Cisco Debuts Rack Servers, Broadens Data Center Channel

First, Cisco said it is opening up unified computing to a broader range of partners with APP to support the new C-Series rack-mount servers. Growdin said all DCNI specialized partners will be able to sell the new rack-mount servers after completing online training and an exam.

Growdin said Cisco also expanded VIP to include all of its data center technologies, including UCS, storage, networking and WAN optimization products. Adding the data center products to VIP will motivate partners to invest in building a unified data center practice as opposed to having separate practices around data center networking, storage and compute and virtualization.

MacDonald said Long View has been selling solutions into the data center for years, but in a more product-focused way. Now, Long View is looking to combine its product categories to launch a single unified data center practice.

"We're looking to bring our server, storage and network practices into one practice," he said.

Cisco also launched the Data Center Channel Solutions Program to boost the sale of tested, validated referencing IT solution designs that tie in products from Cisco's data center technology partners, such as EMC, Microsoft, NetApp, Red Hat and VMware.

Lastly, Cisco added new IT career certifications around data center management.

Cisco launched two new individual certifications for customers and partners with job roles such as data center architect, data center builder and data center technical operations professional. The two new certifications, Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Design Specialist and Cisco Data Center Unified Computing Support Specialist, build on foundational skills such as storage networking, data center networking, infrastructure, data center application services and virtualization. The certifications will validate the design and support expertise of partners and customers across multiple data center technologies that make up the unified computing architecture, said Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, general manager of Learning At Cisco.

"This technology is transforming the industry," she said. "It's a big win for our customers and our partners."