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In most ways, the telecommunications revolution of the last few decades has made the world a much smaller place – but not necessarily for those who work in the industry.

Where before being based on an offshore platform or a remote research station was an isolating experience that removed workers from normal life for weeks or months on end, now they can do their Christmas shopping between shifts. And a job that may once have involved travelling for days at a time to collect research or meet colleagues can now be done without leaving the sofa at home.

But many aspects of telecoms and ICT have got more complicated, and some jobs still need to be done in person. Ironically, one of those jobs is often setting up the very systems that make the highly connected, no-need-to-get-off-the-couch world possible. And this can present real difficulties for firms who don’t have the scale to make engineers available across wide geographical areas.

British Telecom Engineers

Back in the early 1980s, all things telecom in the UK were run by one firm, BT – or British Telecom as it called itself back then. Its privatisation and subsequent industry deregulation gradually opened up a vast and rapidly growing market to hundreds of ambitious smaller players, even though the old state monopoly remained a domineering presence. Many thrived on sub-contracts from BT itself, while another huge industry grew up around the ICT infrastructure being built by every sector of the economy to take advantage of the communications revolution.

But whereas there was once always a BT engineer almost on every street corner, these smaller firms face the difficulty of finding suitable support staff to reach all geographies to which they are committed. For UK firms playing a leading role installing technology for global industries such as oil and gas, finance or law, this can mean having to reach dozens of countries in order to fulfil a contract.

At the same time, the technology itself has also got more complicated, and aspects have become very specialised, meaning that suitable skills can be very thin on the ground. For Cisco engineers, for example, the highest CCIE level of specialist can include no more than a couple of hundred certified engineers in each category, spread across the world.

Shortage of Cisco Security Specialist Engineers

Recent reports have focused on a shortage of security specialists, and the six figure salaries that firms are having to pay to secure their services. Undoubtedly, rising awareness of the threat from cyber crime means that security experts are in huge demand, and the crisis is particularly acute. But in fact some of the other top disciplines are also experiencing rocketing demand, such is the key nature of Cisco networks to most industries these days.

Whether you are looking for a CCIE specialist in Security, Wireless, or Routing and Switching, you will find it hard to get their attention, and not just because they are usually engrossed in learning more about these fascinating technologies. Should a company wish to directly employ an expert in each of half a dozen specialities, its IT budget will swell by more than half a million pounds a year.

This is where outsourcing comes into its own, as even relatively small firms are able to offer a comprehensive service to their clients thanks to our full UK coverage of Cisco engineers, and our international Cisco resource.

Outsourcing Specialist Cisco Services

The general benefits to business of outsourcing specialist services are well documented /LINK, and naturally these apply for network engineers too. You will reduce risk, control capital costs and be free to concentrate on your core business. But the nature of a white label service goes further and gives even greater advantages.

Any client firm can confidently claim that it can get a specialist engineer to any part of the UK, at any time of day or night, every day of the year. This allows them to bid on a range of contracts that would otherwise be prohibitive, potentially undercutting and out-competing larger rivals that employ a smaller range of Cisco-certified staff in-house. The ultimate client is also a winner, benefiting from a high quality of service – and of course they need never know that engineers were sub-contracted in.

In the IT channel, Strategic Partnerships are commonplace, most notably with the recent collaboration between the two technology giants, Cisco and Apple. The Apple & Cisco partnership is a perfect marriage, Apple gain access to the Enterprise market, whilst Cisco benefit from iOS and facilitate Apple’s entry into the Enterprise arena. But, what exactly is a Strategic Partnership?

Price Waterhouse Cooper define a Strategic Partnership as:

“A strategic partnership involves some shape of formal agreement between two or more parties that have agreed to share finance, skills, information and/or other resources in the pursuit of common goals.”

Sharing

Before a Strategic Partnership has been formalised, firstly ensure that all parties share the same expectations of the outcome of such partnerships. Start by clearly defining shared business objectives, you both might want to achieve A or B, but can you achieve them together? Strategic Partnerships are generally triggered by the existence of shared objectives. For example a Managed Services Provider or Cisco Channel Partner may need Cisco Technical Resources worldwide due to a lack of in-house specialist Cisco Network Engineers. Therefore there exists an implied shared objective, prior to a formalised agreement being signed.

As highlighted in the PwC definition, a successful Strategic Partnership can only be achieved by sharing resources, finance, information and skills. Each company will have a unique strength which the other lacks, therefore combining capabilities allows both partners to access new markets, increase product/service offerings, increase revenues and embark on a mutually beneficial knowledge sharing relationship. Strategic Partnerships are a viable alternative to traditional growth strategies including organic growth, angel investors and borrowing.

Culture & Values

A 2013 CIPD survey showed that 60-70% of Strategic Partnerships fail, often triggered by a mismatch in culture and company values. The lesson learned from this statistic is to choose your partners based on common shared values and company culture. If your company has an aggressive sales culture who earn their competitive advantage via low prices, then your ideal partner isn’t a company who values quality of service over price.

Achieving a cultural fit where both parties share values, should not be underestimated. A written agreement will specify relevant KPI’s including volume of sales, quality of service and conflict management. However, in the blink of an eye, the days and months of negotiations can be destroyed with a cultural faux pas. Obvious cultural differences occur when partnering with an international partner in body language, linguistics and beliefs. However, more subtle factors like equality, gender balance and employee & stakeholder engagement can contribute to a failed or successful Strategic Partnership.

Ease of Integration

After agreeing on shared objectives, resources and culture, integration is the next step before the partnership is good to go. The theory of how companies form a partnership is the easy part, now it’s time to fit the final pieces together.

