2023 Cisco Partner Innovation Challenge is LIVE! 

This year marks the sixth annual global Cisco Partner Innovation Challenge and our continued celebration of the extraordinary innovative talent within our partner community. The annual competition is an opportunity for partners to highlight their technical and software skills in developing innovative solutions based on Cisco technologies.

Since launching in 2018, the Partner Innovation Challenge has seen partners of all sizes from 96 countries awarded a total of more than $2.7 million USD. This year, our goal is to make an even bigger impact, growing the number of partner submissions and prioritizing what matters most to partners. With more than 80 percent of submissions to date from new partners, we look forward to an even wider array of game-changing solutions that impact our communities, social causes, and the environment.

Win BIG in 2023!

Global Partner Innovation Challenge winners are eligible to receive: 1st place, $200K; 2nd place, $100K, and 3rd place, $50K (USD). Happening concurrently, APJC partners can win even bigger on the global stage! Top winners in each of APJC’s five regions will receive a $50K (USD) prize—a total of $250K (USD)—and be among the finalists in the global challenge. Be sure to check out the APJC Partner Innovation Challenge!

New Award Category

And that’s not all! In addition to the innovation focus of this year’s Challenge, we’ve added a special award category—Partnering for Purpose–giving partners another opportunity to win even more recognition and funding for their investments. While supporting Cisco’s purpose of powering an inclusive future for all, this purpose-driven category awards up to four $25K (USD) prizes for the top partner submissions aligned to themes: 1) Digital Inclusion, 2) Employee Experience and Economic Empowerment, 3) Climate Change and Environmental Stewardship, and 4) Crisis Response and Critical Human Need.

Submit Innovations NOW

Starting now through September 15, 2023, partners are encouraged to register and enroll using this Innovation Challenge Form. A panel of Cisco business and technical leaders will evaluate all submissions on: Innovation and Creativity, Technical Achievement, Customer Benefit, Market Potential, and Quality and Presentation. Winners will be announced at Partner Summit 2023 in November.

We’re excited to see our partners’ incredible ideas and inspiring solutions in this sixth year of the Global Partner Innovation Challenge, so be sure to enroll soon and get started!

Where Are They Now?

The most exciting part of awarding prize money is seeing what partners do with it—and the impact they make. Among our partners who are experiencing the award’s significance is the 2021 partner winner of both the global and APJC challenges—Outcomex— recipient of $250K USD total prizing.

• Winning innovation: TransportDeck, an end-to-end IoT solution that provides customers in the Transport and Mobility industry with real-time visibility and analytics to make informed business decisions, improving accessibility and flow of transport and pedestrian traffic.
• Cisco technology: APIs, Meraki cameras, advanced object recognition capabilities, AI/ML algorithms
• In their words: “We continue investing in new solutions and customizing features to meet specific industry requirements, developing more AI/ML algorithms to push the limits of technology and improve our platforms,” confirmed Outcomex in a blog. Among the specific advancements, “Smart digital signage to help with parking and provide accurate information to the public, and solutions to improve safety between different vehicles using on level crossings, which are intersections where a railway line crosses a road or path, or in rare situations, an airport runway on the same level.”

For additional details regarding eligibility criteria, terms & conditions, resources, and related information,
please visit Global Partner Innovation Challenge site.

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