Cisco, in sales revamp, to form new Strategic Partner Org

Cisco is forming a new Strategic Partner Organization to manage accounts from both its worldwide channels and strategic alliances groups. The new group will report to Keith Goodwin, Cisco’s senior vice president of worldwide channels, according to a Cisco memo sent to staff late this week.

That could mean good or bad things for current Cisco partners, many of whom remain angst-ridden over the vendor’s past tendency to favor a few, very large partners over smaller but perhaps more value-oriented VARs. Cisco lost a well publicized court battle over this issue last year.

To be fair, Cisco is hardly a trailblazer when it offers special perks to its big, special friends. Microsoft, IBM, insert-huge-tech-vendor-name-here are all guilty of this at times.

The plans are part of Cisco’s marching orders for its new fiscal year, starting in August.

Check out Rivka Little’s blog for more on the reorg.