The Data Center, Advanced Data Center Architecture, and Master Data Center and Hybrid Cloud specialisations are being retired. For complete details and timeline, please see the announcement from January 30, 2023.
Specialisations showcase your expertise and the value you bring to prospective customers, while unlocking incentives and promotions that boost your bottom line.
Several of our architecture specialisations are available in three levels. Choose the level that's right for you.
To find training for a specific specialisation, go to the page for that specialisation and view the requirements document.
For training in general, see the Cisco Training page.
Find top-notch, Cisco focused job candidates in Talent Bridge, a free sourcing and recruiting service for Cisco partners.
Get started with Talent Bridge Matching Engine.
Help your customers empower people to engage and innovate anywhere, on any device.
Sell, deploy and support Webex Meetings, Teams, Calling and subscription-based collaboration solutions to customers. Requirements
The Collaboration SaaS Specialisation ensures that partners have an understanding of the most recent Cisco Webex solutions in order to design, quote, deploy, and support the right Webex meeting solution for any customer.
The Collaboration SaaS Specialisation program trains partners to gain the foundational knowledge of Cisco collaboration SaaS solutions to effectively sell these cloud-based services. The program ensures partners have the right skills and expertise to sell collaboration SaaS solutions to customers. In addition, it supports partners in building recurring revenue streams for their business and adding their own valuable services to ensure high levels of customer adoption of WebEx solutions.
With the Collaboration SaaS Specialisation Program, you can:
Specialise to help your customers better connect with their customers, partners, and suppliers. Requirements
Specialise to help your customers better connect with their customers, partners, and suppliers. With this specialisation, you show you are an expert in the collaboration architecture. This portfolio includes unified communications, conferencing, customer care, and collaboration endpoints.
The Collaboration Architecture Specialisation satisfies a requirement for Premier and Gold certifications.
You can also:
Reach the highest level for Cisco collaboration solutions. Requirements
Reach the highest level for Cisco collaboration solutions. Deliver voice and unified communications solutions to help your customers communicate quickly and effectively. Improve customer service and save time and money.
You can also:
Deliver Cisco Contact Center Express products to small to mid-market customers. Requirements
The Unified Contact Center Express Specialisation is an open program available to all Advanced Collaboration Architecture Specialised partners, providing more flexibility in terms of which collaboration solutions to invest in.
The Cisco Contact Center portfolio now includes three specialisations: Unified Contact Center Express Specialisation (small to mid-market); Unified Contact Center Enterprise Specialisation (enterprise market); and Webex Contact Center Specialisation (cloud).
With the Unified Contact Center Express Specialisation program, you can:
To learn more, contact your partner account manager.
Deliver Unified Contact Center Enterprise (UCCE) products to enterprise customers. Requirements
Provide intelligent call routing, network-to-desktop computer telephony integration, and contact management solutions to enterprise agents over an IP-based network.
To apply for this specialisation you must be associated with an Advanced Unified Contact Center Enterprise Specialisation partner from another business entity of the same parent company and within the same Cisco-defined theater. The Unified Contact Center Enterprise Specialisation partner must be a separate business entity from their fully qualified Advanced Unified Contact Center Enterprise Specialisation partner and from another country within the same theater.
With the Unified Contact Center Enterprise Specialisation, you can:
This program is by invitation only. To learn more, contact your partner account manager.
Deliver Cisco Contact Center to enterprise customers. Requirements
Provide intelligent call routing, network-to-desktop computer telephony integration, and contact management solutions to enterprise agents over an IP-based network.
If you have expertise in legacy TDM and PBX phone systems, IP-based telephony, and IP-based contact center solutions, then this program is for you. You must also hold an Advanced Collaboration Architecture Specialisation.
With the Advanced Unified Contact Center Enterprise Specialisation you can:
This program is invitation-only. To learn more, contact your partner account manager.
Deliver the Cisco Webex Contact Center to mid-market customers. Requirements
The Webex Contact Center Specialisation enables select partners to sell, implement and support the Cisco Webex Contact Center offer to mid-market customers.
The Webex Contact Center accelerates the Cisco Contact Center Flexible Deployment Strategy. Combined with Cisco's strong foundation with meetings and messaging and the acquisition of BroadSoft, the platform offers a complete collaboration portfolio with flexible deployment options (cloud, on premise, or hybrid) to meet customer needs.
With the Webex Contact Center Specialisation, you can:
This program is invitation-only. To learn more, contact your partner account manager.
Help your customers transform their data centers and use the latest cloud strategies.
Show you are an expert in optimising data center networks and servers, from sales to support. Requirements
This specialisation helps your company develop sales, technical, and service capabilities for integrated data center server solutions.
You can:
Become an expert in converged infrastructure, multicloud hybrid computing, application or infrastructure as a service, and analytics. Requirements
Specialise to advance your skill set. Meet customers' diverse data center needs for the digital era.
You can also:
Integrate the three pillars of cloud: cloud applications and services, data centers, and networks. Requirements
This approach integrates the three pillars of cloud: cloud applications and services, data centers, and networks. Building on your Advanced Data Center Architecture Specialisation, the exclusive Master Data Center and Hybrid Cloud Specialisation brings the data center mainstream. It recognises and rewards partners who have proven capabilities to build and deploy cloud-ready data center infrastructures based on Cisco solutions. It also includes cloud offerings from our technology partners across storage, virtualisation, and cloud management.
You can also:
Sell and implement hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) technology through Cisco HyperFlex Solutions. Requirements
The HyperFlex Specialisation is designed specifically to enable partners to sell and implement HCI technology through Cisco HyperFlex Solutions. With the HyperFlex Specialisation, you can gain market share, grow revenue, and secure your place as the Customer's trusted advisor in the HCI market. Benefit your business with customers while also growing your partnership with Cisco and gaining incremental incentives and rewards, exclusively for HyperFlex Specialised partners.
