by Mark Haranas via CRN
Cisco's global partner sales leader, Tim Coogan, said the $63 billion tech giant is seeking a specific type of partner in Cisco's new 360 AI era—a solution provider that is ready to scale AI yet also cater to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
"Cisco is putting renewed focus on Select accounts," Coogan, senior vice president of global partner sales, told CRN. Cisco Select partners demonstrate expertise in deploying Cisco solutions for SMBs.
World Wide Technology 'Represents The Kind Of Partner' Cisco Wants
Coogan pointed towards World Wide Technology (WWT) as an ideal partner for Cisco's 360 AI era.
Not only does WWT have the enterprise expertise to scale AI on a global basis, but thanks to its blockbuster $1.3 billion acquisition of Softchoice, WWT's Cisco expertise now spans from Fortune 50 clients all the way down to SMBs.
Softchoice's 5,000 customers, which are mostly SMB clients, now have access to WWT's vast portfolio of Cisco offerings.
"The combined WWT and Softchoice gives Cisco customers access to a partner with end-to-end depth across enterprise, mid-market, and SMB," said Cisco's Coogan. "WWT and Softchoice together represent the kind of partner ecosystem Cisco is building toward in the Cisco 360 era."