Cisco 360 Partner Program reshapes channel engagement

The Cisco 360 Partner Program marks a significant shift in how the company works with its partner ecosystem. Announced after fifteen months of co-design, the programme is positioned as a response to changing customer demands, particularly around AI readiness, secure infrastructure, and long-term digital resilience.

The new framework is intended to simplify partner engagement, make earnings more predictable, and help customers identify partners with the right skills across Cisco’s portfolios.

A programme built around partner outcomes

The Cisco 360 Partner Program has been designed for a broad mix of partner business models, including developers, consultants, managed services providers, and resellers. The emphasis is on enabling partners to deliver measurable customer outcomes rather than focusing only on transactions.

Cisco links this approach to its view that AI readiness has become a competitive advantage. Meeting those requirements depends on partners with proven expertise in infrastructure, services, and AI-native capabilities.

Predictable earnings through a unified incentive model

A central element of the programme is theCisco Partner Incentive (CPI), which is now live. CPI brings together elements of earlier initiatives into a single structure, with the aim of offering clearer and more predictable earnings across the Cisco portfolio.

The incentive model is aligned with Cisco’s product roadmap, allowing partners to plan growth while focusing sales and go-to-market efforts on priority areas such as secure networking and secure AI infrastructure. Temporary CPI bonuses tied to these areas will run until July 2026.

New designations to clarify partner capabilities

To make it easier for customers to identify the right expertise, Cisco has introduced new partner designations under the Cisco 360 Partner Program.

All participants are recognised as registered Cisco Partners. Above that, Cisco Portfolio Partners are differentiated by demonstrated sales and technical expertise, practice maturity, and customer engagement. Cisco Preferred Partners are positioned at a higher tier, with advanced technical skills, lifecycle practices, and the ability to deliver end-to-end solutions.

Tools and resources to support partner growth

The programme also introduces a set of supporting resources aimed at helping partners scale and differentiate:

• Partner Value Indexes (PVI) will expand to include dedicated indexes for developers, advisors, mass-scale infrastructure providers, and distributors, each with tailored learning paths.

• A new Distributor Development Fund focuses on alignment, enablement, and partner growth within the distribution ecosystem.

• An enhanced Cisco AI Assistant within the Partner Experience Platform is intended to streamline workflows and help partners focus on customer value.

In parallel, the new Cisco Partner Locator tool allows customers to search for partners by capability across portfolios such as security, networking, collaboration, services, Cloud, and AI infrastructure.

Industry and partner response

Cisco executives describe the programme as an evolution of an already established ecosystem, aimed at making partner value clearer to the market. Partners involved in the co-design process point to improved differentiation, better planning visibility, and stronger alignment with customer outcomes.

Analysts and partners also highlight the Partner Value Index as a shift from a measurement framework to a planning tool, with the potential to influence profitability rather than consolidation as the ecosystem moves toward 2026.

Closing perspective

With the Cisco 360 Partner Program, the company is signalling a move toward a higher-touch, outcome-driven partner model. By combining simplified incentives, clearer designations, and new tools, Cisco is positioning its channel ecosystem to support customers navigating AI adoption and long-term digital transformation.