Earlier this month marked yet another fantastic Cisco Live global event, and there was a lot going on! From announcements and amazing sessions to meetings, celebrations and everything in between, here are my key takeaways for our Cisco Partners and Distributors from Las Vegas.
Hybrid Events Are Here to Stay
While it was great to physically be in Las Vegas and see partners, customers, and co-workers face to face, it’s clear that hybrid events are here to stay. As we all face economic uncertainty and tightening travel budgets, the ability as marketers to provide world-class hybrid event experiences will only continue to grow. The bonus is that hybrid events like Cisco Live, where we had 19K attendees in person and 1.4M views from those watching from home, truly help to power a more inclusive future for all, in that they allow events to be accessible to more people, from more walks of life.
Security Is a Must-Have
“We securely connect everything to make anything possible.” – Chuck Robbins, Chair & CEO
If you were at Cisco Live in-person, watched online, or have seen the latest Cisco Partner Launch Experience, you noticed that security was a theme tightly woven into all our news and announcements. We’re working hard to ensure security is built into every solution we offer, and we also know that providing secure Cisco solutions and unified experiences is also possible because of our amazing Cisco Partners.
SMB Is a Big Deal
Security was also one of key topics at our SMB booth in the World of Solutions. Partners and customers who completed our SMB Experience Tour learned how our simplified and focused portfolio of cloud-led solutions, like Cisco Secure Access by Duo, Cisco Umbrella, Meraki, Webex, and ThousandEyes, securely enable people, enhance workspaces, and empower IT management.
Partners who swung by were also treated to a demo of our SMB Experience Explorer: an embeddable lead-generation tool that highlights the next best product for a customer, based on the solutions they have today and what their organization goals are for tomorrow. In case you couldn’t catch it in person, you can watch the full demo to see how this co-brandable tool can help your organization drive SMB leads.
Cisco Partners Deliver Customer Outcomes
While Cisco Live is a customer event, the presence—and importance—of our Cisco Partners was evident throughout the experience. The World of Solutions showcased hundreds of companies across our partner ecosystem – with demos, integrations, offers and innovations to bring customer outcomes to life. The Monday early-in-career session featured Cisco CMO Carrie Palin and Molaprise CEO Emmanuel Ola-Dake, who’s one of our African American Cisco Partner Community (AACPC) members. Partner Day, featuring sessions on the Age of the Partner, Security, CX, Managed Services, and more, was filled to room capacity. There was also the fantastic Partnering for Purpose session with Oliver Tuszik, Brian Tippens, and Deanna Davenport of ePlus, which received rave reviews both in-person and on social media.
Most importantly, the role that you—our valued partners—play in all that we do was made clear in every keynote session and announcement. Our partners are key to the success of Cisco and our customers, and we truly cannot do it without you. I look forward to seeing many of you at Partner Summit this fall!
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