A: Any internal Cisco user can access the PMC tool. For external users, if you are:

1. associated with a partner company in the partner database, and
2. have access to the PAL tool, and
3. the partner company is covered by PMC and has been activated in PMC.

If you need access to PMC please request access by clicking on the "Contact Help Desk" link within the PMC navigation bar and open a case or view these online Questions and Answers that may assist you in resolving your issue.

A: Currently the PMC tool covers the following type of partners:

1. Partners who have at least one active SIS contract with Cisco
2. Partners who have signed Cisco Shared Support contract(s) with Cisco
3. Partners who have signed Cisco Brand Resale contract(s) with Cisco
4. Partners who have signed Partner Voice Support Offering contract(s) with Cisco
5. 2-tier Resellers in the Pay for Performance program
6. Distributors can also be set up and use PMC

A: First you have to make sure that you are associated with a partner company in the partner database. To confirm association, go to the following URL: www.cisco.com/go/getpartneraccess.

Second, you have to get access to the Partner Access Online, or PAL tool. Access can be requested either on-line (click here to request access to PAL on-line) or by contacting your Cisco Channel Account Manager (CAM). If you do not know who your CAM is, click here to use the CAM Locator tool.

If you still can not access the tool, it may be that your company has not been activated in PMC yet. To obtain help with this please click on the "Contact Help Desk" link on the PMC landing page and open a case.

A: Cisco internal users can see your company's data. For external users, only users from your own company within the same country can see it.

A: Yes, now PMC enables multinational partners (regardless of theater or partner type) to view their own metrics across multiple theaters and/or country groups if the partner has more than one business entity across multiple geographic locations.

A: When seeking PMC support, please first click on the "Contact Help Desk" link within the PMC navigation bar and open a case.

A: The Attach Rate applies to Cisco Shared Support geographies under Selective Entitlement and Cisco Brand Resale (standalone or as a complement to Cisco Shared Support).

The Attach Rate metric is a partner-level metric that measures a partner's ability to sell service alongside the hardware they sell. All service programs are included in the Attach Rate calculation at the partner level. This metric rewards partners who earn a higher ratio of Service Coverage compared to chassis sales. The attach rate metric looks only at the Current Measurement Period service agreement sales associated to hardware originally sold by the partner.

The Attach Rate measures the SMARTnet® Next Business Day (NBD) at US list price of new service contracts sold on new equipment purchased compared to the SMARTnet® NBD at US list price on all new equipment purchased.

A: For partners that track direct and/or indirect Year to Date (YTD) Attach Rate, regardless of theater or program, the Attach Rate metric is now being calculated by starting the measurement at the beginning of the 15th month previous and measuring 12 months forward. This means that the most recent 3 months from the date of measure are not included in the calculation because on average it takes approximately 3 months for shipments to complete. The result is a much more accurate 12 month Attach Rate measurement.

Please use the table below to determine the measurement window for YTD Attach Rate and Projected 12 Month Attach Rate:

Report Available	YTD Measurement Window	Projected 12 Month Measurement Window
Sept 15	May	Jun - May
Oct 15	May - Jun	Jul - Jun
Nov 15	May - Jul	Aug - Jul
Dec 15	May - Aug	Sep - Aug
Jan 15	May - Sep	Oct - Sep
Feb 15	May - Oct	Nov - Oct
Mar 15	May - Nov	Dec - Nov
Apr 15	May - Dec	Jan - Dec
May 15	May - Jan	Feb - Jan
Jun 15	May - Feb	Mar - Feb
Jul 15	May - Mar	Apr - Jun
Aug 15	May - Apr	May - Apr

A: Direct Attach Rate measures the partner's Attach Rate on products purchased directly from Cisco.

Indirect Attach Rate measures the partner's Attach Rate on products purchased through a distributor. Indirect Attach Rate is calculated on a monthly basis and it includes the product shipped through Distribution in the last 12 rolling months that are either covered by this partner or not covered on any service contract.

Consolidated Attach Rate is the sum of the Direct and Indirect numerators divided by the sum of the Direct and Indirect denominators. It measures the partner's total Attach Rate on all Cisco products, purchased through any channel.

A: The Performance Metrics Engine uses the "TRANS_DATE" POS data field to determine when the shipment between the distributor and reseller occurred as part of the attach rate denominator definition.

Note that if a product has been excluded in the denominator for any reason it should also be excluded from the numerator, and that the calculation should exclude all product RMAs.

In the case of a merger between two partners, if the Cisco business owner(s) decide that the historical data used to calculate one partner's metrics should be combined with the historical data of the other partner, the business owner(s) will have the responsibility of ensuring that the partner's previous data is properly mapped to the other partner's data and metrics calculations.

Business Rule: The reseller that purchased the product must be the same reseller that put the device under a contract in order for that device to be included in the reseller's attach rate calculations.

