ConnectIT 18-October-2009 Cisco reshapes developer program by Mark Cox Cisco has launched a new program for developers that improves their route to market through Cisco's channel as well as their ability to collaborate with each other. The new Cisco Developer Network (CDN) program gives developers by more open access to Cisco technologies and expanded and enhanced resources There is a sea of change away at Cisco as teams move from creating network products to creating network platforms, said Shawn Yuskaitis, Sr Manager Industry Solution Partners, at Cisco. "In the past we had the Cisco Technology Developer Program, which was mainly focused on technical enablement," Yuskaitis said. "CDN provides more open access to APIs, a portal for more robust support, and addresses marketing." Yuskaitis said the change reflects the shift in the network from one which was primarily for transport. As the network becomes a platform where more business applications from developers are network-aware and network-dependent, Cisco needs a partnership infrastructure which strengthens this platform. "We started to put it together in June 2008," Yuskaitis said. "We did research on best in class developer programs, and we came up with three key pillars for the new program." The first is technical enablement, which Yuskaitis said was a large investment involving a considerable expense, since they pay a six figure salary to the support engineers that support this. The other two pillars are marketing enablement and sales enablement, which reflect the broader support offered in the CDN program. This program also integrates the developer community with the Cisco Industry Solutions Partner Network (ISPN), which is a strategic shift for Cisco. This enables channel partners to quickly identify pre-qualified applications created by CDN members that make it easier to address their customers' business requirements. Yuskaitis said this will make it easier to locate developers by industry and encourage larger and more profitable transactions. "We couple this with ISPN, which is focused on sales enablement, where people are looking for a business solution. This connects partners with application developers, and combines Cisco technology with third party applications." Channel partners who collaborate with qualified CDN members with pre-qualified applications and who register their business solutions with Cisco are also eligible for Solution Incentive Program (ISP) discounts, the highest partner incentive. CDN also segments the developers, unlike the old program which treated all developers equally regardless of their size or their relationship with Cisco. Benefits are also incremental, much like requirements. All levels have a fee to participate. The lowest tier, and the largest, is Registered Developers, which has a $3500 fee. They are primarily self-supported, and have access to basic development tools like APIs, documentation, wikis, and blogs. The next tier, Solution Developer, receives a robust set of technical, marketing and sales resources and have been tested for interoperability with Cisco products via Cisco labs. There is a $5000 fee at this level. The upper tier, Preferred Solution Developers, receive extensive technical, marketing, and sales resources from across Cisco, and are developers with proven customer satisfaction, tested interoperability with Cisco products in Cisco labs, and strong business processes to engage with Cisco industry leading channel partners. There is also a $5000 fee at this level. All partners have access to the portal, which has been live since June 2008, and allows them to download STKs and APIs. They also all have access to the social networking community of more than 14,000 developers, Cisco engineers and product managers who collaborate -- via wikis, blogs and forums -- regarding development ideas, support, and feedback on Cisco networking technologies. Marketing enablement includes access to the Developer Logos Solutions Catalog and Marketing Tools, which is especially useful for smaller developers. Sales enablement includes the ability to showcase at Cisco events, and access to Go To Market programs.