The traditional Cisco partner model is coming to an end.
For years, partners were grouped into familiar tiers:
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Registered
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Select
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Premier
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Gold
That structure is now being replaced by Partner 360, a new model designed to reward depth, not breadth.
This change affects how Cisco partners are measured, how incentives are earned, and ultimately how customers choose the right partner.
What Is Cisco Partner 360?
Partner 360 is Cisco’s new partner framework that replaces tier-based status with architecture-based scoring.
Instead of a single badge, every partner now receives a score from 1 to 10 per architecture, such as:
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Networking
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Security
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Data Center
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Collaboration
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Cloud
This means partners are no longer positioned as being “good at everything” by default.
Instead, Cisco is explicitly encouraging specialisation.
Why Cisco Is Making This Change
The old partner tiers made it difficult to differentiate between partners with genuine technical depth and those with broad but shallow capability.
Partner 360 shifts the focus to what Cisco believes matters most:
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Proven technical expertise
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Engineering investment
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Real-world delivery capability
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Ongoing skills development
The goal is to make it clearer which partners are truly strong in specific architectures.
Why Specialisation Now Wins
Under Partner 360, a partner can score highly in Networking and Security while scoring lower in Data Center or other areas.
That is intentional.
It recognises that modern IT environments are complex and that customers are better served by partners who are deeply specialised, rather than broadly accredited.
This is particularly relevant for Cisco Meraki, where design quality, operational experience, and troubleshooting capability matter far more than logo count.
The Upside for Partners
For partners that invest in the right areas, Partner 360 brings clear benefits:
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Better-aligned rebates and incentives
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More targeted promotions
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Clearer differentiation in the market
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Recognition for engineering-led organisations
Partners that focus on building real capability, rather than chasing badges, are rewarded more accurately.
What About the Challenges?
Partner 360 is not perfect yet.
Some scoring elements, particularly around career certifications, can be ambitious for smaller or highly specialised partners.
For example, achieving the highest possible score in certification-heavy categories can require a very large number of certified engineers, which may not reflect the effectiveness or experience of a smaller, senior team.
Cisco has acknowledged that the model will continue to evolve.
Why This Is a Win for Customers
From a customer perspective, this change is overwhelmingly positive.
Partner 360 makes it easier to:
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Identify partners with genuine expertise in specific technologies
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Avoid one-size-fits-all providers
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Choose partners aligned to real project needs, not marketing tiers
For customers buying Cisco and Meraki solutions, it increases transparency and improves the chances of working with a partner that truly understands their environment.
Final Thoughts
Cisco Partner 360 represents a fundamental shift in how partners are evaluated.
It moves the focus away from legacy tiers and towards technical depth, specialisation, and delivery capability.
While there are still refinements to be made, the direction is clear.
This is a positive change for partners who invest in engineering and an even bigger win for customers looking for the right expertise, not just the right logo.
