CHaNNEL prOFILE
It seems clear that securing partners’ trust is Cisco’s top priority. embrace what he
“We really listen to our partners,” comments Keith Goodwin (below), senior describes as the
VP Worldwide Channels. “second wave of
In line with this strategy, the vendor has also launched a collaborative the Internet”, which
partner model, Cisco Partner Exchange, which enables partners to find, will be fostered by
connect with, and collaborate with other partners across a wide range of telepresence and
sectors and geographies, by creating a corporate profile within the Cisco green innovation.
Partner Space. “It’s all about
transitions. Together
“Together we can lead the entire IT industry.”
we can lead the entire IT industry,” he boldly declares. “Our commitment to

you is a partner for life.”
John Chambers, Thierry Drilhon, Cisco VP Worldwide Channels, European markets, believes
Cisco President and CEO
that partner collaboration is key to drive innovation in Europe, increasing
productivity and profitability.
This new virtual environment allows “customer to partner”, “partner to “We entered the unified communications (UC) business around seven
partner “ and “Cisco to partner” collaboration through access to best practices, years ago and now we are number one in Europe. We launched our Select
online events and discussion forums. Partner Programme one year ago and we have had a very high response with
According to Don Proctor, Cisco senior VP Software Group, its collaborative 2,000 Select partners and 2,200 specialised in the SME sector,“ says Drilhon,
channel model, which will be globally implemented within the next twelve predicting around $4bn (€2.5bn) of growth opportunities in the SMB segment.
months, is key to Cisco’s success. Goodwin acknowledges that SMB is the fastest growing sector worldwide.
“By using new technologies such as unified communications (UC) partner- The Select Partner Programme, launched one year ago, now boasts 6,000
to-partner collaboration is generating 30% year on year growth,” he says. Select partners across the world, although moving from a product-oriented to
Proctor expects to increase partner capacity by 12% to 17% within the next a service-oriented approach required a great effort, he admits.
three years, that is to say an additional revenue in the range of $15 to $20bn “We chose ‘infinite possibilities’ as main theme for this summit because
(€9.4 to €12.6bn). it reflects the wide range of opportunities that we offer to our partners,”
“The intersection of Goodwin explains.
UC and web 2.0 through He sees strong growth opportunities in managed services, data centres,
partner collaboration is software as a service (SaaS), unified communications (UC) and video.
the next big thing,” he www.cisco.com
emphasises. OUr aNaLYSIS
This vision is Cisco’s continuing success lies in its ability to regularly reinvent itself and
endorsed by Cisco adjust to an increasingly fluctuating market. “Be ready to change and
President and CEO John ride the waves” is the key message that the company’s management
Chambers (above right) has tried to deliver to its partner community. Cisco understands that in
who believes that in order to survive in such a competitive environment there is a need for
order to be successful, new business models where those driving change are not executives but
partners need to be consumers. Let’s wait and see if its collaborative channel model will give
ready to change and the results hoped for...
18 apr 2008 13
It0807 - 12-13_cisco.indd 13 2008-04-16 10:54
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