Cisco Rolls Out New Partner Initiative and Financing
The company extends a helping hand to partners serving the small business market with a profitability framework and interest-free financing.
By Cecilia Galvinalvin
Cisco has created a new small business partner profitability initiative and is offering interest-free financing for both partners and their customers. Both offerings are designed to help various types of partners serving the small business market–companies with fewer than 100 employees–to build profitable, sustainable practices around Cisco Small Business solutions.
To drive profitability, the San Jose, Calif.-based networking giant has launched five new Small Business Partner Development Fund (PDF) tracks that map to its different partner types selling in the small business market. These include Cisco Registered Partners, Cisco Specialized Partners, online resale partners, and service providers.
Small Business PDF provides quarterly payments to qualifying partners based on their purchases of Cisco Small Business products. New partner registration and program intelligence tools provide simplified enrollment and sales-tracking capabilities. The tools allow partners to follow sales progress on a daily basis and calculate payments across multiple Cisco programs from a single location.†
On the financing front, Cisco Capital is providing interest-free financing so small businesses can gain a competitive advantage with Cisco Unified Communications solutions. Cisco also offers free training to teach channel partners how to use flexible financing from Cisco Capital to close new technology deals.
In the U.S. and Canada, the company has extended zero percent financing on voice solutions to include the Smart Business Communications System, Unified Communications Manager Express, and Unified Communications Manager Business Edition. The offer is available to qualifying businesses through December 31, 2009.
“The new partner profitability framework, coupled with our broad portfolio of small business solutions and support, helps our channel partners build and sustain a profitable small business practice,” says Andrew Sage, vice president, worldwide small business sales, Cisco. “This is the Cisco Small Business Advantage, and with it, our partners can confidently pursue and serve their small customers.”
