Cisco opts to make ThousandEyes a channel play

A couple of years after it acquired network visualisation player ThousandEyes, Cisco has deemed that the time is right to make it a 100% channel proposition.

In a blog post, Cisco channel leader Oliver Tuszik said it had got to a point where the company wanted to put the network visualisation tools into the hands of its partners so they could react to growing demand from customers for greater visibility and improved security.

“We are helping our partners further deliver on their commitment to customers by announcing that Cisco ThousandEyes is moving to a full channel sales model,” he said. “I am thrilled about this and the work our teams are doing to support partners’ needs in adding this capability to their Cisco portfolio. Delivered as a SaaS [software-as-a-service] solution, ThousandEyes is another important Cisco component in driving more subscription-based annual recurring revenues – an important shift we know is just good business for our partners’ bottom line.”

Tuszik called on partners to get involved with the technology because this was a significant opportunity for the channel. “The growth of cloud-based enterprise application software continues to accelerate,” he said. “In fact, Gartner estimates cloud revenues of $474bn in 2022. This unprecedented growth and migration to cloud is reflected among the needs of our customers who require visibility into SaaS and cloud environments.”

Tuszik said Cisco was committed to helping partners get “a significant share ot the opportunity” and would continue to promote the benefits of network visibility to customers.

“For businesses that depend on networks and apps, visibility into the digital experience is a critical measure that allows for holistic management,” he added. “The visibility offered by ThousandEyes is one aspect of this that we believe is of great value to our partners and customers.”

Since the acquisition, ThousandEyes has been working on getting into a position where it can get the product into the hands of Cisco’s channel partners.

Craig Vario, director, partner sales at ThousandEyes, also took to the blogosphere to share what he perceived would be the benefits for the channel.

Cisco moved to buy ThousandEyes in May 2020, saying at the time that the acquisition came against a backdrop of an acceleration of cloud adoption, widespread use of SaaS applications, and a reliance on the internet and networks outside enterprise control.

“We believe going all in for our partners will pay off in many ways,” said Vario. “The first way is all about partner growth. And to do this, we have focused on three main areas: accelerate customer digitisation and superior user experience, recurring revenues and new revenue practice.

“ThousandEyes creates a single source of truth to view all the disparate internal and external components and delivery paths that can impact end-user experience. This visibility makes it easy to immediately pinpoint where service issues exist and fix them before affecting productivity, reputation or revenues.”