Cisco “Smart Service” price list troubles VARs

 One of the key announcements at Cisco’s Partner Summit 2007 this week was the Cisco Smart Service — a support-and-monitoring service that Cisco described as halfway between its SmartNet break/fix support service and  high-end network management and monitoring services many of its channel partners offer.

 The service is a pure resale opportunity for partners; Cisco built the software and maintains the network. Partners can add whatever additional services they want, and charge anything they want, because Cisco keeps the price secret from everyone except partners.

Fortunately we were able to glean a few details about the price list (actually, the price list) and the reaction of some partners to the potential downsides of the service.

— Kevin Fogarty