‘I think they’re still making tweaks and adjustments, and I think their intentions are honorable,’ one Cisco partner tells CRN about the networking giant’s forthcoming partner program, Cisco 360.
The tech giant first revealed Cisco 360 in an exclusive to CRN last November as a program being built to attract more MSPs and MSSPs with its focus on the value partners bring, rather than transactions. Cisco 360 represents a marked break from the biggest payouts going to partners landing large, capex infrastructure deals.
But the incoming partner program’s profitability metrics, which have not been released yet, are causing anxiety among Cisco partners, especially those who have had strong past years with the tech giant, solution providers told CRN.
Cisco’s partner program, including its incentives and rebates, is “crucial” to the financial health of many partners, one Cisco partner executive told CRN under the condition of anonymity.
“They haven’t given us the calculator yet, but what if you’re used to getting X millions of dollars a year in rebates, and now you’re going to get half of that? A partner could lose their mind,” the executive said. “I think they’re still making tweaks and adjustments, and I think their intentions are honorable. I don’t think they’re trying to hurt the partners at all, but they’re trying to come up with a whole new program and change is scary.”
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Cisco in March revealed that beginning July 27, the first phase of the sweeping changes to the partner program will begin with Cisco Services Partner Program payouts being adjusted and the Monthly Value Rebate for Cisco Success Tracks being retired. The company will introduce the Cisco Partner Incentive (CPI) in February 2026, which will replace multiple siloed partner programs and incentives such as VIP, Perform Plus, and the Cisco Services Partner Program, or CSPP. These will be folded into a single structure called CPI, which will mirror the overall value index that will measure partners across four areas: the foundational, capabilities, performance and engagement, according to Cisco Channel Chief Rodney Clark.
Later this month, Clark’s team will put a few more “stakes in the ground” for the partner program, he told CRN at Cisco Live 2025 last week. Namely, the profitability estimator will be released.
“That’s a big milestone for us. The internal teams are looking at it and working on it now, but that’s a big next step for us. And then, of course, the August milestone is when we then start evaluating and assessing where partners actually land that will then set their entry into Cisco 360,” he said.
The profitability estimator, also known as “the calculator” to partners, is important for Cisco’s channel and for the company, Clark said.
“[Former CFO] Scott Heron and I, we stood up on the stage [at Partner Summit 2024] and said: ‘Hey, we will maintain our levels of investment in the partner ecosystem.’ A big proof point in that is showing partners where they land and helping model where they land based on all the changes. That’s us being, once again, open and transparent and the decision that we’ve made, just to ensure that partners, as they have questions or they want to know and understand areas of investment they need to make in order to accelerate their profitability, we can have that conversation,” Clark said.
A West Coast-based Cisco partner executive who spoke to CRN under the condition of anonymity said that the outlines of the new channel program “make sense,” but that it will be hard to make the kind of sweeping changes the new program hopes to inspire without upsetting some of the company’s longtime VARs.
“Everything I’ve seen says the program is aimed at giving benefit to those resellers that are doing what Cisco wants — more architecture-focused, more solution-oriented. It remains to be seen how that’s executed,” the executive said. “Part of the challenge is there are large resellers that, by nature, their go to market is more transactional and Cisco has to be mindful of that, too,” the executive said.
The executive said that the partner community is collectively waiting for clear communication on the particulars of the program’s structure and how partners will be paid.
“What I would love to hear [Clark] give some color to, which I don’t even know to the extent that he can, is how are you going to execute it? And in the way that it’s being executed, is it truly going to produce the results that you’re seeking?” the executive said.
Since many Cisco partners’ fiscal years line up with the calendar year, Cisco’s partner organization is wrapping up its feedback phase so it can give some stability to partners that do big business with Cisco, Elisabeth De Dobbeleer, senior vice president, Cisco Partner Program, told CRN.
To that end, Cisco will reveal its updated value index that will measure partners within each portfolio, such as security, later this month.
“Based on the feedback, we’ve radically simplified what we’ve done. We’ve aligned metrics across the portfolios, we’ve removed some of the metrics, and we’ve implemented some T- shirt sizing, as we call it, to accommodate for different sizes of partners. That will result in partners moving a bench forward in the scoring, which hopefully should make them feel positive about their chances to optimize their position when the program launches,” De Dobbeleer said.
The VIP rates, which also reflect the shift in Cisco’s overall strategy, will be released in July, aligning with Cisco’s annual planning and end of fiscal year, she said.
Cisco 360: By Partners, For Partners
Since introducing Cisco 360 in November in an effort to slow-roll the new partner program, Cisco has been in a “heavy co-design phase” since Cisco 360 will be built by partners, for partners, Clark said.
“The feedback that we’ve gotten is: ‘Great, now we need to turn the corner.’ So, we’re taking it from here … and ultimately [deciding]: ‘What is the final design of our value index based on all the feedback that we’ve gotten?’ Not just the design and what we’re asking partners to do, but how do we measure that success? What does that look like? We’re taking into account things like, now that we know based on the different product releases or platform releases, what security is going to look like relative to networking, relative to collaboration and exploring different models and clusters of models to make sure that we’re rewarding a partner that’s relevant to the market in Vietnam, as much as we are for a partner who’s relevant to the market in New York,” he said.
The illustrious Cisco Gold partner designation is also going away in the new program, and in its place will be two designations: Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner. Cisco partners will be able to earn these designations for each portfolio, such as security or networking, the company said.
Many current Cisco Gold partner organizations are concerned about the scrapping of the Cisco Gold partner designation as part of the new program, executives told CRN.
“The gold designation matters to customers, and I don’t know that customers are going to understand that you’re either Preferred or not Preferred,” said one partner executive. “But I know Cisco is listening. They’re hearing that, and I think they’re trying to figure out ways to mitigate that.”
Partners can expect a marketing toolkit for the new Cisco Partner logo to be launched at Partner Summit 2025 in November, Cisco’s De Dobbeleer said. The Cisco Partner Logo, she added, is one of the company’s most downloaded assets.
The Cisco partner program is undergoing significant change, with many partners having grown with the tech giant. However, the new program is designed to be more inclusive and welcoming to diverse partners, including niche players, she said.
Right now, 40 percent of Cisco partners are fine with what they are hearing about Cisco 360, according to Clark. About 37 percent are in the “wait and see” phase. Seven percent of partners are not happy with the new program, and still another small percentage report that they “don’t see any benefit,” Clark said.
Neil Anderson, vice president of cloud, infrastructure, and AI solutions for solution provider giant WWT, said that the longtime Gold partner is one of the channel partners that is working very closely with Cisco as they shape Cisco 360.
“We consider the current program to be best-in-class by far. It is the gold standard for partner programs in the IT industry. When other companies that are either startups or trying to mature their partner program ask us: ‘Who should we copy? Who should we look at? We [tell them:] Cisco. That’s the best program in the industry. There’s no question,’” Anderson said. “We are working with Cisco to make sure that they consider bringing along the best elements of their best-in-class Gold program and they don’t lose their footing.”
