Cisco’s Channel U-Turn Shows Why Partner Economics Still Matter

In February, as global prices for computer memory rose precipitously, Cisco informed its Unified Compute System channel partners that it was ending discounts and incentives for compute system-only deal registrations due to the economic pressures of the higher system memory prices.The announcement did not go well as Cisco quickly heard complaints from the affected partners about the changes, which resulted in lost discounts and incentives.Two months later, on April 14, Cisco said it was reversing its earlier decision, bringing the partner discounts back starting April 15. The company’s decision reversal is a reminder of the power of the marketplace.”Deal registration is a cornerstone of Cisco’s partner program, and we are pleased to reintroduce its benefits for Core Unified Computing, effective immediately,” a Cisco spokesperson recently told ChannelE2E. “As always, we are dedicated to working with our partners, delivering value for our customers, and navigating…