2. Cisco 360 Details Revealed

The tech giant took to Cisco Partner Summit 2025 in November to reveal long-awaited details about Cisco 360.

The mission of Cisco 360 is to simplify the complex previous partner structure with a focus on profitability and predictability for partners of all sizes. New features, such as the Partner Value Index (PVI) and the Cisco Partner Incentive (CPI), will measure and reward the investments that partners are making in Cisco’s broad portfolio. The program has been a work in progress since Cisco 360 was first announcedat Partner Summit 2024. Since then, the program has gone through many changes based on “thousands” of hours spent with partners collecting feedback on the new program, channel chief Coogan said.

The CPI will include an Eligible Offers list and rebate rates designed to incentivize adoption in several innovation areas—campus refresh, AI, security and premium services, and adopt and renew. The Cisco Partner Incentive Estimator, a way for partners to model their earnings, was launched later in November after Partner Summit. Partners can use the Estimator to unlock two additional bonuses—the Cross Sell Bonus, which rewards portfolio breadth, and a Next Generation Specialization Bonus, which rewards deep expertise or greater value and predictable growth, according to Cisco.

In the spring, Cisco revealed that it would adjust the Cisco Services Partner Program payouts and retire the Monthly Value Rebate for Cisco Success Tracks on July 27. The company also said that it would introduce the CPI in February 2026, which will replace multiple siloed partner programs and incentives such as VIP, Perform Plus and the Cisco Services Partner Program. Then on July 1, the tech giant released some highly anticipated details into how partners will be evaluated and compensated in Cisco 360 exclusively to CRN.

One of the missions of Cisco 360 is simplifying the company’s existing partner program structure down from 22 specializations and 15 business units to now focusing on six portfolios: networking; security; cloud and AI infrastructure; Splunk; collaboration; and services. Cisco in June released updated Value Index positions across all six portfolios.

Cisco partners, for their part, were initially critical of some of the program's changes. Namely, many Cisco partners are leery of the illustrious Cisco Gold partner designation being eliminated in the new program. In its place will be two new designations: Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner.

Cisco 360 is slated to go live on Jan. 25, 2026, coinciding with the end of the company’s second fiscal quarter 2026.