Cisco Partner Summit: Five insights that will define the channel in the AI era

At Cisco’s 2026 Partner Summit in Vancouver, the company outlined changes to partner incentives, services, security and AI tools. The article describes a shift toward rewarding partner influence and building recurring services alongside hardware sales.

• About 2,000 partners attended; channel bookings accounted for about 90% of Cisco’s fiscal 2026 total, with global channel growth just over 17%.· 1 source
• Starting next spring, preferred advisers and developers will be eligible for referral incentives, while Ecosystem Deal Registration gives formal credit to partners who influence a deal without executing it.· 1 source
• Cisco announced partner-branded Cisco IQ support, a $2,500 customer adoption incentive, and a $1 million Builders Challenge for partners creating managed services.· 1 source