Owning Your Edge can be as Simple as Lending an Ear

Now that 2019 is winding down, I hope you’re wrapping up the year and getting ready for some well-deserved festivities with family and friends (I know I am!). Before it’s time to raise a glass and ring in the new year, I wanted to raise a glass to you, our amazing Cisco partners. 365 days a year, you stand with us to better serve our customers with unequaled dedication. But it goes beyond that.

At last month’s Partner Summit, we invited partners to join us in helping address some of our world’s most challenging problems. I am blown away at the amount of interest there has been for the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge: Partners 2020. This tells me we’re not only aligned on our business objectives, but we we’re also aligned on making a positive impact in our communities and the world.

Take for instance, the charity Orange Sky. Their cheery orange vans shuttle mobile laundry and showers for people living on the streets of Australia. In only five years and with the help of Cisco’s Meraki and WebEx Teams technologies, they’ve provided 128,021 loads of washing and 12,312 warm showers.

These numbers tell only part of the story. Because along the way, Orange Sky discovered they could offer people something more than showers and laundry services: a listening ear. It turns out their services are an opportunity to connect with another person – to share stories, meet new friends and feel they have a more meaningful role in their community. Turns out, waiting for laundry is a great way to catch up and reconnect.

What better time than the holiday season to see for yourself how a little ingenuity mixed with technology can make the world a better place:

In addition to the work Cisco does with charities like Orange Sky, our partners are constantly finding new ways to connect people. A recent example we shared at Partner Summit 2019 was the hybrid and cloud solution ePlus created for Be the Match, who connects organ donors with patients, and help save kids like Max.

The list goes on, and I can’t highlight every amazing story I’ve seen in one blog, but I can thank each and every one of our partners who are out there every day solving problems around the world and making a difference in your communities.

No matter the industry you’re in, it is clearer than ever that rapidly evolving technologies are creating significant opportunities. But success today means more than meeting your quarterly performance. It’s also about transforming and elevating the special capabilities that make you exceptional and distinctive. It’s about owning your edge; accelerating your unique advantages; and increasing your profitability. Of course, making the world a better place is a fantastic bonus.

As we head into a new year—and a new decade, no less—I’m glad to have a front-row seat to see what you do next. Continue performing with us. Transform and elevate what you do. Find that little something extra that is uniquely yours. Add true value to the people you serve. Maybe even change a life or two.

Through it all, we at Cisco will be right beside you. Every step of the way. Because your success is our success. Here’s to a transformative 2020!