Cisco To Launch Partner Portal

The portal provides an individually personalized view into 13 content modules, including information on channel announcements, certification and specialization, e-learning, and customer and partner satisfaction, said Kevin MacRitchie, vice president of worldwide channel operations at Cisco.

Partner View was designed to improve solution providers' productivity by reducing the time it takes to find crucial information on Cisco's vast partner Web site, MacRitchie said. "I've heard some partners say they've saved 50 percent to 75 percent of the time in just finding data," he said.

Through Partner View, solution providers can track their certification and specialization status and view summaries of their individual certified employees, including notification of upcoming expiration dates.

Also included is a business-planning tool that helps partners coordinate with Cisco channel account managers to target leads and close deals.

In the future, Cisco plans to add content on market analysis, historical financial data, marketing tools and return on investment methodologies, MacRitchie said.

About 175 solution providers are using the pilot version of Partner View. Gold and Silver certified partners can begin accessing the portal in May. Premier certified partners will have access in August, he said.