A: Attach Rate % =

Total $ value of service sold in the measurement period * x 100%
Total $ value opportunity of service sales in the measurement period *

The Attach Rate definition is as follows:
Numerator: Service dollars attached	"All serviceable items" - Service coverage attached in the measurement period*. "All serviceable hardware items" - Service coverage dollars are translated to a Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level.
Denominator: Service dollars attach opportunity	"All Serviceable Items" - Service coverage dollars available for attach in the measurement period*. "All serviceable hardware items" - Service coverage dollars are translated to a Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level.

* The Attach Rate measurement period is a rolling 12-month period for the Rolling 12-Month Attach Rate calculation and is a year-to-date period for the Year-to-Date (YTD) Attach Rate calculation. In addition, the 12 month period is shifted back 3 months due to back 15/forward 12. Final performance to determine the discount earned will be based on partner's YTD Attach Rate standing at the end of the measurement period (May through April).

Attach Rate Calculation Process

a) Attach Rate Denominator (Rolling 12-Month):

• The Attach Rate Denominator is the attach opportunity. The Attach Rate opportunity is calculated by adding the SMARTnet® NBD US list price equivalent for all hardware purchased from Cisco during the measurement period. Only chassis and serialized cards that have a SMARTnet® list price shall be included in the attach rate calculation. Products meeting the following criteria are included in the partner's Attach Rate denominator calculations:
  - All sales orders having partner bill-tos
  - All chassis and serialized cards (software is not included)
  - Product purchased by the partner directly from Cisco (product purchased through distribution is not included)
  - Product shipped in the 12 months prior to the calculation month
  - Product that contains a service option (product is serviceable)
  - Product with order-line-level status of "Ship Confirm-Confirmed"
  - Order types of RMA and DOA with credit return are excluded
• The denominator is calculated by translating all products meeting these criteria to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level.

b) Attach Rate Numerator (Rolling 12-Month):

• The Attach Rate Numerator is the service attached on the Attach Rate opportunity during the measurement period. Products meeting the following criteria are included in the partner's Attach Rate numerator calculations:
  - Product must be included in the Attach Rate denominator calculation
  - Service on the product must be purchased by the partner directly from Cisco
  - Product has service coverage, including those with a future start date
• The numerator is calculated by translating all products meeting the criteria to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level.

A: A new rule in the Attach Rate calculation gives a partner credit for service no matter who sold the service coverage. This means that products that have been covered with service by another partner will be included as credit in the Direct and Indirect Attach Rate calculations and would apply to both "Performance Metrics YTD" and "12 month" Direct and Indirect Attach Rate calculations.

A: Product shipments to end customers identified by Cisco as having comprehensive direct service relationships with Cisco will be excluded. Also, the transactions between distributors have been excluded from the distributor direct Attach Rate metric.

A: Conversion rate applies to Cisco Shared Support partners under the Full Entitlement model (EMEA, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan).

Conversion Rate is a partner-level metric that measures the dollar value of contracts renewed in the measurement period following the original hardware or software Full Entitlement period (the first 12 months of support after the product sale). All service programs will be included in the Conversion Rate calculation at the partner level. This metric rewards partners who earn a higher ratio of service converted to "all serviceable items" coverage available for conversion.

The Conversion Rate metric definition is as follows:
Numerator: Service dollars converted	All serviceable items with service coverage converted in the current period (12-month measurement period following Full Entitlement period). Service coverage dollars are translated to a Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level for hardware, or SAS or SASU list price for software, as applicable.
Denominator: Service dollars conversion opportunity	All serviceable items with service coverage conversion dollars available for conversion in the current period (12-month measurement period following Full Entitlement period). Service coverage dollars are translated to a Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level for hardware, or SAS or SASU list price for software, as applicable.

A: The following will be excluded from the Conversion Rate calculation:

Items that have passed the end-of-support date

Takeovers: Items that are expiring in the current measurement period (i.e., the period immediately after the full entitlement period) that have been added to a partner's installed base via a takeover from another partner are included in the partner's Renewal Rate opportunity rather than Conversion Rate opportunity.

A: This applies to Cisco Shared Support partners under the Full Entitlement model (EMEA, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan).

For partners under Full Entitlement, the Renewal Rate is calculated on service business expiring in the Current Measurement Period and not included in the Conversion Rate calculations (all service contracts available for renewal in the 24th month after the product purchase date).. The Renewal Rate is a partner-level metric that compares the dollar value of covered serviceable items available for renewal and the partner's performance in renewing those serviceable items. All service programs will be included in the Renewal Rate calculation at the partner level. This metric rewards partners who earn a higher ratio of service renewed to coverage on those serviceable items available for renewal.

The Renewal Rate looks at the aggregate renewal (excluding those meeting conversion rate criteria) performance, regardless of the age of the covered item on a service contract and whether the partner originally sold the hardware.

The Renewal Rate measures the total SMARTnet® NBD at US list price of service coverage renewed during the measurement period compared to the renewal opportunity in SMARTnet® NBD at US list price during the entire measurement period.

A: The 2-Tier Renewal Opportunity is identified as service coverage expiring during the entire Cisco fiscal year (August - July). Multiyear Coverage - Multiyear coverage is treated as sequential single year service coverage.

