Cisco Accelerates Convergence of IT and Operations Technologies

Internet of Things (IoT) remains one of the stronger markets in which customers are considering investing. In fact, according to IoT Analytics, a global research firm, the IoT market will grow at a CAGR of 19.4% from 2022 until 2027. Across industries and geographies, organizations are investing to connect IT to their businesses’ critical Operational Technology (OT) areas.

In industries such as manufacturing, utilities, smart buildings and beyond, IT/OT convergence remains a top priority as they merge business processes, insights and controls into a single environment. IT and OT teams play a key role in their organization’s transformation – improving internal processes, business decision making, productivity and competitiveness.

Cisco’s IoT portfolio uniquely positions partners to capture this IT/OT convergence. We’ve seen where the industry is headed and are providing an innovative Operational Technology Supplier route to market (OT Supplier RTM), driving the sale of Cisco’s best-in-class IoT portfolio. Furthermore, this OT Supplier RTM expands Partners’ opportunity to create services, particularly new managed service offers for OT customers’ use cases. Thus, for the Cisco portfolio, the OT Supplier RTM introduces new choices for OT customers – both who they want to purchase from and new services they want to consume.

Bridging the Gap Between IT/OT Convergence and Suppliers

The OT Supplier RTM model is a great example of how Cisco and our partners are working together in new ways to achieve the outcomes that customers need. It enables OT Suppliers to leverage Cisco’s Industrial IoT and Meraki IoT portfolios, guidance, technical expertise, platforms, and lifecycle services. It includes strategic relationships with OT Suppliers that work with integrators throughout the OT/IT space and predictable discounting for IoT products and stocking.

Coupling Cisco’s comprehensive IoT portfolio with innovative go-to-market planning, the OT Supplier RTM aligns companies that want to find more innovative and strategic solutions for optimizing their operational business processes.

Customers report (in the IDC Cisco Partner Value: The End-Customer Viewpoint Dec. 2023 by Paul Edwards) that vendor specializations are among the top three criteria for selecting a partner. Cisco’s Solution Specializations offer partners more opportunities to showcase their capabilities and differentiate themselves in the market. Cisco offers several Solution Specializations that match customer needs, including our Industrial IoT Specialization and Commercial IoT Specialization launched at the beginning of February 2024.

Driving GTM Innovation with an Expanded Partner Ecosystem

This initiative develops incremental business opportunities with the OT Suppliers partner ecosystem. The first OT Suppliers to be part of the OT Supplier RTM are Wesco, Industrial Networking Solutions, Madison Technologies and Routeco, who support a significant channel of Industrial Integrators. These OT Suppliers will work alongside Cisco’s industry leading global distributors.

Cisco and our partners are greater together – and the initial feedback from our OT Supplier ecosystem shows that together, we are laser focused on delighting our customers:

“Wesco is pleased to further our stack of IT/OT solutions by incorporating Cisco OT-centric products, including industrial switching, routing, CURWB, and Meraki IoT, to support our customers globally. Cisco’s new partner Route-to-Market (RTM) model makes Cisco’s best-in-class IoT portfolio more accessible to our integrator partners, helping us together drive innovation and meet the demand for converged IT/OT solutions.”
– Tara Dunning, VP Sales, Global Security & Network Infrastructure, Wesco

“The Cisco OT Supplier RTM model has been a useful tool for unlocking more opportunities in this space. Cisco has taken a big step toward meeting the Industrial OT market in a way that makes sense for these types of customers and ecosystem partners.”
– Richard Rogers, President, Industrial Networking Solutions

“This unique partnership with Cisco enables us to offer our customers advanced IIoT and Meraki IoT solutions, expert OT support and increased value for our systems integrator and end user [channel]. It’s fundamental to enabling Industry 4.0 across operational environments we target. This partnership is about so much more than product access; it’s about shaping the future of industrial connectivity, fostering IT/OT convergence, and fast-tracking digital transitions in critical operational environments. Our commitment is to create lasting value and resilient technology solutions in these environments, ensuring our clients and our [Industrial Integrators] stay at the forefront of innovation, and the OT Supplier RTM model enables that.”
– Paul Calabro, CEO, Madison Technologies

“Industrial customers continue to rapidly digitize their environments with the help of seasoned OT industry partners. The OT Supplier initiative will allow us to broaden our scope and provide customers with the advanced networking and security technology they need to accelerate the digitization of the industrial world. Together, Cisco and our partners will pave the way for new and exciting opportunities.”
– Stefan Leitl, VP Global IIoT Sales, Cisco

Within Cisco’s expanded ecosystem of partners are Industrial Integrators focused on digitization, physical security, lighting, electrical, building control systems, solar power, and electrical vehicle charging. Over time, we believe the OT Supplier RTM model will also open up more opportunities that Cisco and our partners can capture together as new buying centers seek to access Cisco’s Industrial IoT networking, and Meraki Smart Cameras & Sensors.

The convergence of IT and OT allows Cisco partners to access new budgets and build relationships with new buyers. In the long term, despite market fluctuations, the IT/OT convergence has shown itself to be a resilient business investment area, as the wave of digitization is rapidly expanding beyond businesses’ carpeted spaces.

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