Updated: Jan 08, 2026
Cisco’s transition from legacy partner tiers to the Cisco Preferred Partner framework is a global change, but its implications are particularly significant in the Indian enterprise market.
India has one of the largest and most diverse Cisco partner ecosystems in the world. For years, titles such as Gold, Premier, and Select were used as broad indicators of partner maturity.
While useful, they often failed to clearly distinguish where a partner truly excelled.
With the Cisco 360 Partner Program, Cisco has moved to a more precise, portfolio-led model. For Indian enterprises, this brings much-needed clarity when evaluating partners for networking, security, cloud, collaboration, and AI-led initiatives.
In India, a Cisco Preferred Partner is not simply a long-standing Cisco reseller or system integrator. It is a partner that has been independently validated by Cisco for delivering consistent, measurable outcomes within a specific technology portfolio.
This validation takes into account how solutions are designed, deployed, adopted, supported, and optimised over time. It reflects real-world delivery strength, not just certifications or revenue scale.
For Indian customers, this distinction is critical. It allows enterprises to align partner selection with the exact technology domain being deployed, rather than relying on generic partner labels.
The earlier Cisco partner model categorised partners broadly under Gold, Premier, and Select tiers. These tiers reflected investment levels, scale, and overall engagement with Cisco, but they did not always reveal portfolio-specific depth.
Under the Cisco 360 Partner Program, Cisco has redefined partner recognition around value delivery rather than organisational size. In practical terms, Cisco Preferred Partner status replaces broad qualification with portfolio-level proof.
For Indian enterprises, this change reduces ambiguity and improves confidence in partner capability.
Engaging a Cisco Preferred Partner offers tangible advantages for Indian organisations:
These benefits are especially relevant for enterprises operating across multiple locations or managing hybrid and cloud-integrated infrastructures.
While Cisco Gold Partner status historically signalled a high level of engagement with Cisco, it did not always guarantee depth across every technology area.
Cisco Preferred Partner status addresses this gap by validating partners where it matters most. Instead of assuming universal capability, Cisco now verifies delivery strength within the specific portfolio being deployed.
For Indian buyers, this makes Preferred Partner designation a more practical and reliable reference point than legacy Gold status, particularly for complex or business-critical projects.
Cisco awards Preferred Partner status independently across its major technology portfolios, including:
Each designation applies only to the specific portfolio named and should be verified against the geography and scope of the engagement.
As Cisco Preferred Partner becomes the primary designation from 2026 onward, Indian enterprises should update their partner evaluation criteria accordingly.
Recommended actions include:
This approach ensures that partner selection aligns with long-term delivery and operational success.
Proactive Data Systems is a Cisco Preferred Partner in India across Networking, Security, Cloud & AI, and Collaboration portfolios.
With delivery teams across Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad, Proactive supports Indian enterprises through architecture, deployment, optimisation, and managed services.
Proactive’s Cisco Preferred status reflects portfolio-level validation, while its India-focused execution model ensures consistent outcomes across large and distributed environments.