The Performance Metrics Engine will use the "TRANS_DATE" POS data field to determine when the shipment between the distributor and reseller occurred as part of the renewal rate denominator definition.

The 2-Tier performance metric calculations will apply the same "takeover" policies that are currently in place for 1-Tier partners in PMC.

In the case of a merger between two partners, if the Cisco business owner(s) decide that the historical data used to calculate one partner's metrics should be combined with the historical data of the other partner, the business owner(s) will have the responsibility of ensuring that the partner's previous data is properly mapped to the other partner's data and metrics calculations.

A: Renewal Rate % =

Total $ value of service renewed x 100%
Total $ value of service expiring

The renewal rate metric is calculated as follows:
Numerator: Service dollars renewed	All serviceable items with service coverage renewed in the current period. Service coverage dollars are translated to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level for hardware or the SAS or SASU list price for software, as applicable.

Renewal Rate YTD Calculation Process (Full Entitlement) Renewal Rate Opportunity Denominator:

For a partner's service contracts with contract types eligible for Renewal Rate measurement, include all serviceable items covered on contracts that meet the following criteria:

• Serviceable items include chassis, cards, and software with a Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level that is greater than $0.00 (or a SAS or SASU list price in USD that is greater than $0.00, for software)
• Items that cannot be renewed because they have reached End of Support during the month being processed are excluded

For Japan partners:

• Include items that are expiring in the Current Measurement Period and are not included in the Conversion Rate calculation
• Include items with multiyear coverage (service coverage period of greater than 12 months) that are not expiring in the Current Measurement Period

For partners in EMEA mature markets, Australia, or New Zealand:

• Include items that are expiring in the Current Measurement Period and are not included in the Conversion Rate calculation
• Include items with multiyear coverage (service coverage period of greater than 12 months) that are not expiring in the Current Measurement Period

Note - The Current Measurement Period is the calendar period associated with the year spanning August 1 to July 31.

The Renewal Rate calculation includes items identified for this partner as a takeover from the Conversion Rate calculation.

All service coverage dollars for included items are normalized to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level (or SAS or SASU for software).

Renewal Rate Numerator:

Of the line items identified as Renewal Rate opportunities:

• Include items in the numerator where the item is renewed (for example, renewal status at the time that monthly data processing is renewed) by the same partner who had covered it prior to the renewal
• Multiyear items are included in the numerator (partner is given credit in the Renewal Rate for a multiyear item)

All service coverage dollars for included items are normalized to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level.

Renewal Rate YTD:

Renewal Rate YTD = Renewal Rate Numerator/Renewal Rate Denominator

• This metric is calculated on a monthly basis, with the denominator being the opportunity over the entire 12 months (August through July), and the numerator being the opportunity renewed at the time the monthly calculation is done.

The Renewal Rate for Full Entitlement is calculated monthly.

A: Items that have passed the end-of-support date will not be included in the Renewal Rate calculation.

A: Renewal rate applies to Cisco Shared Support partners under the Selective Entitlement model (United States and Canada) and Cisco Brand Resale-only partners in the United States, Canada, EMEA, ANZ, and Japan.

The renewal rate for partners under Selective Entitlement is calculated on service business expiring in the Current Measurement Period (the year spanning August 1 to July 31). The Renewal Rate is a partner-level metric that compares the dollar value of covered serviceable items available for renewal and the partner's performance in renewing those serviceable items. All service programs will be included in the Renewal Rate calculation at the partner level. This metric rewards partners who earn a higher ratio of service renewed to covered serviceable items available for renewal.

Renewal looks at the aggregate renewal performance in a given Cisco fiscal year, regardless of the age of the item covered on a service contract and whether the partner originally sold the hardware.

A: The Installed Base (IB) value is used as the denominator of the TAC Service Request Volume and RMA Volume Metrics. These metrics measure the rate of TAC Service Requests and RMAs respectively, per unit of installed base, so that a partner with a larger installed base compared with another partner can request a proportionally larger number of TAC Service Requests and RMAs.

A: The Installed Base value used in the metrics is the amount of product covered under Cisco Shared Support. All covered products are included in the installed base at the SMARTnet® Global List Price in US dollars (USD) at the Next Business Day (NBD) service level. The values are normalized in this manner to provide a globally consistent, predictable, and simple measurement. This eliminates the impact of currency fluctuations and pricing variations among countries, as well as differences in service level coverage. Recognizing that many Cisco Shared Support partners are migrating from the SIS program and need to continue to support the SIS installed base, the installed base used for the Cisco Shared Support metrics is the Cisco Shared Support installed base as described earlier plus the SIS installed base. The SIS IB component will be determined upon entry into Cisco Shared Support and will be depreciated over time. After the SIS IB is depreciated to zero, the Cisco Shared Support installed base will reflect only the Cisco Shared Support-covered components as described earlier.

