Cisco Americas Partner Organization: Laser Focused on Customer and Partner Success

I couldn’t be more excited in my relatively new role as VP of Americas Partner Organization (APO) here at Cisco. My organization is where we put the “Cisco is partner-led” messaging into action, helping our America’s-based partners succeed by helping them deliver truly exceptional outcomes for our mutual customers.

As you’ve probably heard, our partner-centric global sales go-to-market strategy revolves around three key components: Growth, Transformation, and Culture.

Growth: We’re dedicated to boosting top-line growth through the Growth Sprints framework, aiming to increase average contract value and renewal revenue.
Transformation: We’re committed to transformation by meeting our customers where they are, adopting a customer-centric approach, and enhancing selling experiences through innovative tools and processes.
Culture: We present a united front as One Cisco, leveraging our culture as a competitive edge to support our partners.

This aligns seamlessly with our strategic pillars in the Americas. These four pillars serve as our guiding principles for FY24 as we shape and execute our initiatives.

Being “better together” emphasizes collaboration within the Cisco organization and, critically, with our partners, forging a formidable alliance with an exceptionally extensive and diverse portfolio.
Our commitment to remaining “customer-obsessed” remains unwavering, continuously prioritizing their needs and striving to keep them at the forefront of innovation.
We maintain a “growth mindset” that encourages both individual and collaborative creativity, fostering experimentation with new ideas, in tandem with our partners.
Furthermore, our drive for “innovation and execution,” along with unwavering commitment to technology, underpin our ability to execute effectively, driven by appreciation for our portfolio and a passion for all things tech.

And many of our partners are thriving working with Cisco. Here are just a few (of many) examples:

One of our largest partners, WWT, worked with Cisco to bring down a large network transformation project that included many sites of deployment and services. And in this deal, the Cisco and WWT teams became aligned prior to the execution of the sale all the through the solution design and close. And then after the sale, we remained aligned in clear swim lanes of responsibility to drive the most effective results for the customer in a timely manner.
One of our LATAM partners, ConNext by Migesa, has been partnering with us for over 20 years from pre-sales through delivery. ConNext makes it a point to utilize data to create even better solutions that more precisely meet their requirements, leveraging both Cisco and ConNext’s unique value propositions.
One of more innovative distributors, Scansource, focuses on bringing out the best of breed and our partners, to leverage our Cisco sauce to deliver successful Cisco solutions within their partner programs to deliver those business outcomes. For instance, Scansource and Cisco have partnered to deep dive into our security offerings, understanding how we can leverage these marketing leading technologies in their existing customer base.

Many of our partners are transforming with us, transitioning from more hardware-centric, project-based organizations to also offering a balance of software-oriented offerings. Across the customer lifecycle, we’re committed to offering insights to our shared customers, harnessing the power of Cisco technology and partner value-added services. This ensures that customers maximize the value derived from their investments with us.

Defining a mission to help our partners thrive

Now, let’s explore what FY24 holds in store. Put simply, it’s all about delivering tomorrow’s growth today, which is something we know we can’t do without our partners.

In the coming year, we’ll remain aligned with the APO’s core priorities, including hunting for new logos and franchises, propelling software platforms, driving adoption, refreshing hardware, and enhancing premium services. All the while, we’ll be evolving our go-to-market strategies, both internally and externally.

What sets the Americas Partner Organization apart is our unique position within the best-in-class Americas partner ecosystem. We serve as a formidable force multiplier, leveraging partner innovation to redefine possibilities and accelerate profitable growth. Together, we’re poised for an exciting journey in FY24.

So, with this in mind, I invite you to join me at Partner Summit or via the Cisco Partner Summit 2023 Live Digital Broadcast. For more information and insights into the future of APO and how we can be Greater Together, be sure to check out the America’s Geo Session – Delivering Tomorrow’s Growth Today, on Nov. 7, from 2:30-3:15pm.