Cisco ramps up partner training with $80m investment

Cisco has announced it will invest $80 million to help partners upskill their workforce through Cisco U, the same training platform the tech giant uses to train its internal sales team.

“I believe we have a responsibility to help people everywhere build skills they need to leverage emerging technology and stay at the forefront of innovation,” said Francine Katsoudas, Cisco Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy and Purpose Officer, at its 2024 partner summit. “Digital skill-building is how we will advance and architect the rapid evolution of our information and communications technology industry.”

According to Cisco, the funds will be divided into two new programs. The first will see $20 million put towards quarterly “ladder up” training events that will be offered to all Cisco partners for free.

As Cisco puts it, ladder up is a self-paced training program, with hands-on labs and continuing education credits to support certifications. Each training will be delivered according to Cisco’s “key business priorities”, such as AI, security and networking. The first ladder up will focus on cyber resilience, which will see partners gain free access to the company’s cybersecurity associate training on Cisco U.    

“This training builds skills around network defense, threat analysis, incident response, and security operations – all important components of any security practice,” Katsoudas said.

The remaining $60 million will be invested in providing qualified preferred partners ten annual all-access subscriptions to Cisco U. 

“This investment reflects Cisco’s deep commitment to our partners and our aim to amplify the value of partner capabilities, performance and engagement,” said Katsoudas.

Cisco puts AI at the centre of partner program

The move by Cisco to help its partners upskill comes off the back of the company’s plans to roll out Cisco 360 partner program over the next 15 months, with Katsoudas touting the program as the “most significant evolution” of the company’s partner program in 25 years.

“The ‘school’ we envision at the heart of Cisco 360 is different from schools of the past. It’s AI-centric and AI-driven, with learning that is simple, flexible and accessible,” she said.

According to Cisco, under Cisco 360, partners will have access to phase 2 of AI-ready infrastructure for partners; partner learning journeys for simple, curated training recommendations; and a unified learning approach combining on-demand with virtual instructor-led training, so partners get credit for skills regardless of method. There will also be new seller content on AI, cloud and networking, and expanded AI specialisation. 

“Our work reflects significant feedback from our partners, and we’re counting on that feedback loop continuing as we bring Cisco 360 partner enablement to life.”

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