Calculation of the SIS Installed Base

1. Determining the SIS Installed Base Value
   The SIS Installed Base Value is calculated from the value of product purchases over the last three years (five years for partners in Japan) . It is a three-year value because SIS was originally designed as a three-year Full Entitlement program, although the average product life may exceed three years and remain in the customer's installed base. The SIS Installed Base Value is converted to a Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the Next Business Day (NBD) service level. The SIS Installed Base Value can change due to mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers.
2. SIS Installed Base Decline Period in Months
   The SIS installed base decline period is the number of months over which the installed base will be reduced or devaluated. For example, if the decline period is set as 36 months, then the SIS Installed Base Value will reduce each month at a rate of 1/36. This depreciation begins the month after the partner's metrics are first calculated and continues until the Installed Base Value reaches zero or until March 31, 2007 (the End of Support Date for the SIS Installed Base in EMEA, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada).
3. SIS Installed Base Start Date
   The date is the first date when the SIS Installed Base Value is included in the partner's TAC service request and RMA unit metrics calculation.

A: This metric applies to all Cisco Shared Support partners in all countries. As part of Cisco Shared Support, partners on the program are measured on their Post-Sales Support Customer Satisfaction score only and not the total customer satisfaction score for their performance in the area of customer satisfaction.

The Post-Sales Support Customer Satisfaction metric measures the end customer's satisfaction with partner branded post-sales service. It is a partner-level metric and not a program-level metric. Cisco has determined that end customer satisfaction is a primary indicator of quality service delivery and that it strongly influences repeat product and services sales.

Under Cisco Shared Support, partners are required to meet minimum annual quality thresholds to be eligible for ongoing program participation. Partners who exceed defined quality targets may earn additional services discounts as recognition of good or superior performance.

Cisco uses a third-party company, Walker, to perform customer satisfaction surveys. The results from these surveys are used for several purposes related to partner certification and the development of operational improvement plans.

In the case of the Cisco Shared Support program, this same customer satisfaction survey is used to measure the end customer satisfaction with post-sales support.

Survey process:
Partners and Cisco field personnel are asked to identify customers who should be solicited for participation in the survey. The survey uses a rating system of 1-5, with 5 being the highest. The partner's customers are asked to complete the survey on behalf of the channel partner (the channel partner is identified on the survey). End-customer names are collected and entered by:

• Cisco account Teams
• partners by using the PAL Tool, go to: www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/frontx/PAL2/ctrl/partner_home.html

Survey Volume
Each Cisco Shared Support partner is required to submit enough customer names to ultimately achieve a minimum of 30 responses on Question 18 for each country grouping. Multiple (unique) respondents from a specific partner client are acceptable to meet the target of 30 responses.

The question used to determine the partner satisfaction rating reads as follows:
Average end customer score (scale of 1-5, minimum of 30 completed surveys) for the following question:

"Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction with post-sales support (repair, maintenance, and technical support) provided by the above Cisco Channel partner? Would you say you are…?"
5 - Very satisfied
4 - Satisfied
3 - Neutral
2 - Dissatisfied
1 - Very dissatisfied

Post-Sales Support Customer Satisfaction Score (YTD) Calculation Process:

• Numerator - Sum of the total rating of surveys where the partner is identified as the post-sales partner
• Denominator -Total number of surveys where the partner is identified as the post-sales partner
• Post-Sales Support Customer Satisfaction - The average customer satisfaction score (numerator divided by denominator)

The Post-Sales Support Customer Satisfaction metric is calculated on a daily basis at 5:00 a.m. PST.

A: Please see the information below in the Adjusted Post-Sales Support Customer Satisfaction Metric regarding the 'Reduction Customer Sat Summary, the 50/50 Summary and the Customer Response Allowance (CRA) Summary.

Reduction Customer Sat Summary
If the partner has not received 30 completed responses, the score will be deducted from the post sales customer satisfaction score based on rules defined by the policy of a minimum number of surveys not being collected.

• If the partner collects 25-29 responses, 0.3 will be deducted from the partner's average score
• If the partner collects 20-24 responses, 0.4 will be deducted from the partner's average score
• If the partner collects 15-19 responses, 0.5 will be deducted from the partner's average score
• If the partner collects 10-14 responses, 1.0 will be deducted from the partner's average score
• If the partner collects fewer than 10 responses, they will become ineligible to participate in the Cisco Shared Support program.

50/50 Summary
As part of the Cisco Shared Support requirement, partners must achieve a minimum of 30 responses on partner Post-Sales Support (Q18) from their end customers. Of these 30 responses, a minimum of 15 must be sourced from the partner (via PAL) to emphasize partner participation. So that no one participant's results overshadows the other in respect to calculating the final customer satisfaction results at the time of a partner's yearly audit, Cisco will employ a 50/50 weighting factor such that response scores will be weighted equally.

