Cisco wants partners to lead with resilient infrastructure services, and the company is pitching @Cisco IQ and Cloud Control as AI-powered tools to help identify risks or outdated gear in customer environments and help these businesses modernize. For partners, it’s a three-step play: uncover the risk, modernize operations, and deploy AI agents that act instead of just alerting, according to Liz Centoni, Cisco’s executive vice president and chief customer experience officer. The new capabilities will automate more tasks and help teams work together faster, according to the tech giant. @GeeNarcisi has the details, including from @jpatel41, Cisco’s president and chief product officer, and partner perspective from Faisal Bhutto, president and CEO of managed service provider (MSP) Alykas, and Lane Irvine, director of strategic alliances for @LongViewSystems: @CiscoPartners #CiscoPS26#

Cisco CEO @ChuckRobbins said the tech giant’s focus on AI, services and resilient infrastructure represents a significant opportunity for partners to build more profitable, recurring revenue practices, while also capitalizing on a massive technology refresh cycle. And the opportunities couldn't come at a better time, because these big transitions are making @Cisco’s partner ecosystem more important than ever, according to Robbins. In an exclusive interview with @CRN Associate Managing Editor @GeeNarcisi at Cisco Partner Summit 2026, Robbins discussed: - How the recently revamped Cisco 360 program is rewarding partners for their capabilities and customer value - Why Cisco IQ and @splunk could expand the services opportunity - How partners can help customers modernize aging infrastructure despite budget, staffing and operational constraints - The competitive advantage he believes Cisco’s networking, security, silicon, optics and observability portfolio gives partners as customers ready themselves for an agentic AI future Here’s what Robbins had to say about partner profitability in an AI world, Splunk and the capabilities that will define the successful Cisco partner of the future: @CiscoPartners #CiscoPS26#

In an exclusive Q&A with @CRN Associate Managing Editor @GeeNarcisi, @Cisco Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer Liz Centoni outlines how Cisco is helping partners turn AI into recurring revenue through Cisco IQ, why many AI projects fail to reach production, and how the company’s open, platform-based approach is driving customer outcomes. You can read it here: @CiscoPartners #CiscoPS26#