In Episode 113 of the Leadership Minute, I share highlights from the Cisco Partner Summit, which took place from October 28-30 in Los Angeles. They include the appointment of a new global channel chief, the surge in managed services adoption, and the new partnership between Cisco and Splunk.
Highlights
00:09 — The most exciting piece of news from the Cisco Partner Summit was that Rodney Clark is joining as global channel chief, taking over the great work that Oliver has done in the channel.
00:40 — I’m seeing three key themes. One is managed services being embedded into almost everything that Cisco is doing now. Some exciting things are happening as Cisco announces more platform plays that allow the partners to play in the space that they want to play in, which is managed surfaces.
01:35 — The second thing is security. Security and artificial intelligence (AI) are coming together. News from the Splunk CEO is that they’re working together ahead of the deal to make sure that the partners can still sell Splunk, but also some of the opportunities for integrated security and AI platforms with Cisco and Splunk together.
02:12 —The third thing that I noticed was that, unlike many other events, the Cisco event truly puts content for the partners and the community first. The sessions have been very focused on what the channel can do, on product roadmaps and how the product roadmaps can help, and dedication from the executives to helping partners get ahead in their go-to market.
02:48 — Finally, the networking was top-notch throughout the event. From the music playing as you walk into the main hall, to the main sessions with those high-impact videos and amazing speakers, it has just been a phenomenal event.
