Cisco delivers small business advantage to partners and customers

The ICT leader also announced that it is expanding its small business product portfolio with new network security and collaboration technologies and will be continuing its unique small business support by extending 0% financing offers for small businesses.

"Cisco continues to demonstrate its commitment to partners with the new Small Business Partner Development Fund tracts announced today, which help partners like us create and run programs that accelerate our growth and profitability,"

said Ryan Halper, President, Cynnex Networks.

"We're also excited about Cisco's announcement of several new Small Business Pro Series solutions. These voice, security and connectivity solutions further strengthen the portfolio by addressing several important customer needs, and Cisco is providing an unbeatable combination of quality, features, support and price point," he added.

Among the initiatives unveiled is a new global partner profitability framework specifically designed to help channel partners serving small businesses build profitable practices around Cisco Small Business solutions.

The newly launched Small Business Partner Development Fund (PDF) maps the different partner types selling in the small business market; including Cisco Registered Partners, Cisco Specialised Partners, online resale partners and service providers.

Small Business PDF provides quarterly payments to qualifying partners based on their purchases of Cisco Small Business products and new partner registration and program intelligence tools provide simplified enrollment and sales-tracking capabilities; allowing partners to track sales progress on a daily basis and calculate payments across multiple Cisco programs from a single location.

Security is also a key component in Cisco's portfolio for small businesses. New offerings in the Cisco Small Business Pro Series include an easy-to-use, all-in-one security solution designed to protect a small business's network and critical data while allowing employees to connect in a highly secure environment to the business network from anywhere at any time.

The device features a built-in firewall, virtual private network capabilities and high-speed network connections for optimal network performance. Additional optional features include E-mail security and Web security, which can be activated with the optional Trend Micro ProtectLink Gateway service that helps ensure employees are productive and not letting through spam or visiting inappropriate or unsafe Web sites.

A second layer of security with the optional VeriSign Identity Protection service accepts a one-time password from a mobile device, giving small businesses added flexibility.

Cisco is investing in industry-leading capabilities around partners, technology and support to develop its small business advantage. Its strategy has been designed to help companies with less than 100 employees gain a competitive advantage and enable the channel partners that serve them to build profitable, sustainable small business practices.

"The new partner profitability framework, coupled with our broad portfolio of small business solutions and support, helps our channel partners build and sustain a profitable small business practice," said Andrew Sage, Vice President, Worldwide Small Business Sales, Cisco.

"This is the Cisco Small Business Advantage, and with it, our partners can confidently pursue and serve their small customers," he added.