Cisco committed to invest in Asia, as partners prepare for Cisco360

At Cisco Partner Summit, Chuck Robbins, Cisco CEO, stated that the vendor is going to invest in Asia as the GDP growth in the region over the next decade is going to outpace most places in the region.

For Chuck Robbins, Cisco CEO, the Asian region is a favorable market to the network and security vendor. Having operated in the region over the last three to four decades, Robbins said Cisco has taken a very responsible role in its operations, making sure they give back to the communities as well.

“We have been constructive members of the community where we operate. And I think we've gotten credit for that. We've also never been a company that monetized data or did any of the things that have irritated countries around the world. We maintain a level of trust that I think will help us to a point. We're still an American company at the end of the day, but I think right now we're still viewed very favorably. And we're viewed in a way that is constructive in most countries where we operate. And that's our responsibility to continue it,” said Robbins during a media session at the Cisco Partner Summit at San Diego.

When asked if Cisco plans to continue to invest in Asia given the presence it has in the region, Robbins confidently said yes as he believes it's where the GDP growth over the next decade is going to outpace most places in the world.

“So, it's just a simple business decision, not even taking into consideration how much we just like the region,” added Robbins.

Echoing his remarks is Oliver Tuszik, Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Chief Sales Officer at Cisco. Tuszik commented that a non-moderate investment in Asia is happening.

Tuszik, who was recently in Indonesia, met with government leaders, customers, and partners who share a bold vision for the country’s digital future.

“Looking at our secure networking portfolio, I was surprised that more or less 90% of the customers, before I could tell them our story of secure networking, have already started with the story of secure networking. They were telling me that the CISO was moving back to the CIO. They were thinking about how the network can control it and enforce it. So, this move is clearly happening,” said Tuszik referring to how customers in Asia are on the same status in their tech journey as more mature markets globally.

Both Tuszik and Robbins believe the trust both partners and customers have had in the vendor has contributed massively to their continuous growth and success in the region. This is also why the Cisco leadership feels the new Cisco360 partner program will enable the partner ecosystem in Asia to be more successful.

Adopting to Cisco 360

While Cisco made several announcements at the Cisco Partner Summit, the main focus of the summit was on ensuring partners are all prepared for the new Cisco360 partner program which goes live in February 2026.

Announced at last year’s partner summit, the program marks a revamp of the previous Cisco partner program, which has been the benchmark for partners in their go to market strategies for the last two decades.

The new program, which is designed to bring together all the various Cisco products and capabilities, is also continuously being updated before it goes live based on feedback from partners over the past year. This co-design capability is something Cisco feels is unprecedented and creates more opportunities for partners.

However, some partners remained concerned about how they can make the most of the new program. According to Tim Coogan, Senior Vice President, Global Partner Sales at Cisco, the vendor has developed the new partner program as opportunity to align capability and compensation in a way that Cisco has never really done before.

“So, we see that coming together inside of the program. The way we're going to change that is by giving an architectural roadmap for each one of the disciplines where you can get a TBI score and a Partner Value Index score. It allows you to build a solution-based approach to the overall portfolio. So, what we do differently is you don't just get to compete on price. You have to compete on capability as well as your ability to deliver economic value,” said Coogan.

Coogan also mentioned that Cisco remains focused on enabling partners on the program, and there is still work to be done.

Meanwhile, Tuszik pointed out that Cisco is not telling partners how to develop their organization but setting up a set of targets or models that they can utilize.

“The interesting thing is when we preannounced this, we saw a massive increase in some of the internal training. For example, the security training that we offered to partners completely got through the roof. And they realized that if they didn't sell security, they would not make the same amount of money as they did before, which then the partners would adapt to. And some might make organizational changes while others just focus on refocusing their sales system. So, we don't want to guide organizational structure, but to a certain extent, we give them guidance about where they should build their structure,” said Tuszik.