New Cisco Cloud Managed Services Programs Aids Partners

Cloud and managed service provider partners of Cisco can expect to benefit from a new channel program which is being created by the company. It will streamline other already existing Cisco programs and will include new advantages and provide access to the company's program points.

Cisco's new Cloud and Managed Services Program (CMSP) will be released this week, and will integrate with the Cloud Provider, Cloud Services Reseller roles and current Managed Services Channel Program (MSCP) which the company already runs. The output of this new system will be that partners will have ease of use, benefiting from all three designations and profiting from Cisco's cloud strategy.

Furthermore, CMSP partners will also be able to utilize Cisco's Value Incentive Program (VIP), and the 21^st version of this will begin operations in the new year. Various methods of payment will be made concise and streamlined into a single system, and the Cisco-based cloud and managed services pricing will also be made simple.

This program is not just available to partners in the U.S.; clients from across the globe will be able to access it, and according the San Jose, California-based company, the stronger link between CMSP and Cisco's Services Partner Program (CSPP) will be noticeable to partners.

Cisco's other incentive programs will also be leveraged by CMSP partners through additional discounts on various authorized deals. Partners of CMSP will additionally be able to access Cisco branding and the "Cisco-Powered" moniker to bring them up to speed with Cisco's corporate marketing strategy around the cloud. Cloud-centric market development funds will offer new funding, as will business accelerators and other spot compensation.

The senior director of strategy, planning and programs, worldwide channels at Cisco, Ricardo Moreno, said that the design of the programs will allow for an increased and varied partner base. Gartner predicts that the market will be worth $200 billion by 2016, and this will certainly attract more business. Moreno said: "We've had a partner-based strategy for cloud - we've been very clear about that."

At the Cisco Partner Summit (New Orleans) in March 2011, the cloud partner programs were officially launched. Three areas of participation were designated by Cisco: Cloud Builders, Cloud Providers and Cloud Service Resellers; partners were placed accordingly into these areas.

As Cisco has persisted over the last 18 months to fine-tune the cloud program, a Master Cloud Builder designation has also been developed and was made available in September. The company has also reshuffled its executives in the attempt to pay more attention to the cloud partnering opportunity. For example, the most recent vice president of worldwide service provider channels who recently became the vice president of global cloud and managed services, Bob Gault, oversees the cloud and MSP strategy for Cisco's Worldwide Partner Organization.

Moreno said: "Now that the cloud is maturing, we want to mainstream our cloud programs. Partners will be able to spend more time and take the benefits that make sense to them." He added that the inclusion of VIP for cloud and managed services deals will greatly impact solution provider partners providing those services. Another appeal will certainly be CMSP, and this will attract a different type of cloud provider partner - it is presently drawing the attention of many popular IaaS companies who may not previously have taken part in Worldwide Partner Organization benefits.

Collaboration between CMSP partners will also be enabled via a microsite, as will the identification of partnering opportunities with different solution providers. The microsite will be made available via Cisco's partner portal which partners can utilize for advertising cloud services and networking with other partners of Cisco.

By August 2013, all partners will need to have transferred to CMSP, and are required to deliver a minimum of two "Cisco-powered" services which most Cisco MSCP partners already do. It is expected that additional investment from partners will also be needed when becoming a CMSP member, but these costs are related to building out qualifying services. (CY) Link