Integration is the point where 2 (or more) companies in a Strategic Partnership become one entity. What type of information is shared between parties? What processes should be implemented to directly deal with joint customers? What systems are implemented to process enquiries, sales and communications?

When a Cisco Channel Partner or ICT Provider, needs to book a Cisco Network Engineer from a Cisco Professional Services partner onto a client site, there needs to be a unified and coherent system used by both parties. A scope of work will be agreed along with timescales, prices and quality standards. Mapping systems would be in place so all partners can identify where Network Engineers are working and how and when to book the next available one: all contributing to a seamless synergy between Strategic Partners.

Have you experienced a Strategic Partnership where only 1 party truly benefits? Have you been involved in a Partnership where you value quality of service but your partner values low price more? Tell us your horror and success stories 🙂

Cisco Systems Inc. is an awesome company to be affiliated with. Market leaders in Networking Equipment, thought leaders in the world of IT, innovators and disruptors – yet their partnership model may deter companies who’d otherwise be a perfect partnership match. If a company wishes to specialise in delivering Cisco Professional Services rather than Managed Services, Technology Solutions or the Networking Infrastructure – Then becoming a Cisco Partner may prove to be more restrictive than progressive.

Constricting Criteria

Cisco set strict criteria to prevent poor quality vendors being affiliated with the Cisco Brand, a commendable approach to ensure Brand consistency & quality of service. However in an era dominated by Technology, might it be feasible to consider that people and not technology may be at the heart of some business models? If a business places a greater emphasis on people (Professional Services) over technology (Managed Service Provider/ICT), then the Cisco partnership model just doesn’t fit.

For example if a company wishes to deliver Cisco Engineering resources in a number of regions, then that company MUST have at least 1 employee with a Cisco ID in each region they operate – If you want to offer Professional Services Internationally, be prepared to pay for employees you don’t need, but Cisco say you do. Some Professional Services companies operate in a variety of international regions, and do so successfully without the need to have an employee with a Cisco ID in each region. In fact employing someone with a Cisco ID in all the regions they operate may help to satisfy the Cisco partnership criteria, but would result in a tremendous increase in operating costs and may even turn a profitable company into a loss-making one. Cisco Engineers can be deployed from a remote location using a retainer or contractor model, so why the need to have a Cisco employee in each region?

Partners also need to have at least 1 specialisation linked to a Cisco product/solution – What if your specialisation isn’t related to a specific Cisco product or suite of products? Often Engineers are faced with a network comprising of HP Server Blades, Cisco Routers, Switches & Firewalls and F5 Load Balancers. Cisco’s rhetoric with partners is focused on providing solutions across the entire network infrastructure, but there’s often a need to have a multi-vendor approach to the network lifecycle. Offering solutions in Unified Communications & Collaboration, Wireless or Security is part of the business model for most IT Professional Services organisations, but if the solution offered is Certified Cisco Engineers, that’s not recognised – only hardware/software is a recognised solution, not people.

Hannah Breeze in a recent CRM article wrote that Cisco admitted their current partnership model & annual audits “Caused Partners a lot of hassle” and that the overwhelming consensus from existing Cisco partners asked Cisco to “Ease Up”. Enduring annual audits and submitting 10 customer satisfaction survey results twice annually soon starts to take a toll on your employees, time and capital.

 

You Don’t Need Tin To Win

Cisco Systems are market leaders in the provision of networking hardware, but not everyone wants or benefits from selling it. For a company specialising in Professional Services the lure of a 1-2% profit margin when selling hardware vs the profit margins available on deploying Engineers, making the decision to “bin the tin” is a no-brainer. Of course Cisco hardware is essential for the provision of Cisco Engineers, clients continuously demand the best networking hardware, and Cisco duly obliges. However for a specialist Professional Services Company, selling hardware is simply an exercise in generating revenue rather than profits – vanity over sanity.

Power to the People

Cisco Systems Inc. is renowned for their market leading position in the provision of networking equipment, their innovations with smart cities and the Internet of Everything – but the key strength of Cisco is their people. No other vendor offers qualifications held in such high-regard across international borders, everyone knows and values Engineers with a CCNA, CCNP or CCIE certification. Cisco Certified Engineers have an excellent understanding of multiple vendors, their equipment and the network infrastructure – all a result of the quality of training and examination needed to earn a Cisco Certification.

Regardless if you offer Professional Services, Managed Services or Networking Solutions, the essential ingredient is Cisco Engineers – the people. As an organisation Cisco Systems create their own industry – distributors selling hardware, colleges selling certifications and partners selling Finance & Services. Diversification and growth is achieved through careful acquisitions and Cisco is a darling of the NYSE – their plans for the future are solid. However a plan is useless without successful implementation and this is where Cisco excels. Achieving the vision of the future with the Internet of Everything, hardware needs to be installed and maintained, Consultants need to design networks and the Cisco wheels need to keep churning – There is no future without Cisco Engineers.

Sitting on the Fence

For organisations choosing to specialise in Professional Services, sitting on the fence may be the best strategy to adopt. Becoming a Cisco Partner may result in dangerous levels of exposure, too many employees, too much capital expenditure or being forced to adopt a precarious infrastructure that lacks the flexibility to respond to market demands. Therefore by electing to be a Cisco-centric company, but not becoming a partner ensures continued success. If close affiliates to Cisco can create and prove a profitable business model, with exponential growth which is outside the realms of their partnership criteria, then reciprocation is needed to establish a functioning partnership.

The purpose of this blog article is to open up debate surrounding the Cisco partnership model. Do you think Professional Services as a business model can work without being a Cisco partner? If you’re a Cisco partner what would you recommend? Feel free to comment on this article – musings, rants and opinions are all welcome.

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