At its annual Partner Summit in Vancouver, Cisco announced a series of changes to the Cisco 360 Partner Program. The company is raising incentives, introducing Ecosystem Deal Registration and making Cisco IQ generally available to partners. In addition, AgenticOps capabilities are coming to Cisco Cloud Control, along with networking equipment that is ready for post-quantum cryptography.
The announcements cover three areas: the financial structure of the partner programme, channel access to network data and new capabilities in Cisco’s infrastructure portfolio. Some of the changes are aimed specifically at MSPs and resellers that deliver managed services on Cisco environments.
Ecosystem Deal Registration and higher incentives
With Ecosystem Deal Registration, Cisco is introducing a way to formally recognise and reward advisers and software developers for their contribution to a sales process. This also applies when they do not handle the final transaction themselves.
Within the Cisco Partner Incentive, the company is increasing payouts for growth in annual contract value by 50 per cent. Adoption incentives are being doubled. In addition, there will be an extra 2 per cent bonus for cross-selling into new architecture domains, such as Splunk.
Cisco IQ generally available
Cisco IQ is now generally available to partners. Through API access and integrations, Cisco is opening up its network and telemetry data to the channel. MSPs and resellers can use this to run automated analyses across their customers’ device estates.
According to Cisco, the platform now provides insight into 20 million devices at more than 16,000 organisations. The company says this enables partners to identify network risks, outdated software and vulnerabilities at an early stage and to offer new managed services on that basis.
AgenticOps and Model Foundry
In Cisco Cloud Control, Cisco is releasing new capabilities under the AgenticOps banner. These include Model Foundry, an environment in which partners can test Cisco’s AI models and tune them to their customers’ data.
Cisco is also adding Model Context Protocol servers. These MCP servers give AI agents direct access to live network data. In addition, Cisco’s Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 access points will come with ThousandEyes network analytics as standard.
Post-quantum cryptography and Live Protect
Cisco is expanding its portfolio with networking equipment designed to withstand attacks using quantum computers. The company says this includes the first Wi-Fi 7 access point that is ready for post-quantum cryptography.
Cisco is also rolling out its Live Protect security service to more Catalyst and Nexus switches and wireless controllers. Live Protect temporarily shields vulnerabilities while patches are pending. As an administrator, this allows you to shield known vulnerabilities in the period until an update has been installed.
This article was originally published in Dutch on MSP Business. Read the original →
