6th Annual Partner Innovation Challenge: Remarkable Growth, Outstanding Winners

Cisco Partner Summit 2023 marks a significant moment—and the ideal stage for us to proudly unveil the victors of Cisco’s sixth annual global Partner Innovation Challenge. It’s an opportunity to shine a well-deserved spotlight on the remarkable innovation flowing from the exceptional talent within our partner community.

A Global Phenomenon

The Partner Innovation Challenge, which made its debut in 2018, has rapidly evolved into a global sensation. Partners of varying sizes and scopes hailing from an astonishing 96 countries have collectively received over $3.3 million USD in rewards. This year’s competition was a fierce battle of skill and creativity, with a whopping 68% surge in new partner submissions compared to the previous year. What’s more, individual enrollments soared by an incredible 198%, and team submissions witnessed a staggering 55% surge year over year.

This remarkable growth vividly showcases the immense creativity, expertise, and unwavering passion that courses through our partner technical community. The solutions brought to the fore this time around are nothing short of revolutionary. Our open platform empowers partners to craft unique APIs and solutions, delivering substantial value to customers and carving out their own niche in the market. The Partner Innovation Challenge underscores our unwavering belief in the critical importance of early collaboration in our journey with partners and customers as we turn possibilities into realities.

Partnership with Purpose

This year’s new award category, Partnering for Purpose, provided partners with an additional avenue to garner recognition and funding for their investments. An overwhelming 88% of all submissions fell under this exciting category. It’s truly heartwarming to witness our partners spearheading innovation that transcends business goals to support social and environmental causes, which ultimately translates into tangible business benefits.

The Partnering for Purpose category offers up to four $25,000 (USD) prizes for the most outstanding partner submissions aligned with the following themes: Digital Inclusion, Employee Experience and Economic Empowerment, Climate Change and Environmental Stewardship, and Crisis Response and Critical Human Need.

Recognizing Innovation

Congratulations to our outstanding winners:

• Grand Prize 1st place ($200K): OrmIT Solutions’ SplashAccess IPSK (Individual Pre-Shared Key), considered by some the holy grail of BYOD (bring your own device) networks, delivers a secure home away from home network in universities, multiple dwelling units (MDUs), and medical facilities. Generated via API, its easy-to-use portals connect users to Wi-Fi on a single SSID. OrmIT worked with both the Meraki Wi-Fi team on the front-end IPSK/WPN feature set and the Catalyst and ICE team to fully integrate Splash’s UDH (utility datahub) module.
• 2nd place ($100K USD): Long View Systems’ Sustainable and Intelligent Building Analytics, a commercial building management system, reduces high energy costs and meets environmental, social, and governance standards. Using real-time occupancy from Cisco Spaces Wi-Fi activity data, Webex Device onboard cameras, and machine learning, the solution enables occupant-centric control of HVAC systems, physical security, lighting, blinds, and video devices. Long View Systems is also a recipient of a Partnering for Purpose award in the “Climate Change & Environmental” category, receiving an additional $25K USD.
• 3rd place ($50K USD): CAE Labs’ Innovation Network Intelligence platform provides customers with complete visibility of their Cisco investments from a simple-to-use dashboard. Saving time with actionable insights, this solution encapsulates the power of innovating and productizing Cisco APIs to solve common business and technical challenges.

Other partners recognized as Partnering for Purpose winners include Kiw, LiteScape Technologies, and Connect Professional Services.

In celebrating these achievements, we highlight the ingenuity and dedication of our partners along with our commitment to innovation that goes beyond profit, creating a lasting, positive impact on the world around us. The Partner Innovation Challenge is a testament to the power of collaboration, and we look forward to witnessing even greater heights of creativity and purpose in the years to come.

As partners continue harnessing the power of technology to meet industry and customer demands, we look forward to watching these winners shape and evolve their groundbreaking innovations.

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