Designed to Provide Resellers with Flexible Service Options to Enhance Customers' Network Deployments
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- June 14, 1999 -- Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced Partner Support Essentials, a program that provides Cisco channel resellers with enhanced service and support options for end customers. Cisco Partner Support Essentials encompasses a suite of service offerings that complement each channel reseller's individual business strategy and support capabilities, while assuring high-quality end customer support for Cisco products.
"As networks increasingly emerge as a key strategic asset, business customers require the channel to deliver more value-add in the sale. Cisco Partner Support Essentials is a robust, flexible and easy-to-implement service and support program that enables Cisco channel resellers to more easily deliver services as a value-add to their customers," said Clayton Reed, vice president of customer advocacy service sales and marketing at Cisco Systems. "Cisco resellers are at various stages of developing their services capabilities. By offering flexible service and support options, Cisco can meet the needs of all our channel resellers and end customers alike."
The Cisco Partner Support Essentials Program allows channel resellers to select one of four support options to create the best service and support solutions for them and the end-customer. The four support options are divided into two categories: Full Entitlement and Selective Entitlement.
The Full Entitlement model is designed to support a channel reseller's entire customer base. This model targets channel resellers that have high support capabilities and a service strategy to manage the customer's technical support requirements through the entire network lifecycle. The Full Entitlement model consists of the System Integrator Support '98 (SIS98) service offering announced last year. Available to Cisco Silver, Gold and Premier certified resellers, SIS98 channel resellers provide: Level 1 (basic troubleshooting and diagnostics) and Level 2 (advanced troubleshooting and diagnostics) technical support, a technical support person at each service location, a service sales organization with a business and support plan and sufficient service parts inventory.
The Selective Entitlement model consists of three options: Partner Owned, Partner Managed and Cisco Brand Resale. This model allows a channel reseller to choose a support level based upon the reseller's service strategy, technical support capability, and each unique customer situation.
Partner Owned is best suited for Cisco channel resellers with high support capabilities. The channel reseller provides all technical support to the customer, while Cisco assists the channel reseller with problem escalation and parts replacement support.
Partner Managed allows channel resellers to utilize Cisco's industry leading support infrastructure as a complement to their own support capabilities. Partner Managed participants manage service contracts and the relationship with the customer under the reseller's own brand of service. This co-delivery of services leverages both the reseller and Cisco's capabilities.
Cisco Brand Resale enables channel resellers to resale Cisco branded support. Channel resellers using Cisco Brand Resale, manage service contract selling and renewal, and Cisco delivers all technical support.
Participating resellers can manage and renew their Cisco supported customer contracts with the Service Contract Center; Cisco's new contract management web tool.
Cisco aims to provide its resellers with flexible, profitable service solutions and tools to empower them to be successful in their deployment of global networks and provide a high-level of customer satisfaction. The Cisco Partner Support Essentials program is available to Cisco certified channel resellers worldwide and was developed as a direct response to Cisco channel reseller requests.
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is theworldwide leader in networking for the Internet.Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the U.S. and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
