Overview of the Cisco Global Gold Certification Requirements

Cisco Global Gold Certification recognizes partners with the expertise and resources

to plan, build, and manage Cisco networking solutions across the globe.

Requirements

To become Global Gold Certified, a partner must have a global resale agreement in place, a Global Commerce Specialization, and must satisfy Cisco certification or equivalent requirements across Cisco defined regions, as outlined in the following paragraphs.

Global Systems Integrator Agreement with Cisco

Contact your Cisco Partner Account Manager (PAM) to start this process if you do not already have this agreement in place. Visit www.cisco.com/go/camlocator.

Global Commerce Specialization

Global Commerce Specialization is a requirement for Global Gold Certification. If you do not already hold Global Commerce Specialization, you can apply through Program Management and Application.

Performance Thresholds

Global and regional performance metrics and thresholds are as follows:

● $350M annual Cisco revenue globally (measured at the end of Cisco’s fiscal year)

● 80% services attach rate (based on the previous quarter)

● 70% renewal rates (based on the previous quarter)

Regional Certification and Competency

Certification and equivalent competencies are outlined in Figure 1. Partners can choose from certifications or equivalent competencies in each region.

● Gold—Gold Certification

● Premier—Premier Certification

● CCIE—Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certifications

● Arch—Advanced Architecture Specialization

● Hybrid IT—Documentation of four Hybrid IT offerings being sold per region; the documents will be uploaded through the Program Management and Application Tool during the onboarding process.

● CSAT—Customer Satisfaction score; more details follow

Partners have flexibility in choosing how to meet the requirements for Global Gold in each region. For example, as illustrated in Figure 2, a company can meet the requirements in EMEAR and Greater China with partner certifications. Meanwhile, requirements for companies in the Americas and APJ can be met with equivalent competencies.

The figure illustrates the example provided previously in which a partner can choose to meet Global Gold requirements through certifications in some regions while meeting the requirements through equivalent competencies in another.

Customer Satisfaction

There are two ways in which you can meet the Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) requirements for Global Gold Certification:

1. If you hold the required Gold Certifications for each region, then meet the in-country requirements for the Gold Certification in each country for which you hold Gold Certification and no further action is required.

2. If you move to a center-of-excellence model and meet your requirements for Global Gold through equivalent competencies instead of through the Cisco Certification, you will need to meet the equivalent of the regional requirement for those certifications. For example, APJ requires at least three Gold Certifications or the equivalent requirements for Gold Certification for a center-of-excellence model. In this example, you would need to provide at least 90 email contacts and conduct any low-score follow-up that arises within the CSAT measurement period.

Global Demo and Sales Capabilities

To demonstrate your ability to sell your Cisco solutions across borders, you will need to show how you use your global demonstration centers to showcase Cisco solutions to your end customers from anywhere in the world.

Regional Support Centers and Local Support Solutions

Demonstration of regional support centers and local support solution capabilities across an entire region is determined by regional competency audits. Criteria include global customer support methodology, lifecycle capabilities, and acceptable customer satisfaction rates.

Hybrid IT

The minimum requirement is four Hybrid IT offerings for each Cisco defined region. You can use the same four offerings for each region as long as the services are eligible to be sold in each region. You can add additional or different Hybrid IT offerings per region to meet the requirements.

PSS Eligibility

As a Global Gold partner, you may be able to order PSS globally with fewer restrictions and higher compensation. However, selling PSS is not a requirement for Global Gold Certification. Eligibility for this benefit follows: If you are currently authorized to sell PSS, to obtain global authorization you must:

● Meet Global Gold sales performance targets

● Meet minimum delivery performance targets of 75 service requests and 130 return material authorizations

● Pass a Technical Services Validation audit for your centralization support locations for each of the Cisco defined regions (Americas, APJ, EMEAR, and Greater China) If you are not currently authorized to sell PSS, to obtain global authorization for PSS globally you must:

● Meet Global Gold sales performance targets

● Pass a Technical Services Validation audit for your centralization support locations for each of the Cisco defined regions (Americas, APJ, EMEAR, and Greater China); for more information, please visit:

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/partners/sell-integrate-consult/sell-services/technical-servicesdeliveryvalidation.html

● Request a TS-D Validation: This process is managed by a third party and is partner-paid. It requires a Technical Services Audit in each Cisco region (AMER, AJC, EMEAR, and Greater China). (Apply through PPE if you are not already eligible.)

At the end of each Cisco fiscal year, the Cisco Services Partner Program (CSPP) will conduct an assessment for all Global Gold partners who wish to continue their global PSS eligibility into the following Cisco fiscal year.