Cisco Systems has announced the elimination of the Linksys channel program, and the intent to fold as many as 20,000 channel partners into the “Registered” tier of the overall Cisco channel program.
The move is not a major surprise to most partners, given that Cisco CEO John Chambers has made repeated references to the eventual consolidation of the Cisco and Linksys brands. But the small business market continues to be heavily targeted by the company, which recently formed a small business council whose members include Cisco’s chief marketing officer and its senior vice president of worldwide channels. Read more
Every now and then, something happens in the IT industry that causes wholesale changes to the way we do business. The advent of the Internet is the most recent example of how revolutionary technologies and concepts have such far-reaching effects. We now have a new one staring us in the face. As Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), online software purchases, and all of the various permutations begin to gather steam, a lot of questions are reopened regarding how IT products will be bought and sold.
This is the new frontier for go-to-market strategies, and will dramatically impact vendors, channel partners, and end customers alike-- albeit in different ways. Read more
Cisco has rolled out a new Web 2.0-oriented online training community aimed at increasing technical aptitude for both established professionals and relative newbies.
Leveraging its “CiscoLive” (formerly “Networkers”) event in Orlando, Florida as the venue for the announcement, the Cisco Learning Network (www.cisco.com/go/learnnetspace) includes features such as document sharing and open forum discussions.
Seems like a smart move to me – especially given the company’s SMB push. And as virtual communities become increasingly prevalent in the business community, more people will be likely to be looking for exactly this sort of thing. How many CCIEs will be found in that community remains to be seen, but it seems likely to become a solid resource regardless. Read more
Technologies like IPT and security are causing changes to the whole sales process for channel partners.
In the olden days, IT products were more of a green-field situation. Yes, you had to make everything work together, but the site survey was nothing compared to what it is today. Nowadays there are so many technologies and physical situations living side-by-side that the partner has a lot more up-front work to do before choosing the best solution for the situation at-hand.
As far as compensation, there are three ways to go. Some partners do the site survey for free because they feel it puts them in a better position to make a larger sale, and they’re concerned that the customer may be unwilling to pay for that upfront consultation that will open other opportunities. Read more
The most interesting thing about Cisco’s new SmartCare announcement (see lead story) is not the fact that it can help prevent network outages before they emerge. It’s the way that the contract binds customers to the specific channel partner who sold it to them. Read more
In conjunction with Interop-Las Vegas, Juniper networks held its annual partner summit, accommodating a few hundred of their closest VARs, integrators and other partners.
Worldwide channel vice president Frank Vitagliano outlined several key priorities for the coming year, including growth and mutual revenue and profitability, investments in programs/infrastructure, a commitment to making Juniper easier to do business with, plus a commitment to enhance the ways that channel partners can work more closely together with the Juniper sales team. Read more
Cisco Systems is embarking on major initiatives in the services space. Over the next two years, the company plans to introduce a number of changes to its services program geared towards establishing tighter alignment with the global channel program and increasing their ability to detect, analyze, and address any problems that might emerge on the network.
The word “collaboration” factors heavily into the Cisco message. But Cisco needs to proceed carefully here -- even more so than most vendors that take an active role in service delivery. Read more
As Cisco Systems kicks off its 12th annual Partner Summit, services and collaboration have emerged as the key watchwords.
Approximately 2,000 partners from more than 90 countries are expected to attend this year’s event in Honolulu. And more than half of those attendees are C-level executives, according to Cisco.
Expect to hear a lot of details around services collaboration, as the new Smart Care program enters general availability in most geographic theaters. The program, which was initially announced at last year’s summit in Las Vegas, is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and mid-market customers simplify network maintenance through regular, proactive network assessments, remote software repairs and technical support. Read more
As Cisco finishes preparations for its 2008 Partner Summit in Hawaii, a Honolulu-based start-up is stepping forward with a new tool for configuring and managing Cisco routers.
Okay. I’m a channel guy and not a hard-core technologist like a lot of you readers out there. But I do know that time is money and efficiency is a major part of this company’s pitch.
Action Packed Networks (www.actionpacked.com) spun-off this year from Referentia Systems, a military R&D company working for the Department of Defense. The company was commissioned to design an easier way to manage networks, ranging from IT to satellites and radio. The end result, according to company president Nelson Kanemoto, had commercial implications as well. Read more
Over the past year, a lot of good things have been said about Cisco’s TelePresence system. But we all missed a very important one:
There are some places you just don’t wanna go back to! And I’m guessing that Florida is right at the top of Al Gore’s Get-Me-Outta-Here list.
So it’s altogether fitting that when the former VP talks technology and climate change with John Chambers and Sue Bostrom, the VoiceCon crowd in Orlando, Florida will be watching the Nobel Laureate on one of Cisco’s TelePresence monitors. So will viewers at various other locations around the globe who will be watching all three participants on the big screen. Read more
Couldn’t choose a headline so I’ll call it a tie!
I’m having a hard time deciding if Cisco’s new Certified Design Expert (CCDE) certification is a good idea. Maybe you folks can help me out.
