SAN JOSE, Calif., November 28, 2005 - To help accelerate the adoption of intelligent, integrated networks and grow channel partner profitability, Cisco Systems® today announced the launch of Foundation Advantage for Channel Partners, a comprehensive channel program that provides resources and rewards to help qualified channel partners upgrade their customer's aging networks.
"Much of the channel's current emphasis is on advanced networking technologies such as IP telephony," said IDC channels research director Ken Presti. "Cisco's Foundation Advantage Program provides the partners with useful tools and incentives to help them deploy the updated network infrastructure needed to support those higher-end technologies. This will ultimately help partners not only sell the technologies, but also to segment the solutions into smaller, sequential projects that are more in-line with their customers' budgets."
"The networking market is in a dramatic transition and there is a multi-billion dollar network infrastructure upgrade opportunity for Cisco channel partners," said Edison Peres, vice president of Core and Advanced Technologies, Worldwide Channels at Cisco Systems. "Several factors are converging at once to create this market dynamic, from an aging Y2K installed base and the rapid pace of advanced networking technologies, to the increase in customer business application requirements. Foundation Advantage is designed to help channel partners profitably upgrade their customer's to more advanced Cisco networking solutions."
Foundation Advantage highlights include:
Expansion of the Cisco Trade-In Accelerator Promotion (TAP) -- provides financial incentives for qualifying partners to migrate their installed base of Cisco and non-Cisco networking equipment to new Cisco network solutions. Cisco is expanding TAP into Canada and Europe and is launching its second six-month period in the US. All three will be retroactive to October 30, 2005 and will end April 25, 2006. For more information, visit www.cisco.com/go/tap
Introduction of the Cisco Discovery Tool -- offers qualified partners a free network profiling tool to assess all components in their customer's network and quickly analyze and identify the location of outdated equipment. Channel partners can create a valuable service offering using the Discovery Tool that helps their customers access the full capabilities of the network. The Cisco Discovery tool is available to qualifying partners worldwide. For more information, visit www.cisco.com/go/partner-discovery
Expansion of the Cisco Technology Migration Program - this standard Cisco product trade-in program will now include the ability to trade-in non-Cisco products via the Cisco Competitive Equipment Exchange Program. This extension will provide end customers with credits on their existing non-Cisco products when they trade up to new, advanced Cisco solutions. The Cisco Competitive Equipment Exchange Program is available to qualifying partners worldwide. For more information, visit www.cisco.com/go/partner-competitiveEX
Channel Partners who are interested in learning more about the Foundation Advantage Program for Channel Partners should visit http visit http://www.cisco.com/go/partner-foundationadvantage (USA), www.cisco.com/go/partner-foundationadvantage-canada (Canada) or http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/partners/pr11/incentive/emea/fa4p.html (Europe)