• If the partner provides a minimum of 30 responses and Cisco sourced is less than 15, then the partner responses and scores will receive full 100 percent weighting (in other words, no Cisco sourced scores will be applied in the calculation).
• If the partner provides less than 15 responses and Cisco sourced is 30 or more, then Cisco sourced responses and scores will receive full 100 percent weighting (same as above in reverse).
• If both Cisco sourced and partner-sourced are less then 15, a partner will be considered ineligible for this 50-50 Rules calculation & all responses will be weighted equally.
• If both Cisco sourced responses and partner-sourced responses are at a minimum 15, both sources will be weighted equally. For example, if Cisco sourced responses are 100 responses at 4.0 and partner-sourced has achieved 20 responses at 4.5, the final CSAT score will be weighted equally, irrespective of more responses being received by Cisco sourced. In this example, the final customer satisfaction score would be 4.25 (not 4.08 if we do overall weight-average).

NOTE: If both Cisco sourced and partner-sourced are less then 15, a partner will be considered ineligible for this 50-50 Rules calculation and all responses will be weighted equally, and subject to the Shared Support adjustment penalty or ineligibility due to low response.

Customer Response Allowance (CRA) Summary
Cisco Shared Support Customer Satisfaction Metric Response Allowance is for Shared Support partners on over-achievement of their PAL survey response rate on Q18. This process is implemented independently from the Certification Response Allowance, since Shared Support only focuses on Post-Sale Support Quality (Q18 in PAL Survey) and on a Cisco Fiscal Year basis. A partner can potentially be qualified for the Certification Response Allowance but not qualified for the Shared Support Customer Satisfaction Metric Response Allowance, and vice versa.

A: On the 15th of each month, PMC will publish the partner's metric numbers for the previous month.

A: Metric numbers displayed in color are measured against pre-defined targets or thresholds. See the legend for details.

A: "0" represents a true zero, while "-" typically means "not available" or "not applicable".

A: There are multiple reasons, but most of them are due to the source of information for pulling Attach Rate metrics. PMC uses an additional filter of business rules that determines which transactions are truly end user transactions and not just infrastructure purchases by the reseller. PMC also excludes invalid serial numbers and transactions that do not have corresponding transactions in the install base database within Cisco. ARO excludes low end value items and PMC does not. The ARO tool will eventually be end of lifed as PMC takes on more of the 2-Tier reporting for partners. Therefore, there has not been an attempt to keep these two tools in sync with each other.

A: Often the reports are very large (i.e. 10-20 megs). Some users have restrictions placed on receiving attachments or on the size of attachments allowable. If you do not receive the attached report you are expecting, please also check with your internal IT support to understand any restrictions you may have on your email account. If you are unable to lift attachment restrictions on your account, please contact your CSAM to inquire if reports can be delivered to you via CD or other means, or open a case with the PMC Support Team by clicking on the 'Contact Help Desk' link on the PMC navigation bar.

A: Often the disparities are a result of different methods of calculating the metrics. An example is the Renewal Rate Metric. Renewal rate metrics use as the denominator all of the contracts that are due to expire within the current fiscal year, however when calculating their own internal metrics, some partners will only use those contracts that were due to expire up until the point they calculated the metrics. It requires detailed analysis to determine the cause of these types of differences, but the main thing to remember is that all partners are measured using the same business rules in PMC so it is an "even playing field" for everyone.

A: The 2-Tier performance metric calculations will apply the same "takeover" policies that are currently in place for 1-Tier partners in PMC. In the case of a merger between two partners, if the Cisco business owner(s) decide that the historical data used to calculate one partner's metrics should be combined with the historical data of the other partner, the business owner(s) will have the responsibility of ensuring that the partner's previous data is properly mapped to the other partner's data and metrics calculations.

A: For all purchases made by the 1-Tier partner/2-Tier reseller from a distributor:

• PMC will pull the data from POS using the POS Transaction date instead of the ERP ship date for determining if it falls within the date range. This information will be displayed as the Indirect Attach Rate/Conversion Rate/Renewal Rate in the Performance Metrics tab.
• For all other purchases made by 1-Tier partners the current functionality remains intact

The result is that Cisco Shared Support, Cisco Brand Resale and other programs now include purchases through distributors in the metrics for 1-Tier partners. It will also assist 1-Tier Cisco Shared Support and Cisco Brand Resale partners to be successful without changing their business model in a way that was not intended by either program.

A: The Conversion Rates everywhere are calculated as follows:

• For all purchases made by the 1-Tier partner from a distributor: the 'Transaction Date' from the WIPS Database (POS Transaction) is used as the Shipment Date
• For all other purchases made by the partner the current functionality remains intact

A: The TAC Service Request Volume Metric is a program-level metric and is defined as the number of TAC Service Requests (formerly known as 'service requests' or 'TAC service requests') closed relative to the dollar value of the partner's installed base.

The TAC Service Request Volume Metric is calculated by dividing the one-year total of TAC Service Requests closed in the Cisco call tracking database by the partner's total covered installed base, which is made up of the partner's Shared Support covered installed base dollar value plus the partner's depreciated SIS installed base at a Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level. TAC Service Request Volume Metric rewards partners who escalate a smaller number of calls to Cisco, relative to their supported (covered) Shared Support or SIS installed base.