Rolled out a little more than a week ago, the CCDE is described as being parallel to the CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert) in terms of difficulty and experience. But, in this new structure, Cisco views CCIEs as being predominantly about implementation.
The CCDE, on the other hand, will be responsible for planning and designing those solutions. So they need to be really up on things like technology trends, scalability, organizational issues, and compliance requirements. Read more
Some of my colleagues here on the subnet suggest Cisco might have missed an opportunity by not raiding the channel talent of Microsoft or some other large vendor when it chose a new VP, U.S./Canada Channels. As I read the blogs I kept thinking, “Not for this job, guys!” Read more
Cisco has named Wendy Bahr as the replacement to former US/Canada VP Chuck Robbins. The move was widely expected by industry watchers.
Wendy joined Cisco in 2000 as an Operations Director of Network Service Providers, after spending 10 years with Verizon, including roles as Sales Director of the Enterprise Sales Group, and also in the State and Local Government sector. She moved into the Federal Enterprise Organization in 2004 as the Operations Director of Federal Civilian Agencies, and has also led the U.S. commercial organization.
I spent a few minutes on the phone after her promotion was announced. This isn’t exactly a transcript, but it’s pretty fresh on my mind and my notes.
Ken: So what would you consider to be your primary role and challenges? Read more
The resignation of a high-level executive, like Charlie Giancarlo, inevitably leads to wild speculation from people who are not at all privy to that executive’s plans and thoughts. These people aren’t conveying actual knowledge, as much as they’re trying to read the tea leaves.
I just noticed my cup is empty. Let’s see what we’ve got.
The first thing I thought of when I heard about Charlie joining Silver Lake was the fact that Silver Lake is one of the two firms that took Avaya private this year. Avaya is a primary competitor to Cisco, particularly in the unified communications space. Charlie understands the UC space, and his Cisco credentials could help validate and strengthen Avaya’s attempts to differentiate itself in that market. Read more
Cisco’s gathering of about 200 channel partners in Miami Beach is specifically aimed at helping channel partners strengthen their marketing skills, but I’m also seeing an interesting marketing opportunity for the end customers that they serve.
The first-ever “Velocity Forum” is focused largely on Web 2.0; how to best leverage blogs, wikis, podcasts, videos, and a host of other creative, “new media” forums, along with the old standby marketing tools that some of us graybeards grew up with. Read more
The blogosphere has been full of reactions to Google’s renewable energy initiative. If you’re still coming out of a turkey-induced slumber, the company announced plans to invest huge quantities of money in the development of renewable energy technologies, especially solar, wind, and geothermal.
Some of the reactions are very complimentary; others more skeptical. But I had a completely different reaction jump into my mind when I saw the announcement.
This is going to be the beginning of an entirely new channel opportunity, at the broadest level. Just as in the IT space, someone is going to have to function as the integrator and, I’m sorry, but I can’t picture Eric Schmidt climbing a ladder to get onto my roof. Other companies will end up doing that. Read more
We’re getting used to thinking about unified communications as a battle primarily between Cisco and Microsoft.
Not if Avaya has anything to say about it!
Oh sure. Both Cisco and Avaya are well-known to be competitors in the unified communications space, but the message from Avaya’s 2007 analyst conference in Boston suggests the battle may be heating up.
Avaya is promoting its Communications Enabled Business Processes (CEBP) strategy to channel partners and customers alike – and appears to be gaining some respectable penetration. I’m sure Avaya has a more focused description, but I would describe it as a CRM and PRM effort with additional vertical customization. Much of it leverages the offerings of their 6,000 DevConnect ISV partners. Read more
It’s been over a year in the making, but Cisco’s new channel program for managed services providers has gone live.
The move is part of a larger “offer-based” go-to-market strategy through which channel partners can choose channel programs appropriate to how they sell to the customer. Read more
It’s been over a year in the making, but Cisco’s new channel program for managed services providers has gone live.
The move is part of a larger “offer-based” go-to-market strategy through which channel partners can choose channel programs appropriate to how they sell to the customer. Read more
As part of an effort to help channel partners manage cash flow, Cisco Capital has extended its zero percent progress payments program for million dollar unified communications projects through July of next year. The progress payment period has also been extended from 120 days to 180 days, and the paperwork has also been streamlined.
According to the company, nearly half of Cisco Capital’s qualifying commercial unified communications transactions in FY’07 included progress payments. Part of the objective is to enable customers to make higher investments in technology but spreading out the payments over multiple quarters.
Customers…. Do you prefer to have your financing arranged through technology vendors, or do you prefer independent third parties?
Ken Presti is president of Presti Research & Consulting, Inc., which specializes in go-to-market strategies for technology vendors and service providers. With more than a decade of industry experience, his focus includes channel partner recruitment, certification, compensation plans, and a host of related elements.
Ken has extensive experience in market research, marketing/channel marketing, and journalism.
The opinions expressed in this Weblog are those of the writer and may not represent the opinions of Network World.
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