Cisco Makes 'Radical Change' with Cisco 360 Partner Program

CISCO PARTNER SUMMIT — A massive update to the Cisco channel program focuses on bringing its partners into more collaboration with one another and sending them "back to school” for education and skills training.

Cisco at its annual Partner Summit in Los Angeles introduced the Cisco 360 Partner Program, which partners and customers will prepare for over the next 15 months. The new initiative, dubbed by Cisco as the company's "most significant" channel program update in three decades, will also put $80 million into skill development, certification and training for partners. Cisco channel executives say the company has made a shift to measuring partners' "value over transactions," especially as an "AI-driven" market forces partners to differentiate themselves in new ways.

Cisco in that new measurement system would recognize different services provide in the customer life cycle beyond the transaction. That includes managed services and customer base expansion, according to the vendor. The move would reward partners for collaborating with each other from their various roles — an endorsement of the ecosystem concept.

Moreover, Cisco will designate members of its channel community as either Cisco Partners or Cisco Preferred Partners. A partner will bear such a designation for each respective technology portfolio where it collaborates with Cisco (for example, security).

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"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 life-cycle 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, Cisco's senior vice president of partnerships and small and medium business.

The program officially starts in February 2026. It will roll out gradually over the upcoming months, but all partner levels, roles and life-cycle practice investments will remain in place for Cisco's partner base.

"To further strengthen what is already a world-class partner ecosystem, this new program allows us to recognize and reward successful partners and better address the evolving needs of our customers,” said Elisabeth De Dobbeleer, senior vice president of the Cisco Partner Program. “Our goal is to transform partner success, elevate Cisco partners, and upgrade the partner experience to align with Cisco's strategic vision.”

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Cisco has also announced an AI-Ready Infrastructure Solution Specializations. That's the first specialization the vendor has made for AI.

'Back to School' in Cisco 360

Cisco's $80 million investment breaks down into two categories. Partners of the aforementioned "Preferred" designation will take from a pot of $60 million Cisco has set aside for their "learning journey." The benefits for preferred partners includes 10 yearly all-access subscriptions to Cisco U, the vendor's learning platform (which its own sales teams use).

Yet $20 million more will fund another Cisco U-based initiative for partners of all designations. The vendor will offer quarterly "Ladder Up" training events that partners can complete at their own pace to achieve certifications. Cisco has launched a free training for cybersecurity associates to kick off the Ladder Ups.

According to a study from Springboard, 92% of jobs in the information and communications technology industry will change as a result of AI. For Fran Katsoudas, Cisco's executive vice president and chief people, purpose and policy officer, that shift requires vendors and channel partners to meet the "critical need for skilling."

"Cisco 360 is the most significant evolution of our Partner program in 25 years, designed from the ground up to help Cisco Partners build their workforce, enable outcomes, and lead the way for our industry. The 'school' we envision at the heart of Cisco 360 is different from schools of the past. It’s AI-centric and AI-driven, with learning that is simple, flexible and accessible," Katsoudas wrote in a blog.

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Katsoudas said Cisco intends to create an easy "on ramp" leading up to the official launch of Cisco 360 in February 2026.

Kristin Hill, group vice president of ScanSource, said the new initiatives from Cisco will pair well with the distributor's Evolve customized enablement program that focuses on Cisco.

ScanSource's Kristin Hill

"The Cisco 360 Partner Program aims to highlight, certify and reward partners who deliver business outcomes for their end users. The program will enable partners to focus on their unique value and offerings first, and then integrate them with Cisco solutions for their customers," Hill told Channel Futures.

According to Cisco, feedback from partners and customers helped form Cisco 360.

"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," said Steve Bland, Computacenter's group alliance director. "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."

Analyst View

Sharon Hiu leads Canalys' worldwide partner program analysis service. She pointed to the long road Cisco and its partners will need to traverse as they iron out the program.

Canalys' Sharon Hiu

"Rodney's new partner program vision is leaning towards an ecosystem approach — co-sell, co-create, collaboration," Hiu told Channel Futures. "The outcomes Cisco is going for make sense, but it is a radical change from the existing one. Partners have 15 months to align with the new vision, but Cisco will find the execution journey complicated because of the many different moving parts across the organization and channel landscape needed. My personal view is that there will be further tweaks and updates needed to the program after the initial announcement/launch."