Cisco launches new channel resources

Cisco channel partners can now benefit from the availability of added resources to help them push the ever-expanding Cisco brand. A variety of new initiatives will be launched next year, proving the company’s commitment to the channel. Jen Rutherford, Cisco Regional Manager, says providing the channel with as much help as possible is a key commitment for Cisco moving into 2010.“We are trying to leverage our global resources. We’re trying to say we need to help our channel partners to help us do business,” she says.“Globally, Cisco is a channel delivered organisation, so one of our absolute commitments is that we help our channel partners to deal with Cisco,” she says. “The world of Cisco is becoming more and more complex – I think we bought six companies in the past two months – so we know that channel partners have a huge range of products and information to deal with. The only way we will be successful is if our channel partners are successful.”To help this Rutherford says Cisco is launching the Cisco Channel Specialist Group for the Asia Pacific region in early 2010, as continuation of the other channel-focused initiatives launched in recent months.“The Channel Specialist Group is designed to help channel partners do business with Cisco at a operational level – how do I get certified, how do I get my log-in working, how do I find something on the website, how do I do a configuration.”For New Zealand channel partners, Cisco has employed a specific person to cater to all basic operational tasks from channel partners. The new recruit is currently in training and will be available to channel partners via email and phone from February.This initiative should help “free up” the local Cisco team and enable them to focus on sales and driving business initiatives.Rutherford says the company has done a lot to assist channel partners from a marketing perspective in recent months with the launch of its Campaign Builder initiative, aimed at helping channel partners run Cisco marketing campaigns.“If they want to run a campaign or an event, all the material is there and available for them – they can add their own text and graphics,” she says. “We give them everything they need. It is especially useful for partners that don’t have anyone on hand with strong marketing skills to help them out.”Cisco has also made it easier for partners to access online resources, she says.The company has put together all of the material so that channel partners can update their websites with all the latest Cisco information and content.“These two programs have come on this year. We’ve been testing them with a few partners, but now we’re rolling them out across the globe.”Another international initiative the company has put into place recently is the Technical Support Network.This is a group of technical resources that channel partners can access via their account managers that will help them deliver proposals, configurations and designs.“Working through their account manager, resellers can get help with designs from Cisco’s technical engineers.”