Cisco UKI

Buying Software made Simple with the new Cisco Enterprise Agreement

Ann-Marie Dillon
June 1, 2017

With the announcement of the new Cisco Enterprise Agreement (EA) we’re changing the way our customers purchase, deploy and adopt Cisco technology.

This is another big step forward as we continue to evolve our software business strategy to make it simpler, easier and more rewarding for customers to take advantage of Cisco Software as they undergo the transformation to digital business.

The Cisco EA is a single, simple agreement that lets our customers easily consume the Software and Services they need today, in areas such as collaboration, infrastructure and security, to scale and add additional capabilities as they grow –without penalty. The Cisco EA simplifies access to the latest Cisco Software and Services, whilst providing customers the ability to deploy and use products and services within their budget and schedule.

We’re always looking at ways to make it easier for customers to get the most value out of their Cisco Software today and as they grow. Two years ago, we introduced Cisco ONE Software, the bundling of software, which helps make buying, managing, and upgrading your network and infrastructure software easier, along with better together pricing. Since then, more than 18,000 customers – including 98 of the Fortune 100 – have realized the benefits of Cisco ONE. 39% of Cisco ONE customers have already adopted new capabilities included in the suites, with another 50% planning to use new capabilities over time.

EA’s aren’t anything new. We have been listening to our customers to understand what they wanted – and what they didn’t want. We’ve therefore added important differentiators; a growth allowance, so customers can exceed their agreed upon entitlement amount up to 20% without additional cost and our True Forward feature is a game changer: Most vendors offer what they call “true up,” a periodic review of a customer’s software usage. If the customer is using more than the original entitlement, the vendor then bills the customer retroactively for the over-usage. That’s basically a penalty for success! We never back bill under True Forward. Cisco EA is designed to encourage our customers to grow not to penalise them. We want to see customers grow and win with us.

Software isn’t a new concept for Cisco. 80% of our engineers and R&D is in Software. What we are seeing now is simply how Cisco is delivering that Software to our customers.. This puts us in a unique position as we leverage our leadership in both Hardware and Software, to provide the capabilities only we can offer to deliver customer value.

Cisco will continue to lead in the Hardware and Software business. Cisco EA will be a big part of it. Join our next stage as we emerge uniquely positioned as a global leader in both Hardware and Software.

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