Monday Morning Impact – April 27

Published On: April 27, 2020Categories: Buzz, Uncategorized

Cisco Commits $2.5B in Financing to Sales Amid Pandemic

Cisco has rolled out a new financing program designed to help mitigate financial challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. The initiative, marketed as the “Business Resiliency Program,” includes $2.5 billion in financing to help provide sales stimulus during this economically uncertain time.

“Cisco’s customers and partners are under enormous pressure to keep their businesses connected while remaining productive and secure,” said Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO of Cisco. “Whether it’s technology, financing or helping those most in need, Cisco is committed to working together to fight this pandemic on every front.”

Administered through Cisco Capital, the new program includes an up-front 90-day payment holiday and allows a customer to defer 95 percent of the cost of a new product or solution until 2021, which in turn protects their business and increases their existing cash flow. Starting in January 2021, customers would then make a monthly payment based on the total financed amount and the remaining term of the financing. All Cisco solutions are eligible for this program, including hardware, software and services as well as up to five percent of partner provided services, such as installation.

In addition, Cisco Refresh, the company’s certified remanufactured product portfolio, will offer a wider range of products and further discounts and promotions. These solutions are also eligible for the Business Resiliency Program where 95 percent of the cost can be deferred until 2021.

Channel Impact®
The program promises to help partners stimulate increased sales during budgetary uncertainty brought about by the pandemic. It will accelerate their sales cycles and allow partners to offer their customers payment solutions to better manage their cash flow.

Report: Top Challenges with UCaaS and CCaaS are Security and Network

Masergy, a Dallas-based company specializing in software-defined network and cloud platforms, has announced results from its recent market trends report for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS). The survey found that security and network services are the top challenges for these technologies.

Conducted in partnership with IDG Research, the study analyzed responses from IT decision makers at global enterprises that are evaluating, planning to implement or have implemented UCaaS or CCaaS.

When considering network service to support UCaaS/CCaaS, 90 percent of respondents rate a fully managed service with 24/7 monitoring and a software-defined network (SD-WAN) as highly important criteria. Seven in ten find data security challenging with respect to UCaaS and CCaaS deployments. In fact, 93 percent find it highly important that security features and services are bundled with their UCaaS/CCaaS solutions.

“The maturity of UCaaS and CCaaS has today’s decision makers less worried about technology features and more concerned about secure application performance across the network and the cloud,” said Terry Traina, chief digital officer, Masergy. “No other UCaaS/CCaaS provider on the market is better positioned to address the breadth of IT needs with a single platform. Masergy’s SD-WAN, security, and cloud applications unite to deliver global performance for critical communication applications.”

The report also said that increased IT flexibility is the top driver (40 percent) of a UCaaS or CCaaS investment. More than half of respondents prefer an integrated UCaaS/CCaaS solution — one that includes network services from a single provider.

Channel Impact®
Cloud-based services like UCaaS and CCaaS are rapidly displacing PBXs and other premise-based solutions.

Ingram Micro to Establish Center of Excellence for IoT

Ingram Micro has announced it is expanding the company’s global go-to-market capabilities and portfolio around Internet of Things (IoT)—establishing a Global Center of Excellence that places more emphasis on key verticals, services and solutions to help channel partners and manufacturers accelerate IoT market adoption.

“The introduction of a Global Center of Excellence will smooth and accelerate the road-to-market for our channel partners and manufacturers specializing in IoT, and pave the way for us to share best practices, new market applications, and resources globally,” says Paul Bay, executive vice president and president of Global Technology Solutions, Ingram Micro. “Ingram Micro’s IoT business will scale and further specialize—adding increased and sustainable business value to our partners and manufacturers by helping them extend their expertise, share their experience, and meet the varied demands of the market locally, regionally and globally.”

The distributor is also teaming with established and emerging IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Mixed Reality (MR) manufacturers to broaden its solutions portfolio. Additional resources including financing, solution development services and market-ready use cases are being made available to Ingram Micro channel partners worldwide.

Channel Impact®
The move is positioned as part of the company’s continuing efforts to create and deliver sustainable value and more solutions for customers in a rapidly growing IoT market. Broadline distributors continue to craft new ways to differentiate themselves as the industry increasingly turns toward cloud services at the expense of customer premises equipment.

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