Cisco's special solution bundles for SMBs

INDIA: Continuing its commitment towards small and medium-sized business (SMB) marketplace, Cisco has made available a suite of new solution bundles for the Cisco Smart Business Communications System specifically designed for the Asia Pacific market.

Recognising the importance of resellers in reaching out to SMBs, Cisco also announced the addition of two partner profitability incentives: Opportunity Incentive Program (OIP) and Partner Development Fund (PDF). In addition, Cisco announced that its SMB channel initiative, Select Certification, has grown to more than 500 channel partners across the region.

The final piece in today’s announcements is a new interactive environment called Cisco Partner Space. The collaborative platform uses Web 2.0 technology to facilitate dynamic interaction between customers and partners. This is an ideal environment for companies of all sizes, particularly SMBs, to develop tighter relationships with their partners.

“The SMB market is Cisco’s fastest-growing segment around the world, and we are seeing that here in Asia Pacific as well. SMBs are also the backbone for any economy, so energizing them with technology will lead to an indirect benefit to national wealth,” said Stuart Hendry, Cisco’s director for commercial operations in Asia Pacific. “One of the key technologies that Cisco feels will benefit SMBs is unified communications, which is why we are introducing a new suite of bundles for the Cisco Smart Business Communications System.”

The simple, complete and highly secure Smart Business Communications System was designed ground up to help SMBs enable access to information anytime and anywhere. The system thus provides an efficient method of communicating with customers and employees to help improve service and increase business agility. It employs hardware products, integrated unified communications applications and system-management tools designed to complement each other and provide communication building blocks for small businesses.

At the heart of the system is the Cisco Unified Communications 500 Series, powered by Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express and Cisco Unity Express. This platform supports the portfolio of Cisco Unified IP Phones, including the softphone Cisco Unified IP Communicator, Internet connectivity with firewall protection, virtual private networks (VPNs), and wireless LAN access for reliable, highly secure communications.

Cisco has introduced five special bundles with special pricing for the Smart Business Communications System for SMBs in Asia Pacific.

Cisco’s channel partner model is recognized as among the best in the industry, but it was always more difficult for a smaller reseller to gain entry. These smaller resellers, however, are the preferred IT trusted advisors for most SMBs when acquiring technology solutions. With the introduction of Select Certification, we can now provide these resellers with the tools and training to bring solutions such as the Cisco Smart Business Communications System to SMB customers,” said Mike Allen, Cisco’s director for channel operations, Asia Pacific.

In addition to these programs, Cisco has also unveiled Cisco Partner Space, a virtual collaborative environment that enables connections and facilitates collaboration between customers and partners, among partners, and between Cisco and partners. The innovative concept starts with a booth, or Partner Space, that a partner builds to promote its company and collaborate with visitors. This booth is accessible from Partner Locator on Cisco’s Website.