I am incredibly proud to share that Cisco has won the 2026 Microsoft Partner of the Year for Business Transformation – Marketplace. Cisco was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for its leadership in driving innovation, expanding customer reach, and accelerating growth through Microsoft Marketplace.

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards celebrate partners delivering exceptional customer outcomes through Microsoft Cloud, AI, services, and devices. This year’s winners and finalists were selected from more than 4,500 nominations submitted worldwide across a diverse range of categories and geographies. Cisco was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in Business Transformation – Marketplace.

This recognition reflects the power of operating as “One Cisco” and the momentum we are building with Microsoft. We have moved beyond seeing the Microsoft Marketplace as a simple transaction channel; we are including it as a vital growth engine for customers, partners, and our collective ecosystems.

Driving Impact Through Marketplace

In FY26, we made a deliberate choice to prioritize the Marketplace as a primary engine for customer acquisition and Microsoft Azure consumption. The results speak for themselves:

• Hyper-Growth: Marketplace billed sales grew 862% year-over-year.
• Customer Success: We powered transactions for global enterprises, including some of the world’s largest manufacturers, healthcare organizations, and consumer brands.
• Integrated Outcomes: By integrating our Splunk product family with Cisco’s broader portfolio, we help customers connect, secure, and observe their digital environments through the commercial models they already trust.

Microsoft Perspective

“Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2026 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards”, said Nicole Dezen, Chief Partner Officer and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft. This year’s honorees are harnessing the power of Microsoft Cloud and AI to deliver transformative solutions, accelerate customer success, and expand what’s possible. Their ingenuity and impact inspire us, demonstrating what can be achieved when bold vision and technology come together to empower organizations around the world.” 

Expanding Partner Opportunity via Channel-led Sales

Our commitment to the ecosystem is best reflected in our adoption of resale-enabled offers (REO). Our collaboration with Microsoft has resulted in a scalable, repeatable consumption channel for our partners:

• Ecosystem Scale: Approximately 82% of our FY26 Marketplace revenue flowed through partner-led motions.
• Global Reach: 23 partners are now fully onboarded to operationalize REO globally, turning Marketplace growth into a multiplier effect for the entire channel.

Commercial Innovation & AI Transformation

We are meeting customers where they are—not just through technology, but also through commercial flexibility. By integrating Cisco Capital financing directly into the Marketplace, we’ve simplified procurement, accelerated AI adoption, and helped customers maximize their cloud budgets. This is where technology partnership becomes true business transformation.

Looking Ahead

This award is both a celebration of what we have achieved and an indicator of what comes next. At Microsoft Ignite in November, we’ll demonstrate Cisco’s momentum with Marketplace, highlighting how our collaboration is helping customers realize greater value from Azure. Visit us on the show floor and join leaders from Cisco and Microsoft at our exclusive customer event ahead of Ignite.

As we look forward, our focus remains on advancing co-sell motions and building a repeatable, scalable Marketplace model that creates value across the full ecosystem. To our Microsoft colleagues, our global partners, and the teams across Cisco: Thank you! Your trust, collaboration, and commitment have made this possible. We are just getting started on this journey to redefine how technology is bought, sold, and scaled.

The 2026 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards are announced ahead of Microsoft Ignite, which will be held in San Francisco from November 17-20. Additional details on the 2026 awards are available on the Microsoft Partner blog: https://aka.ms/2026POTYA_Announcement. The complete list of categories, winners and finalists can be found at https://aka.ms/2026POTYAWinnersFinalists

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