The HyperFlex Specialisation will:
Help your customers transform their networks to meet today's digital demands.
Jump-start your Cisco networking business, focusing on on-premises switching, routing, wireless, and security solutions. Requirements
Jump-start your Cisco networking business with our Networking Specialisation. It focuses on on-premises switching, routing, wireless, and security solutions. It also covers cloud-managed solutions, including the Cisco Meraki product lines, support, and opportunities. Technical sales professionals will gain the foundational and practical knowledge needed to lead confidently with Cisco across industries and customer segments.
With this specialisation you can:
Specialise to get the training you need to sell Cisco Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) and SD-WAN solutions. Requirements
Specialise to get the training you need to sell Cisco Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) and SD-WAN solutions. Your customers can have the branch-office connections that today's digital networks require while using less expensive WAN transport options. Maintain top performance, security, and reliability.
You can also:
Be recognised as an intent-based networking genius. Bring your customers into the digital age. Build them the most secure and advanced network on the planet. Requirements
The network is changing fast. It's becoming more complex and vulnerable to the millions of threats attacking it every day.
With your intent-based networking expertise, you can help your customers minimise these complexities and change the way they manage their businesses. Your in-depth knowledge allows you to take customers' business goals and translate them into network policies; giving customers context, visibility, and insight into their networks. This is a game-changer.
It's your time to shine and be recognised as an intent-based networking genius. Bring your customers into the digital age. Build them a secure and advanced network.
You can also:
Help your customers grow their business more securely.
Focus on customer business outcomes and threat-centric solutions. Requirements
The Security Specialisation helps you focus on customer business outcomes and threat-centric solutions. The simple requirements make it easy for you to receive additional discounts on new, registered security solutions.
With the Security Specialisation you can:
Give customers more advanced security solutions for their business needs—whether they're small businesses, large enterprises, or anything in between. Requirements
Achieve a higher level of security technical expertise than most IT partners have. You can give customers more advanced security solutions for their business needs—whether they're small businesses, large enterprises, or anything in between.
You can also:
Learn how to add security to all aspects of your customers' networks. Adapt to new threats and help your customers get the security coverage they need. Requirements
Network threats are becoming more complex. How can your company stay current with the latest security solutions? We'd like to help. Learn how to add security to all aspects of your customer's network. Adapt to new threats, and help your customers get the security coverage they need.
We've updated the Master Security Specialisation to make sure your expertise is current. With this specialisation, you'll gain a powerful competitive advantage and become part of an exclusive group.
You can also:
Get access to a cloud security service that gives customers a first line of defense, so your customers can stop threats before they ever reach an organisation's network or endpoints. Requirements
Today's internet infrastructures are being attacked multiple times a day, every day. To get ahead of these attacks and prevent them from happening, customers need to be able to quickly detect threats such as malware and phishing before it reaches their network and endpoints. To do this, they need to build an intelligent network to be proactive and block these malicious attacks.
Our Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) can now get access to a cloud security service that gives customers a first line of defense. Our Cisco Umbrella service protects end users on-network and off-network by blocking malware, phishing, and command and control callbacks. With this service, customers can stop threats before they ever reach an organisation's network or endpoints.
To sell this service, you'll need to:
Help your service provider customers make the shift to digitisation.
Sell solutions based on the Cisco converged IP architecture. Combine this with your differentiated professional services to help customers reduce operating costs and boost revenue. Requirements
Sell solutions based on the Cisco converged IP architecture. Combine this with your differentiated professional services to help customers reduce operating costs and boost revenue. Your account managers and systems engineers will have access to presales and postsales training that builds upon their routing capabilities, enabling you to provide IP convergence solutions. Increase your profitability by participating in the Value Incentive Program (VIP) and selling higher-value solutions.
This specialisation satisfies a requirement for Gold, Premier, and Select Certification.
With it you can:
Win high-value deals more often and become a trusted advisor to service providers at a regional level. Requirements
Acquire unique virtualisation capabilities, such as expertise in SDN, segment routing, and NFV. Receive presales and postsales training for your account managers and system engineers and be recognised for your know-how in delivering service provider routing, optical, and backhaul solutions.
This specialisation enables you to:
Specialise in IoT (Internet of Things) or Small Business.
Sell, implement, and support Cisco IoT solutions and grow your business by delivering industry-leading IoT technology to your customers. Requirements
The IoT Specialisation enables you to sell, implement, and support Cisco IoT solutions and grow your business by delivering industry-leading IoT technology to your customers.
With the IoT Specialisation, you can increase your profitability and simplify your customer's IoT journey. Supporting customers means benefiting your business and furthering your Cisco partnership as well.
The IoT Specialisation will:
Securely connect assets, applications, and data in real time to create transformative business change in the IoT space. Requirements
The IoT Advantage Specialisation enables partners to sell, implement, and support cutting-edge IoT solutions with expertise in industrial security and IoT data management. With the IoT Advantage Specialisation, you can increase your profitability and expand your reach in the IoT market.
The IoT Advantage Specialisation will:
Become an expert in Cisco Designed for small business—end-to-end solutions designed specifically for small business customers. Requirements
Become an expert in Cisco Designed for small business with the Small Business Specialisation. This specialisation is defined by cross-architectural offerings, with end-to-end solutions designed specifically for small business customers.
With this specialisation, you can:
Review the requirements to see that you qualify. Apply and agree to the terms and conditions. After achieving approval, ensure that you maintain the requirements. Renew your specialisation annually. (Partner admin must apply and renew).
Filterable and searchable notifications keep you updated on the latest program changes and retirements, exam and audit updates, and process improvements.