A different league?

Replacing John Chambers was always going to be an uphill task for Cisco, and as Chuck Robbins kicks off a new era partners reflect on what they want from the incoming leader, reports Jack Gilbert

"John Chambers has been there so long it's like trying to follow Sir Alex Ferguson into the Manchester United role; it's a big challenge," said Colin Brown, managing director at Softcat, on the recent appointment of Chuck Robbins as Cisco's CEO.

For any manager stepping into the hot seat at a new club, signings are often top of the agenda, and on his first earnings call Robbins indicated that acquisitions and divestments are going to be a key part of his tactics moving forward.

"Over the past 90 days, we have seen an infectious energy emerge at Cisco, and we've made strong moves around the four focus areas that I laid out: accelerating what's working and changing what's not; simplifying our business; driving operational rigour; and investing in our talent and our culture," he said.

But just as there is always much speculation as to who a new manager will target, questions are being raised about which areas Robbins should "accelerate". Cisco's portfolio expanded rapidly under Chambers' rule, but there are a number of options for future expansion, with channel players highlighting storage, the Internet of Things (IoT) and software. While speaking to Cisco's partners, there are also calls for bold leadership and a slight change in message as Robbins sets out the agenda for the company's next era.

Right man for the job
Brown at Softcat was ebullient about the Robbins appointment and the direction in which he feels Cisco is heading under him.

"I was at the Cisco global partner summit in April and there was a really good buzz about Cisco. To have that followed up with the news about Chambers resigning the week after, I wondered, ‘are they going to be able to keep that momentum going with Chuck?'

"But actually they have used the good momentum as a springboard and I think Cisco seems to have found its mojo. Some of that is the change that Robbins has made; he has revamped and rejuvenated the board of directors and there is a good mix of diversity with females in there, but moreover it's a real buzz you get when someone who is really popular within an organisation - like Robbins is - gets the endorsement to take the business forward. I guess there is a positive vibe about him."

This positive feeling surrounding Robbins' tenure was reflected in Cisco's latest results, which saw GAAP net income rise by 14.4 per cent to $9bn (￡5.78bn), on sales of $49.2bn, which were up four per cent, for its full-year 2015.

But despite Brown's enthusiasm for Robbins' reign, one area that he highlighted for improvement was the way Cisco communicates with its partners and in particular placing more emphasis on business outcomes.

"Because they have such a great technology and they talk about the technology a lot, I think sometimes that kind of railroads solution providers and partners into talking to customers about technology. But as Cisco themselves have said, and as we all know, we are much better focused at talking to customers about their business priorities and their outcomes, and then coming up with solutions that match those requirements," he said.

"I know Cisco recognises that and is doing something about it, but I would like to see that happening quickly and I'd like to see Chuck point the organisation in that direction and help the partners go down that route."

Transfer market
There has been much talk of Cisco's push into the software space of late, and Brown said this should be where Robbins makes his forthcoming crop of new signings (or acquisitions).

"To be honest, while there is some good talk [about moving into the software space], there is not much to back that up with at the moment. So I think they could really drive that forward with a couple of smart acquisitions. They would be around IoT and collaboration, and there is a lot of smart software out there that could fit into the Cisco portfolio," he added.

On his first earnings call, Robbins talked up Cisco's acquisition of Meraki in 2012, and the founder of Cisco Gold partner Managed 24/7 John Pepper (pictured below) also said he would like Cisco to take on companies of a similar nature.

Pepper said what he particularly liked about the Meraki buy is the way it generates recurring revenue for partners through its subscription model, which is not available in other Cisco products. He also said having a subscription-based product helps clamp down on the grey market as it means Cisco can monitor where its products are ending up and give out licences accordingly.

"Looking at the current acquisitions on the Cisco website, you have an awful lot of software and security businesses, and a lot of them are subscription related; it's a common theme. It's about cloud-based management and subscription-type services which will build a very strong Cisco in annual revenues, because they have guaranteed subscription money coming through. But it will also build a much stronger channel because we will be able to ensure only authorised resellers can sell directly to end users.

"If you look at other manufacturers such as WatchGuard, they already do that. So it's not new; it would just be new to Cisco and reading between the lines I think it's where Cisco is going - I am a big advocate of it."

As well as talking about "accelerating what's working", Robbins has spoken of Cisco "changing what's not", which can be seen in Cisco's sale of its customer premises equipment business to French media firm Technicolor in July, and the closure of its flash offering, Invicta, in the same month. But Pepper said he would like to see Cisco make another play in the flash storage space.

"I was disappointed by the Invicta disposal," he said. "I see it as something the UCS (unified computing system) is crying out for - it's crying out for a Cisco-made flash storage device. There are many vendors we work with that are exceptional at what they do, but with the might, innovation and purse strings of Cisco behind a flash storage device, I have no doubt it would be one of the best in the world.

"I would hope that they look at acquisitions in the future around flash storage and I don't think I'm the only reseller thinking that," he said.
Pepper was not the only Cisco Gold partner calling for a storage move, with ANS chief executive Paul Sweeney also saying he would like to see Robbins invest in this area.

"I think they need something in storage; that is probably where they would get the most value. Obviously it might have an impact on their partnerships with NetApp and EMC, but it would round things off for them and give them a complete stack of their own with the hyper-converged marketplace."

Leading from the front
For any successful football team - or multibillion-dollar tech company - having a strong leader is integral, and for Sweeney, continuing its bold mentality will be key to ensuring Cisco and Robbins' success.

"The worst thing we could see is if they sat back," he said. "They have got to go out and take risks. You can't win them all, but the ones that do pay off are the ones that put you at number one. Chambers is going to be executive chairman, so there is no getting away from the fact he will still have a lot of influence, and actually it might free him up to take even more risks."

For Arnaud Spirlet, Logicalis' head of Europe, his confidence in Robbins' road map was vindicated with a meeting with the new boss at the recent partner conference.

"When I met Chuck in Montreal, I asked him ‘what does the future partner for Cisco look like?' And he was very clear.

"He said ‘we are doing the software evolution, we are going to do much more in the customer-centric and line-of-business approach, and develop a much more comprehensive portfolio and be [more] IoT minded'," Spirlet said.

"It is very reassuring that they know where they want to be, they know what they expect from us and have a view of how we can all grow together."

Just 10 months into his role as manager of Manchester United, Ferguson's successor David Moyes was shown the door following a run of poor performances which frustrated fans so accustomed to Fergie's success.

But it seems that although, like Moyes, Robbins has a tough act to follow, there is much cause for optimism among Cisco's partner community. Indeed, Brown at Softcat believes that Robbins is more comparable to Manchester United's respected servant Ryan Giggs, who stepped in as the club's manager following Moyes' departure.

"I think the difference to the Moyes thing is that Robbins has come from the inside, and he has been at the company some 23 years, so he is more of Giggs-type appointment."