Cisco has announced it is simplifying its Enterprise Agreement (EA) in a move designed to help organisations accelerate their digital transformation.
Announcing the revamped initiative at its annual Partner Summit Conference, Cisco said the single contract will increase access to its portfolio and solutions, enabling predictable costs, wider choice, and greater flexibility for businesses.
“Cisco’s new Enterprise Agreement gives our customers and partners a powerful, simple, and extremely flexible way to buy and consume our great software products,” said Gerri Elliott, Cisco's executive vice president, chief customer and partner officer, speaking at Cisco Partner Summit 2021.
This simplified cross-portfolio access means there is now just one set of terms and conditions across five Cisco portfolios - Applications Infrastructure, Networking Infrastructure, Collaboration, Security, and Services – as well as a lower minimum spend threshold for access to benefits.
The scheme has also been designed to offer greater financial flexibility, with its Value Shift feature allowing partners to shift committed spend across Cisco DNA software and Meraki Software.
“Innovations like the ability to shift investments across the portfolio will help us better serve our customers, push further into our business transformation, and drive higher profitability for our partners,” Elliott added.
Organisations can also leverage the True Forward feature to ensure future billing cycles adjust with their usage levels, while Cisco Enterprise Agreement Pay from Cisco Capital offers extended payments at no cost to customers for select EAs and a-la-carte software.
Additionally, the programme promises to increase access to innovative tech, as well as streamline license procurement for simple administration.
“Cisco’s new Enterprise Agreement enables customers and partners to more efficiently review their contracts, allowing them to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time running their businesses,” commented Leslie Rosenberg, vice president of Network Life Cycle and Infrastructure at IDC.
“Where customers and partners previously had to manage multiple EAs, they will now have one purchase agreement spanning Cisco’s portfolios.”
The new Cisco EA is available now through select partners, with plans to expand partner availability in early 2022.
