Cisco Giving Channel 'Everything' in Partner Lifecycle Services Expansion

Cisco Systems is giving partners the keys to the kingdom with the expansion of its Partner Lifecycle Services initiative.

Cisco as of earlier this year was already following the road map for its Partner Lifecycle Services, which offer resources and train partners to provide deeper and more profitable solutions for their customers. The IT giant back in May made its Partner Lifecycle Services Support (PLSS) available, and continues to track on schedule with its planned updates. That’s according to Denzil Samuels, global channel and partner leader for Cisco Services (CX).

Cisco’s Denzil Samuels

Next March, Cisco will make PX Cloud, a window for partners into Cisco’s CX Cloud portal (based on digital approval to view certain customers’ data), generally available to eligible partners. At the same time, Cisco will give partners Success Tracks ‘Enhanced Access,’ giving them co-sell abilities, access to additional accelerators, and multiple net new APIs beyond what the company announced at its recent Partner Summit. Then in July, Cisco will give partners PLS Success Tracks that they can co-deliver to end customers. Samuels said that means Cisco is making its entire CX portfolio that it has been selling directly customers, available in a customized manner for channel partners.

“That means anything the partners want to do with our portfolio is available for them,” Samuels told Channel Futures. “… We’re giving them everything.”

Partner Experience

Moreover, Cisco at Partner Summit made its PX (partner experience) Cloud APIs generally available for partners. Samuels said Cisco has offered API’s on PX Cloud in limited availability – mainly to a select number of its larger partners – but that access is about to expand.

“What we’re basically saying is, ‘If you want to sign up for that API access by PX Cloud, now you can. Because we’ve tested it. We know it works. We know the data’s sound,” Samuels said.

Samuels said that when Cisco launched PLS, his teamed had hoped to convince 500 to register their interest in learning about eligibility criteria, smart bonding and PLS workshops. Moreover, he had hoped that at least 25 partners would indicate their interest in smart bonding. However, the initial partner response exceeded his expectations, with nearly 470 partners coming on board in the first three months.

Samuels shared details about the CX Cloud and PX Cloud platforms, how smart-bonded partners are supporting customers differently and why Cisco revamped its PLS workshops to foster C-suite engagement.

See the eight slides above to learn more about Cisco Partner Lifecycle Services.