Corporate News

Launch of the Cisco 360 Partner Program avodaq Is Cisco Preferred Partner

On 25 January 2026, Cisco will launch a new global partner programme: the Cisco 360 Partner Program. Cisco is thus moving away from the previous tiers such as Gold, Premier and Select and replacing them with a portfolio-based competency model that shows the actual capabilities of partners much more transparently.

What will change for customers?

Previously, a single label such as ‘Gold Partner’ represented the highest partnership level. In future, Cisco will evaluate partners per technology portfolio – for example, in networking, security, cloud & AI infrastructure, collaboration, Splunk and services.
Customers will now be able to see exactly which areas of technology a partner has proven excellence in, rather than just a blanket rating.

The highest award in this new model is the
Cisco Preferred [Portfolio] Partner – it stands for:

Proven in-depth technical expertise
Strong project and lifecycle competence
High investment in customer support, architecture know-how and operations

avodaq: Cisco Preferred Partner in 5 portfolios

avodaq is certified as a ‘Cisco Preferred Partner’ in almost all relevant Cisco portfolios in the new Cisco 360 Partner Program – including networking, security, cloud & AI infrastructure, collaboration and services.
This means that we have achieved the highest level of qualification awarded by Cisco in each of these areas. For our customers, this means:

Access to highly qualified architects, engineers and consultants
Enterprise, cloud and security projects secured to the highest Cisco standards
Clear transparency about where our strengths lie – not just a global label, but genuine technical depth

Next-Gen Specializations – making the difference

With the Cisco 360 Partner Program, Cisco is expanding its existing specialisation model and introducing Next Generation Specializations. These not only replace the previous Solution-Based Specializations, but also go significantly beyond them in terms of content. The focus is on in-depth, technology- and customer-centric competency certifications that are specifically geared towards strategic innovation topics such as AI-enabled infrastructures, modern security architectures and future-oriented networking.

Next Generation Specializations represent the highest form of technical differentiation within the new partner program and are reserved exclusively for Cisco Preferred Partners. The prerequisite for obtaining them is already having achieved Preferred status in the respective Cisco portfolio, which ensures that only partners with proven technical depth, established project experience and a high level of delivery maturity can attain this distinction.

What does this mean for tenders and existing contracts?

The previous partner levels – including Cisco Gold Partner – will remain valid until 24 January 2026. After that, only the new Cisco 360 partner classifications will apply.
Cisco already recommends that customers no longer request ‘Gold Partner’ in RFPs and tenders, but instead specifically request:
Cisco Preferred [Portfolio] Partner
with relevant specialisations and competencies.