cisco 360 Partner Program is designed to reward partners for growth and for expanding their Cisco capabilities. It’s about recognizing your investments and celebrating your success in delighting customers. We are aligning you to the Cisco field sellers through common metrics and giving you managed services-specific, portfolio aligned Cisco Powered Services.

Partner Managed Services: Embedded Throughout the Cisco 360 Partner Program

Single labels no longer define a technology partner. Because most partners now operate multiple practices, managed services are deeply embedded in the Cisco 360 Partner Program—not as an add-on, but as a fundamental measure of success. Your managed services practice maturity and demonstrated capabilities directly contribute to your Partner Value Indices (PVIs), which are central to unlocking your designations and benefits.

Here’s how managed services show up in the associated metric categories:

• Foundational: We recognize your progress in building a robust managed services practice, including dedicated roles and operating a Network or Security Operations Center (NOC/SOC). Our three-level Managed Services Practice Maturity framework, aligned with the TSIA LAER customer engagement model, supports you at every stage of your journey.
• Capabilities:  These metrics reflect your team’s expertise through Black Belt enablement and Cisco career certifications. Partners with a Managed Services Practice Maturity can earn additional benefits by sharing capabilities from a Center of Excellence across multiple countries through a flexible Hub and Spoke model.
• Performance: Your managed services bookings (ACV/TCV) and your use of MS-specific buying programs—the Managed Services Enterprise Agreement (MSEA) and Managed Services License Agreement (MSLA)—directly boost your performance metrics. Flagging your managed services bookings also helps justify continued investment in MSP-focused features and experts.
• Engagement: Managed services naturally encompass full lifecycle engagement—from landing and adoption to expansion and renewal. These motions translate directly into your Engagement activities and Cisco 360 results.

Reaping the Rewards of Managed Services Success

Success in managed services is well rewarded in the Cisco 360 Partner Program.

• Differentiation: Achieving Cisco Powered Services designations helps you stand out. They are searchable in the enhanced Partner Locator, which helps customers, Cisco sellers, and other partners find you based on demonstrated strengths.
• Programmatic Discounting: We appreciate that MSPs drive architectural preference. Programmatic discounting, aligned to your Practice Maturity and Cisco Powered Service attainment, helps you quote and sell with velocity and profitability, allowing you to populate your service catalog with well-priced offers.
• Cisco Partner Incentives (CPI): Back-end incentives through Cisco Partner Incentives (CPI) also enhance your profitability. CPI rewards you for selling the latest Cisco innovations—for example, Wi-Fi 7 products carry a higher incentive than Wi-Fi 6E. Your earnings grow as you invest in your Managed Services Practice Maturity and capabilities, and achieving the Preferred designation unlocks an additional CPI bonus.
• Deal Registration: Protects your interests in competitive situations, whether you are hunting a new logo, teaming with a Cisco sales team, or pursuing a renewal. It helps us manage forecasts and rewards you for building this motion into your sales process.

These are just a few of the ways we reward your success!

Your success with managed services is vital to our mutual growth. The Cisco 360 Partner Program is designed to create a flywheel effect: as you invest and deliver value, you are rewarded, enabling further growth. When we both invest, we succeed together in a market ripe with demand.

Act Now: Your Path to Success

Maximize the Cisco 360 Partner Program transition opportunity by:

• Investing in Cisco Platforms: Build and enhance your managed services using the industry-leading One Cisco portfolio.
• Achieving Cisco Powered Services: Differentiate your services and gain greater visibility in the market.
• Advancing your Provider Role level: These investments directly translate to Cisco 360’s Managed Services Practice Maturity and defer the need for additional validations for 18 months or more from the launch on January 25th
• Leveraging MS-Specific Buying Programs: Optimize your profitability by utilizing software buying programs designed for MSPs.
• Flagging Managed Services in CCW: Ensure your contributions are accurately tracked and recognized to help us scale investments that support your needs.
• Utilizing the Partner Experience Platform (PXP): Monitor your Partner Value Indices and metrics to see how your efforts translate into program benefits.

Cisco is deeply committed to ensuring our MSP partners have the platforms, resources, and incentives to grow profitably. By embracing managed services with Cisco, you can unlock new levels of profitable growth and create lasting value for your customers, all of which you will see reflected in the Cisco 360 Partner Program

Together, we can achieve remarkable success. #GoManaged