APAC partners ecstatic for Cisco 360

“The launch of Cisco360 is just the starting line and not the finish line of the program. Cisco will continue to work with its partners, guiding them and also taking their feedback on a few areas that will require a bit of time to adapt,” says Kartika Prihadi, VP, Partner and Routes to Market Sales, Cisco APJC.

With the new Cisco 360 partner program going live on January 26^th 2026, Cisco partners in the Asia Pacific region are getting excited about the new program, despite there still being a few uncertainties in some areas.

Speaking to CRN Asia exclusively ahead of the new partner program launch, Kartika Prihadi, VP, Partner and Routes to Market Sales, Cisco APJC, said that the APAC region is not only ecstatic about the launch but are fully prepared to deal with any questions partners may have.

“In our monthly readiness check with leaders in the region, everyone felt that they are green (positive) with some yellows (concerns) around areas where they feel certain partners would need more time to get up to the level that we want them to be. But in terms of the partners' understanding of the program and so forth, I think we are good because obviously they were part of the process and we had a lot of detailed engagements in the past year,” Prihadi said.

Prihadi explained that for the partners in the region, it’s all about how they can maximize their incentives after the program is launched. This includes understanding how they can work with Cisco to achieve their goals, especially the CPI (Cisco Partner Incentive). He added that some partners also have questions on the announcements made at the Cisco Partner Summit in November last year, whereby the vendor announced next-gen specialization programs, and such, which Prihadi stated, will come in at a later time.

“To me, these kinds of questions show the buy-in into the program. If you compare Cisco360 to the previous program, the old program is mainly based on size. And I think that's one thing that we try to do better in this new program, which is to focus more on the capabilities of partners,” he added.

Supporting partners in their Cisco 360 journey

On concerns that some smaller partners may struggle with the requirements in Cisco360, Prihadi explained that for the smaller partners, Cisco is aware of their focus on specialty skills.

“I think it's not an issue. I mean, obviously for them, it's more about where they need to invest more in these areas with Cisco. We are also treating them as focus partners because we know we want to grow them. So, I think they're managing it. It's just more than a business decision for them whether they want to invest, right? To get to the right levels of whatever their size requires, especially in terms of certifications,” said Prihadi.

Interestingly, Prihadi also pointed out that most small partners are actually transactional in nature. Hence, some of them may not even be aware of the program because they are just more focused on facilitating transactions.

“In that sense, I would say that we are more intentional in picking the smaller partners that we want to work with. And then we are reaching out to them, or they are reaching out to us and we are working with them,” he said.

Working with new partners

While the program is focused on existing partners, Prihadi mentioned that Cisco will also be a bit more intentional on new partners that they may want to bring in.

“So, in a way, the program provides a path where there is a specialized area that we can bring in a partner. For new partners, we are working with distribution partners more closely to help us educate the general uncovered partners and non-managed partners, and to identify those that want to come in and kind of grow with us. We're using that avenue to bring in new partners,” he said.

Specifically, he explained that these partners may be a Cisco partner but may be good in a specific area. As such, Cisco leverages distributors and are also generally just more intentional in identifying the partners that they want to bring in, especially in the newer areas.

“For example, we are putting a lot more focus on cloud infrastructure, AI infrastructure partners. These partners may have been selling more of the competition, but now because some of them realize that the competition is moving away from partners to a direct approach, these partners are reaching out to us. They want to work with Cisco because they know that we can provide opportunities. And we are definitely partner-centric,” Prihadi said.

Immediate goals

For Prihadi, the overarching goal for Cisco when the new program is launched is all making sure that vendor is capable of growing in the areas that it wants to grow. As customers see value in partners, partners themselves have invested and committed to Cisco.

“I want to make sure that the program supports the growth of the company. The partners that have invested and are committed through that program, through the designations, through the specializations, are the ones that are also delivering on that growth. That, to me, would be the success overall of the program, in my view,” he said.

Prihadi added that at the end of the day, the program supports the company's strategy. Hence, the success of the company is tied to the success of the program.

“But from a partner perspective, the partners that are invested, committed and show that desire to grow with Cisco. And that's true success for us, and it means the partnership works. Customers see value in that as well,” he added.

While it's all been positive, Prihadi mentioned that they are also prepared to deal with any concerns partners may have once the program is launched. This includes some initial challenges in transitioning to the new program.

“We have tried to prevent any issues already. We have proactively thought of potential challenges, and we have addressed that or at least prepared for it through the co-design process. We will see some healing problems. That's just what it is,” he said.

As Prihadi puts it, “the launch of Cisco 360 is just the starting line and not the finish line of the program. Cisco will continue to work with its partners, guiding them and also taking their feedback on a few areas that that will require a bit more time to adapt.”