The TAC Service Request Volume Metric is calculated as follows:

Number of TAC Service Requests Closed *
Total Covered Installed Base

(Dollar value of total Cisco Shared Support covered installed base + dollar value of total SIS covered installed base) normalized to a Cisco SMARTnet® global price list in USD at the NBD service level.

Note - Refer to TAC Service Request Volume calculation process for list of exclusions.

TAC Service Request Volume Metric Calculation Process:

TAC Service Request Volume Metric Denominator

• All products meeting the following criteria are included in the partner's TAC Service Request Volume Metric denominator calculations:
  - The Cisco Shared Support service contracts of the partner
  - Service coverage status of the products and service contract must be active at the time the calculation is done
  - All products covered on the service contract are included (including software)
• The Cisco Shared Support Covered Installed Base Value is calculated by normalizing all products meeting the criteria to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level (or SAS or SASU as applicable).
• The depreciated SIS value (if applicable) is added to the Cisco Shared Support Program Covered Installed Base Value to calculate the total value of the TAC Service Request Volume Metric denominator for the measurement month. The initial SIS installed base value is the agreed installed base value. When the partner is activated in the Performance Metric Center, this value depreciates monthly at a rate specified by the decline period until the depreciated value reaches 0.

Depreciated SIS value = SIS agreed value - (SIS agreed value/decline period) * number of months since start date - 1

TAC Service Request Volume Metric Numerator

• All service requests (or TAC Service Requests) meeting the following criteria are included in the partner's TAC Service Request Volume Metric numerator calculations:
• TAC Service Requests closed during the measurement period for each of the partner's Cisco Shared Support, SMARTspares, or SIS service contracts are included except for the following TAC Service Request types:
• TAC Service Requests opened using the Service Online Tool (SVO). SVO TAC Service Requests are identified if the problem type column and the TAC Service Request entry channel have a value of "SVO."
• Dead on Arrival (DOA) TAC Service Requests. All TAC Service Requests that are identified by the TAC with "Hardware-DOA" in the "Problem Type 1" are excluded.
• TAC Service Requests opened in error. All TAC Service Requests opened with "Opened in Error" in the TAC Service Request Type/Title field are excluded.
• TAC Service Requests that are related to Cisco.com. All TAC Service Requests that are identified by TAC as "Cisco.com-related issues" in the TAC Service Request Type field are excluded. Examples are Cisco.com registration issues, Cisco.com file download issue, and Cisco.com mail failure.
• Duplicate TAC Service Requests. All TAC Service Requests opened with "Duplicate" in the TAC Service Request Type field are excluded.
• All TAC Service Request Open tool self-help TAC Service Requests will be excluded.

Note - The TAC Service Request Volume Metric is calculated monthly.

A: RMA volume is a program-level metric that is defined as the number of RMA Field Replacement Units (FRUs) shipped relative to the dollar value of the partner's covered installed base normalized to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level.

The RMA Volume Metric is calculated by dividing the number of FRUs shipped during the Cisco fiscal year by the dollar value of the partner's covered installed base (installed base under contract) normalized to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level.

The RMA Volume Metric focuses on the number of RMA shipments from Cisco for the partner's Cisco Shared Support contracts relative to the dollar value of the partner's supported installed base (installed base under contract between Cisco and the partner) normalized to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level.

The RMA Volume Metric is calculated as follows:
Numerator: Total number of RMA units shipped	Total number of RMA FRUs shipped in a 12-month period.	Numerator is divided by denominator and results in number of shipments per million dollars of installed base.
Denominator: Covered installed base value	Dollar value of total covered installed base. Installed base value normalized to the Cisco SMARTnet® at global list price in USD at the NBD service level.

RMA Volume Metric Calculation Process:

RMA Volume Metric Denominator

• All products meeting the following criteria are included in the partner's RMA Volume Metric denominator calculations:
  - Cisco Shared Support service contracts of the partner
  - Service coverage status of the products and service contract must be "Signed," "QA_Hold," "Active," or "Overdue" during the measurement month
  - All products covered on the service contract are included (including software)
• The Cisco Shared Support Covered Installed Base Value is calculated by normalizing all products meeting the criteria to the Cisco SMARTnet® global list price in USD at the NBD service level.
• The depreciated SIS value (if applicable) is added to the Cisco Shared Support Covered Installed Base Value to calculate the total value of the RMA Volume denominator for the measurement month. The initial SIS installed base value is the negotiated ("agreed") installed base value. When the partner is activated in Performance Metrics Central, this value depreciates monthly at a rate specified by the decline period until the depreciated value reaches 0.
  
  Depreciated SIS value = SIS agreed value - (SIS agreed value/decline period) * number of months since start date - 1

RMA Volume Metric Numerator

• All RMAs meeting the following criteria are included in the partner's RMA Volume Metric numerator calculations:
• RMA FRUs shipped during the measurement period for each partner's Cisco Shared Support Program, SMARTspares, or SIS service contracts
• The following types of RMAs are excluded:
  - Canceled RMAs o Nonservice RMAs
  - DOA RMAs-All RMAs that are identified in SVO as "DOA" in the Failure Class drop-down menu are excluded
  - Field alert RMAs-All RMAs that are identified in SVO with "Administrative Request" in the Failure Class drop-down menu and with "Field Notice Alert" in the Failure Code drop-down menu are excluded o Wrong parts received-RMAs where all four Failure Codes for failure class = "Wrong Parts Received" are excluded
• The Total RMA FRUs shipped during the measurement period is calculated after filtering out the RMAs that meet the exclusion list.

