Cisco Premier Certification expands technical competency in the integration of basic routing and switching, wireless LANs, and security technologies. It recognizes and rewards partners that have achieved the Express Foundation Specialization. |
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After you gain certification, you can:
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Partner Benefits
Cisco Premier Certified Partners benefit from an increased level of support from Cisco, including access to best-in-class products and services, technical support, productivity tools, online training, and marketing resources. In addition to branding as a Cisco Premier Certified Partner, benefits of Premier Certification include:
- Recognition as a Premier Certified Partner in the Cisco Partner Locator
- Eligibility to participate in Channel Partner Program Incentives Programs, with greater economic incentives than for the Select certification level
- Eligibility to sell Cisco Smart Care Services
- A Cisco Certified Partner kit that contains resources such as sales tools, logos, guidelines, and information
Premier Certified Partners also enjoy access to many Cisco resources, including customer satisfaction best practices and tools, the Partner Education Connection, and the Joint Marketing Fund Builder (availability varies by geography).
Certification and specialization are based on meeting all requirements within a given country, or country grouping where relevant. All applicants must agree to the Cisco Channel Partner Program terms and conditions.
Current Requirements for Premier Certification
Base requirements:
Specialization Requirements
Role sharing allows a single individual to fulfill similar roles across two or more specializations, based upon the specialization and the role. Cisco has reduced the number of unique individuals required across Express, Advanced, and Master Specializations. However, the total number of individuals required to achieve each certification level remains unchanged. Please note:
- A single, qualified individual may fill only the account manager (AM) role in up to a total of four specializations.
- A single, qualified individual may fill only the systems engineer (SE) role in up to a total of two specializations.
- A single, qualified individual may fill only the field engineer (FE) role in up to a total of two specializations.
- Individuals may not cross-populate between the AM, SE, and FE roles.
The Small Business specialization is not limited by these allocation rules.
| Certified Individuals in Specialization | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Account Manager | Project Manager | System Engineer | Field Engineer |
| Express Foundation | CSE | N/A | CCDA | CCNA |
| Support Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Type | Premier |
| Legal agreement | Valid resale agreement or Cisco Indirect Channel Partner Agreement (ICPA) in place |
| Demo capabilities | N/A |
| Customer service | 8 x 5 |
| Escalation process | Not required |
| Call Back | 24 hour |
| Support lab | Not requred |
| Pre-Sales Support | Required |
| Post-Sales Support | Requirements based on Partner Support Agreement |
| Customer Satisfaction | |
|---|---|
| Note: Participation in the Cisco partner customer satisfaction survey is required. | |
| Type | Premier |
| New Certification* | N/A |
| Recertification | Minimum of 10 responses (measured at the end of Cisco fiscal** Q2 and Q4 on a rolling 12-month window) and Must achieve 100% of the regional customer satisfaction target by either Cisco fiscal Q2 or Q4, whichever comes first after annual certification survey |
| *The definition of "new" partner as it relates to the enforcement of the customer satisfaction requirement is a partner that has not been Premier, Silver, or Gold certified within the previous six months. **The FY2011 Cisco Fiscal Year dates are:
Exception |
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Note: If a partner does not remain in compliance with the applicable specialization or certification requirements, Cisco reserves the right to revoke the specialization or certification. Partners must notify Cisco of non-compliance promptly, but in no event more than 30 days after the partner first becomes aware of its non-compliance.
Upon receipt of such notice, the partner may qualify for an extension of time in which to renew its compliance with the applicable specialization or certification requirements. The partner's failure to provide such notice may disqualify the partner from receiving such an extension. If no extension is granted or if the partner fails to comply with the certification or specialization requirements by the end of the extension period, Cisco reserves the right to revoke the applicable specialization or certification immediately. Additional information regarding non-compliance may be found in the Audit and Policies Document.
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Certification and specialization are based on meeting all requirements within a given country, or country grouping where relevant. All applicants must agree to the Cisco Channel Partner Program terms and conditions.
