16 Takeaways from Cisco Partner Summit: Security Incentives, Subscription Push, More

CISCO PARTNER SUMMIT — Cisco Systems chair and CEO Chuck Robbins told partners and analysts he expects the company’s platform consolidation to accelerate and its subscription offerings to expand in the upcoming year.

The IT giant affirmed its support for the channel community in various presentations during this week’s Cisco Partner Summit. That support comes in the form of discounts for its full-stack observability and cybersecurity solutions, consolidated tools, sustainability and financial incentives for new partners. Cisco is also vowing to make more investments in its younger advisor and developer partner tiers.

Cisco’s Chuck Robbins

Robbins said Cisco has gained momentum with partners after years of responding to feedback. And oftentimes, it wasn’t the happiest feedback, he said.

“The first time I walked on stage at Partner Summit, I actually thought there might be rotten fruit involved. Because it was over 20 years ago, when there was a question of whether we were committed to your profitability,” Robbins told the partner audience.

Economic Shifts

Cisco’s Oliver Tuszik

All of these changes come as Cisco and its partners face questions about the challenging macroeconomic circumstances. That includes a potential recession, and of course, a stressed supply chain.

“We are setting up a motion with our partners that allows them to react faster to the next disruption, ” said Oliver Tuszik, Cisco’s senior vice president of global partner sales and general manager of routes to market.

Tuszik said Cisco partners grew their overall bookings by 10% in 2022. They also increased managed services revenue by 35%.

Channel Futures attended Cisco Partner Summit and compiled 16 key messages from Cisco executives and partners. Scroll through the slideshow above to read what you might’ve missed.