Cisco’s channel partner ecosystem has undergone a profound transformation following a series of announcements at its 2025 Partner Summit in San Diego. The core focus of said announcements is enabling partners in an era of artificial intelligence (AI) via edge computing and Splunk.

This significant shift is driven by new AI and edge offerings (Cisco Unified Edge and Cisco IQ), which promise to provide partners with fast-tracked time to market for next-generation, Cisco-powered solutions. This move is a seismic change to how partners operate, shifting the focus from traditional hardware sales to integrated, outcome-focused solutions with AI at the center of it all.

The networking giant further backed the evolution with substantial commitments in marketing spend and major investments in partner education and enablement to build expertise in AI and security. All this is set to be formalized in the upcoming Cisco 360 Partner Program, launching in 2026.

We sat down with Technology Reseller News Senior Technology Reporter Moshe Beauford, who offered his expert perspective on the Cisco partner news.