We’ve all skilled these moments in life which might be each thrilling and daunting—like dropping your little one off at nursery college for the primary time or sending them off to school. You realize every part is about to alter. There’s delight, pleasure, and the sense that you just’re entering into one thing larger. However there’s additionally concern and nervousness—with questions of “Will every part be okay?” and “Am I prepared for this?” These feelings are pure when entering into the unknown.
I’ll be going through a kind of moments myself when my son begins college subsequent week. And it struck me: proper now, Cisco and our companions are standing at an identical second. The Cisco 360 Companion Program is greater than a program launch—it’s the start of a brand new period of partnership, profitability, and sturdy development.
Why Now?
The market has shifted. Clients aren’t shopping for know-how for know-how’s sake—they’re shopping for outcomes that transfer their companies ahead. Meaning companions should be acknowledged not only for what they promote, however for the capabilities they bring about, the outcomes they ship, and the experiences they create.
To not solely preserve however improve relevance with our shared prospects, we should proceed to develop—collectively. The outdated methods—check-the-box specializations, disconnected necessities—now not mirror the influence of immediately’s ecosystem. That’s why we remodeled. The Cisco 360 Companion Program is a brand new approach of defining companion worth in a various ecosystem, leading to an outcome-driven method aligned to the One Cisco imaginative and prescient and powered by AI.
Profitability on the Core
Development and evolution are on the middle of the brand new program. The market calls for it, our prospects anticipate it, and our ecosystem thrives on it. However the one sturdy how—the best way we guarantee this evolution actually lasts—is by centering our method, as we all the time have, on companion profitability.
As a result of none of this issues for those who can’t have worthwhile development. That’s why profitability stays on the middle of the brand new program.
We all know you’re keen—and generally anxious—about how profitability will translate. That’s precisely why we’ve been within the pre-qualification section since August: to present you early visibility into how your investments present up within the Cisco 360 Companion Program. And it’s why we’re sharing updates now, 5 months forward of launch—so you will have readability and confidence to information your small business and reassure your groups.
At present, with VIP 46, we’re within the richest rebate interval ever rewarding companions for his or her funding in buyer must construct AI prepared datacenters, a future proof office and digital resilience —this ultimate VIP isn’t an finish—it’s a starting. It’s the bridge to the Cisco Companion Incentive, launching alongside the brand new program in February 2026. The Cisco Companion Incentive simplifies incentives into one framework that rewards companions throughout Land, Undertake, Develop, and Renew. We’re rising transparency, predictability, and velocity—delivering rebates sooner than ever.
No different vendor is making this sort of dedication to companion profitability and sturdy development.
The Energy of Companion Capabilities
Technical power has by no means been extra vital—or extra seen. This yr alone, companions earned 236,000 Safety certificates by means of the Cisco Black Belt Academy—a 107% improve yr over yr, and a 58% improve throughout all portfolios. Safety has turn out to be our fastest-growing structure, outpacing even networking.
That momentum is being supported by our $80M funding in Cisco U., accelerating the way you be taught, apply, and scale your experience. The extra succesful you turn out to be, the extra confidence you encourage in prospects—and the extra you’ll enhance your Companion Worth Index inside the new program.
This isn’t summary—it’s proof of the ecosystem’s energy in motion. Collectively, we’re elevating the bar.
The Energy of the Cisco Model
Model power issues. Clients need readability when choosing the proper companion, they usually belief the long-lasting Cisco identify. Over 150,000 Cisco companion logos have been downloaded in recent times, underscoring the worth companions place on being visibly linked to Cisco.
That’s why we’re investing greater than ever within the Cisco companion model and brand, with the complete assist of our companion advertising group.
We additionally acknowledge that for a lot of of you, Gold has been greater than a designation—it’s been integral to the way you’ve performed enterprise for years. That delight is actual, and we honor it. However the actuality is the market has advanced, and Gold alone can now not seize the complete depth of your capabilities, experience, and worth to prospects.
You will have all the time been greater than a designation. With Cisco Portfolio Companion and Cisco Most well-liked Portfolio Companion, we will now mirror your true power—your energy, capabilities, and experience—in a approach prospects can clearly perceive and belief.
We additionally know this alteration carries emotion. Gold has a legacy we deeply respect, and we’re constructing on it—not erasing it. The Cisco companion model stays one of the vital highly effective differentiators within the trade. And with our advanced designations, we’re making that power even clearer, signaling to prospects precisely the place you convey deep technical experience, confirmed engagement, and powerful lifecycle practices.
And, for the primary time ever, we’ve additionally introduced prospects alongside on this journey. Our new buyer advertising marketing campaign launched in April and has already delivered 42 million impressions—dramatically outperforming trade benchmarks. It’s a daring message to the market: Cisco companions are the only option for delivering outcomes.
The Energy of the Companion Expertise
Capabilities and model recognition solely go up to now with out the fitting expertise behind them. That’s the place PXP, the Companion Expertise Platform, is available in. PXP is the entrance door for each Cisco companion, offering a linked, automated, real-time view of the place you land inside the new program.
Since Companion Summit final yr, energetic PXP customers have grown 52%, with 29% development in net-new companions participating on the platform. It’s the place to see your Companion Worth Index, monitor profitability, and align with Cisco’s technique. And as AI turns into the inspiration of companion and account group interactions, PXP will solely develop in significance.
Main Collectively—With Confidence
Transformation isn’t straightforward, and daring strikes invite questions. We all know the trade is watching intently, and we all know you might be, too. You’re asking: “Will I’ve sufficient element to plan my profitability?” “Will I’ve the assets to make this shift?” “Does my enterprise mannequin align with the brand new method?” “Why change in any respect?”
These are truthful questions—and precisely why we stay dedicated to continued transparency by means of pre-qualification and common updates. Our aim is to switch uncertainty with readability, and to construct the arrogance you could information your groups and your prospects.
Identical to sending a baby off to school, this second is each thrilling and daunting. There’s delight in how far we’ve come, pleasure for what lies forward, and the information that we’re entering into one thing larger. That’s precisely the place we’re with the Cisco 360 Companion Program.
The second is now. And collectively, we’ll flip this new starting into sturdy, worthwhile development—for you, for Cisco, and for our prospects.
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