CISCO PARTNER SUMMIT 2006, SAN DIEGO, March 16, 2006 - In an effort to highlight its top channel partners, Cisco Systems Canada, recognized nine Canadian partners as its 2005 annual Channel Partner award winners. Two Canadian partners were awarded special honours as recipients of the combined U.S. and Canada Theatre award.

"Our channel partners are an extension of our sales force and we want to recognize and reward our top performers," said Ross Pellizzari, vice-president, Channel Operations at Cisco Systems Canada. "Our Canadian award winners have all demonstrated the ability to develop innovative solutions and execute with the highest levels of customer satisfaction. I am delighted to present these organizations as the winners of the 2005 Cisco Channel Awards."

Cisco Systems Canada recognized the top channel partners in the following categories: Services, Foundation, IP Communications, Partner Innovation, Public Sector, Commercial, Customer Satisfaction, Enterprise, Security, and Service Provider.

The 2005 Cisco Canada Channel Partner Award winners are:

Service Provider of the Year - a U.S./Canada Theatre Award	Bell Canada
Services Partner of the Year - a U.S./Canada Theatre Award	IBM Canada
Service Provider of the Year - Canada	Bell Canada
Services Partner of the Year - Canada	IBM Canada
Foundation Partner of the Year - Canada	Hewlett-Packard (Canada)
IP Communications Partner of the Year - Canada	IBM Canada
Partner Innovation - Canada	UNIS LUMIN Inc.
Public Sector Partner of the Year - Canada	ESI Technologies
Commercial Partner of the Year - Canada	Bell Canada
Top Customer Satisfaction - Canada	Intesys Network Communications
Enterprise Partner of the Year - Canada	Long View Systems
Mobility Partner of the Year - Canada	TELUS
Security Partner of the Year - Canada	ipss inc.

The Cisco Theatre Awards are conferred to partners who meet a specific set of requirements, which are designed to identify the best channel partner in each category. Cisco has also built a formalized nomination and selection process that begins with each sales theater identifying and nominating a channel partner for each category. These nominations are reviewed and a collective group that includes Cisco worldwide channels and theater channel executives makes final selections. All of the theater Partner of the Year awards are in compliance with the requirements of the Cisco Channel Partner Program and customer satisfaction as its foundational criterion. The Cisco Canada Awards are also based on a specific set of requirements, and are reviewed, evaluated and selected by the Cisco Canada executive team.

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