Note - The RMA Volume Metric is calculated monthly.

A: Yes. Partner and Cisco users can easily review Service Request Ratio and RMA Ratio Historical Summary reports without downloading and consolidating multiple YTD detail reports as a prerequisite for metrics analysis. Partner Voice Support Offering (PVSO) Service Request Ratio data will also be available in these summary reports. These historical summaries will allow users to actively and easily monitor SR/RMA performance, identify trends and work on corrective actions if required.

A: The total # of cases for CCIE/CCNP is based on case creation and the total # of cases for Configuration is based on case closure.

A: The following six types of cases are automatically excluded by the system for TAC metrics calculation. Additional cases may also be excluded by manual scrubbing by either your Cisco Partner Support Manager or someone form your own organization.

1. SMARTsparescontract type cases.
2. SVO/RMA cases: All cases opened directly through SVO Gateway application for RMA and do not require escalation to the TAC.
3. CCO related issue cases: All cases that are identified as CCO/Administrative related issues.
4. DOA (Dead on Arrival) cases: All cases identified as DOA by TAC.
5. Open in error cases: as such identified in case type.
6. Duplicate cases: as such identified in case type.

A: The view case detail page displays all the cases open by the partner, without any filter. However, by default, certain types of cases are excluded and therefore not counted in the total # of cases for metric numbers.

A: PMC contains both cases opened in C3 and cases opened in CARE.

A: It is our intention to provide the tool with flexibility to enable accurate TAC metrics reporting. It does, however, require your participation to ensure data accuracy by following steps:

1. Ensure the current contract number(s) are used by clicking View Contract link
2. Ensure each case is included or excluded properly by checking the supporting data at its case details level by checking or un-checking the appropriate boxes on the view case screen. Please be sure to push the Submit button prior to exiting.

A: Due to the existence of many tools and methodologies for retrieving data, it is difficult to provide a specific answer. Generally, the following factors need to be considered for an apple-to-apple comparison:

1. Data retrieval time and frequency - as the source database is dynamic, the retrieval time can be the most frequent cause for data inconsistency. The TAC usage data presented here is based on a monthly data retrieval at the beginning of each month (unless there is a subsequent re-run after the initial retrieval).
2. Contract(s) used for reporting - You can view the list of contracts being used in this tool by clicking the View Contract link from the Overview page.
3. Case filtering conditions used - The data presented here is the result of the combination of applying the above six standard exclusion criteria and manual data scrubbing to the initial data by Cisco and the partner that shall include all cases existing in the case database. You may want to follow the drill down path starting from the Overview page to get a list of all cases with details to start your investigation.

A: The system will send a friendly email to any partner who missed at least one of the colored metrics as soon as the metric number for the last month is available. If you would rather not be alerted at all, you can send a request to your Partner Support Manager to take your email address off the Alert Email field by clicking Feedback link on the introduction page.

A: If you are a Shared Support partner in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, or EMEA, your metrics include Conversion Rate and Renewal Rate which are not available in PMC at this time.

A: No. The metrics standing and discount table will give you metric related discounts which are only a portion of the total discount. In addition, the projected or annualized metric values are just for reference. Only the year-end actual metric values will be used to determine the metrics discount. Please see your CSAM account manager for more details.

A: You can follow the link 'Download Report' and request the detailed service request volume report for a month.

A: The process of the download report request can take up to thirty six hours, depending on the size of the report, the system load, source database availability, the network traffic, etc.

A: If the metric number has not been calculated, you will see this message. This usually happens to partners who have signed the contract but the program has not been activated yet.

A: PVSO Voice Renewal Rate is to be calculated at a partner, eligible Voice Products (pre-defined list of Cisco voice products) and PVSO Customer level. Partners are required to renew service on minimum level of PVSO previously sold service deals. PVSO looks to ensure that customers continue to receive ongoing support for their voice networks as part of the PVSO support model.

PVSO Renewal Rate Calculation:
Numerator: All renewed PVSO contract dollars for eligible voice products normalized to PVSO NBD Global List Price in USD Denominator: All eligible voice products covered by PVSO contracts expiring in the current year plus all multiyear deals normalized to PVSO NBD Global List Price in USD

A: Cisco uses a third-party company, Walker, to perform customer satisfaction surveys. The results from this survey are used for a variety of purposes related to partner certification and the development of operational improvement plans.

In the case of PVSO, this same Customer Satisfaction Survey is used to measure the customer satisfaction with post-sales support. The question used to determine the partner satisfaction rating is question number 18.

