Cisco’s Q1 Partner Survey Leads to Increased Training for SMB Resellers
The company’s Small Business University grows as those partners servicing SMBs ask for help in sales and service. Also, Cisco’s Andrew Sage outlines the findings of the survey in a company video.
Upon concluding its Q1 global partner survey, Cisco has announced new and revised tools for those partners servicing SMBs. 
Cisco’s Web-based Small Business University, for example, is a one-stop-shop that aims to provide resellers with all the tools and training needed to “build a successful small business practice.”
New and updated tools and training offerings through the Small Business University include:
- Small Business Specialization–Updates to the specialization address the skills partners must have to best serve small businesses with 100 or fewer employees. The specialization now includes trainings on the complete Cisco Small Business technology portfolio, and the trainings are available for free via the Small Business University.
- Small Business Partner Practice Builder–An enablement platform designed to assist partners in building a successful and profitable small business practice with Cisco Small Business technology.
- Smart Business Roadmap–A Web-based training framework consisting of video tutorials, tools and relevant Cisco resources all designed to improve partners’ solution sales skills.
- Small Business Technical Labs–Self-paced, hands-on technical trainings for Small Business Specialized partners. Trainings can be instructor-led or via the newly developed on-demand sessions.
With the success of the original Small Business Support Communities, Cisco created two new Small Business Support Communities in Spanish and German, adding to the communities already available in English and French, which provide community-based support 24 hours a day to partners and customers.
Cisco vice president of small business solutions Rick Moran says his company is “focused on building reliable, affordable technologies that small businesses can easily use to connect their business to the world, help secure their business, and communicate more effectively.”
Moreover, Moran says that by categorizing the Cisco Small Business portfolio into “connect, secure, and communicate,” it is helping SMBs “select the right technologies to meet their core business needs and even accelerate as the economy recovers.”
Partner Pulse Survey Results
With the conclusion of its Q1 partner survey, Small Business Partner Pulse Survey, Cisco vice president, worldwide small business sales, Andrew Sage says his company was able to glean useful information for the channel.
“Listening and responding to our partners’ feedback is critical to helping us develop the technologies, support, services, and profitability programs they need to be successful,” he says. “Our most recent Small Business Partner Pulse survey indicates that our investments are helping them build successful small business practices and, most importantly, increasing their profitability with Cisco.”
In the video below, Sage provides an overview of the Q1 global partner survey and how Cisco is using this data to guide investments for Small Business partners.