New Premier Certification Requirements including Architectural Specializations
(effective 2012)
Base requirements:
- Specialization Requirements
- Career Certified Individuals
- Certification Transition
- Support Requirements
- Customer Satisfaction
Specialization Requirements
One Architecture Specialization
or
Express Foundation Specialization
- Borderless Networks Architecture Specialization
or - Collaboration Architecture Specialization
or - Data Center Architecture Specialization
or - Express Foundation
| Certified Individuals in Specialization | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Account Manager | Arch System Engineer | Field Engineer |
| Collaboration Architecture | CSE | CCDA | CCNP Voice |
| Title | Account Manager | Project Manager | System Engineer | Field Engineer |
| Express Foundation | CSE | N/A | CCDA | CCNA |
| Title | Account Manager | Arch System Engineer | Field Engineer (R&S) | Field Engineer (Security) | Field Engineer (Mobility) |
| Borderless Networks Architecture | CSE | CCDP | CCNP R&S | CCSP/CCNP Sec | CCNA Wireless or Adv WLAN Field Specialist CCNP Exams 642-731, 642-741 |
| Title | Account Manager | Arch System Engineer | Field Engineer (UCS) | Field Engineer (Unified Fabric) | Field Engineer (App Services) |
| Data Center Architecture | CSE | N/A | N/A | CCNP | CCNA |
Certification Transition
Certification transition begins in FY12. From August 2011 through July 2012 partners may submit certification applications for both technologies and architectures.
Effective August 2012, partners will be required to meet the new certification requirements at their next certification anniversary date.
New Certification Requirements Overview 
(PDF - 1.21 MB)
Certification Transition Tool 
(XLS - 217 KB)
| Support Requirements | |
|---|---|
| Type | Premier |
| Legal agreement | Valid resale agreement or Cisco Indirect Channel Partner Agreement (ICPA) in place |
| Demo capabilities | N/A |
| Customer service | 8 x 5 |
| Escalation process | Not required |
| Call Back | 24 hour |
| Support lab | Not requred |
| Pre-Sales Support | Required |
| Post-Sales Support | Requirements based on Partner Support Agreement |
| Customer Satisfaction | |
|---|---|
| Note: Participation in the Cisco partner customer satisfaction survey is required. | |
| Type | Premier |
| New Certification* | N/A |
| Recertification | Minimum of 10 responses, measured at the end of Cisco Q2 and Q4 on a rolling 12-month window and Must achieve 100% of the regional customer satisfaction target by either Cisco fiscal Q2 or Q4, whichever comes first after annual certification survey |
| *The definition of "new" partner as it relates to the enforcement of the customer satisfaction requirement is a partner that has not been Premier, Silver, or Gold certified within the previous six months. **The FY2011 Cisco Fiscal Year dates are:
Exception |
|
Note: If a partner does not remain in compliance with the applicable specialization or certification requirements, Cisco reserves the right to revoke the specialization or certification. Partners must notify Cisco of non-compliance promptly, but in no event more than 30 days after the partner first becomes aware of its non-compliance.
Upon receipt of such notice, the partner may qualify for an extension of time in which to renew its compliance with the applicable specialization or certification requirements. The partner's failure to provide such notice may disqualify the partner from receiving such an extension. If no extension is granted or if the partner fails to comply with the certification or specialization requirements by the end of the extension period, Cisco reserves the right to revoke the applicable specialization or certification immediately. Additional information regarding non-compliance may be found in the Audit and Policies Document.
How to Apply
- Your company must be a Registered Partner before applying for any specializations or certifications. Visit the Become a Registered Partner page if you are new to the Cisco Channel Partner Program and have not registered.
- Verify that certified individuals fulfilling job roles are allocated to your company with their Cisco (CSCO) testing number.*
- Partner administrators and Cisco employees are able to verify this information using the Partner Self Service tool.
- Complete and submit the certification application.
If you encounter any issues in the application or renewal process, please open a case with the Partner Relationship Team.
*Cisco typically receives exam results within five to 10 days from its respective testing agencies.
How to Renew Your Certification
You have 90 days prior to your certification anniversary date to begin the re-certification process. In the 90 days prior to your anniversary date, your status will change from Approved to Re-Cert in the Certification and Specialization Application (CSApp) online tool. Once you verify that you are in compliance with current specialization requirements, please submit your application in the CSApp tool. You will not be able to submit your application unless all requirements are met.
If you encounter any issues in the application or renewal process, please open a case with the Partner Relationship Team.
Failure to submit a re-certification application 30 days after your anniversary date will result in loss of the certification.
Premier Certification Resources
Premier Certification At-a-Glance (PDF - 58 KB)
Premier Certification Overview (PDF - 353 KB)