Post-Sales Support Customer Satisfaction Calculation

Average customer score (scale of 1-5, minimum of 30 completed surveys) for the following question:

"Overall, how would you rate your satisfaction with post-sales support (repair, maintenance, and technical support) provided by the above Cisco Channel partner? Would you say you are..."
5 - Very Satisfied
4 - Satisfied
3 - Neutral
2 - Dissatisfied
1 - Very Dissatisfied

Survey Process
Partners and Cisco field personnel are asked to identify customers who should be solicited for participation in the survey. The survey uses a rating system of 1-5, with 5 being the highest. The partner's customers are asked to complete the survey on behalf of the channel partner (the channel partner is identified on the survey). End-customer names are collected and entered by:

• Cisco account Teams
• Partners by using PMC Tool, go to:
  http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/frontx/PMC2/ctrl/partner_home.html

Survey Volume
Each PVSO partner is required to submit enough customer names to ultimately achieve a minimum of 30 responses on Question 18 for each country grouping. Multiple (unique) respondents from a specific partner client are acceptable to meet the target of 30 responses. If a minimum number of 30 responses is received, points will be deducted from the partners score depending on the responses received. (Note: This requirement is waived during the pilot period.)

Survey Timing
Customer satisfaction surveys are distributed throughout the 12 month period. Each partner's targets and thresholds are based on the goals set at the beginning of the measurement period. Measurement periods for partners are based on Cisco Fiscal Year. The result will be calculated on a daily basis during the Cisco fiscal year.

A: The PVSO Voice Deal Ratio is to be calculated at a Partner, eligible Voice Products (pre-defined list of Cisco voice products) and Contract level. A minimum level of Voice product must be included in the complete solution to qualify as a PVSO deal. PVSO is looking to expand Cisco Voice Solutions into the market, while enabling partners to enhance their ability increase their ROI.

PVSO Deal Ratio Calculation:
Numerator: List price of Voice products on the PVSO contract Denominator: List price of all products on the PVSO contract

A: The PVSO Voice Service Request Ratio is to be calculated at a Partner, eligible Voice Products (pre-defined list of Cisco voice products), PVSO Contract level and Service Request Volumes. Partners are required to maintain an escalation ratio that meets the set forth threshold.

Measures the total number of closed TAC cases per million dollars of PVSO covered install base during a 12-month period.

The PVSO program requires the partner to provide support for Level 1 and Level 2 issues to the customer. It will be necessary, however, for the partner to contact Cisco for Level 3 support from time to time.

This ratio is calculated every month by dividing the total TAC case closed volume by the PVSO installed base. The case volume metric measures the partner's ability to minimize the overall number of PVSO Voice cases escalated to Cisco relative to the dollar value of the partner's PVSO installed base. Cisco will exclude certain case types that do not use live technical assistance. Partners discount for a fiscal year will be based on their performance during the previous fiscal year.

Calculation:
Numerator: All Closed Service Requests (number) created against eligible voice products covered under PVSO contract type Denominator: All eligible voice products covered by PVSO contracts plus all multiyear deals normalized to PVSO NBD Global List Price in USD

A: The PVSO Voice Service Request Ratio excludes the following: Service Ordering (SVO), Cisco.com, dead on arrival (DOA), open in error, and duplicate Case Open Tool Self-Help. Because the determination of whether a case is Level 3 can be open to interpretation, Cisco specifies a Case Ratio Metric, where an overall expected or acceptable case ratio is specified relative to the amount of equipment supported during the course of a year. All cases whether deemed Level 1, 2, or 3 are counted with the exceptions of the above exclusions. The metrics performance goals have been defined taking total call volume into account.

A: The Voice RMA Ratio is to be calculated at a Partner, eligible Voice Products (pre-defined list of Cisco voice products) and Service Requests created against PVSO contracts. Partners are required to maintain an RMA ratio that meets the set forth threshold.

Measures the total number of RMA field replacement units shipped per million dollars of PVSO covered install base during a 12-month period.

Partners are required to troubleshoot Cisco products to the full extent of their capabilities before issuing an RMA.

Calculation:
Numerator: Number of Service Requests/ RMA closed against PVSO contract for eligible Voice Products Denominator: Install base coverage for the eligible Voice Products under PVSO Contracts

A: The RMA Unit Ratio excludes the following:

• Canceled RMAs
• Nonservice RMAs
• DOA RMAs—All RMAs that are identified in SVO as "DOA" in the Failure Class drop-down menu are excluded
• Field alert RMAs—All RMAs that are identified in SVO with "Administrative Request" in the Failure Class drop-down menu and with "Field Notice Alert" in the Failure Code drop-down menu are excluded
• Wrong parts received—RMAs where all four Failure Codes for failure class = "Wrong Parts Received" are excluded

A: We allow manual case scrubbing, such as including or excluding certain cases. But it will only apply to the metric numbers, not the Operational Indicator reports.

A: You can follow the link 'View Contracts' to see the contracts that are included in the corresponding calculation.

A: When seeking support or if you'd like to make a suggestion, please open a case by clicking on the "Contact Help Desk" link within the PMC navigation bar.