From a partner’s perspective - dCloud is a #FMDL (Free Million Dollar Lab) that is effort free, compared to how partners did business just a few years ago.

Partners have always loved to have a “showcase”, to highlight the solutions that they sell from vendors on their line card. This involved purchasing or obtaining temporary equipment, integrating it, updating it, licensing it, cabling it, patching it. And after 1 or 2 demos, you know that the last person didn’t return it to the original state. I’d hate to be the person that has to do the 3rd demo. (fix, verify, update, relicense, the lab, and then finally prep it for the next demo). So many lost cycles of effort and cost.

Add to that, after a year or so, the Partner owner is wondering why the equipment hasn’t delivered more value, and then the “update the lab” discussions take place with the new blade, server, switch, fw, ap, etc. My goodness, the circle goes round and round.

Cisco is successfully executing on its vision of becoming a software company. And dCloud highlights the power of that software. Cisco dCloud allows a partner to have a “Mobile Showcase”, without the need for integrating it, updating it, licensing it, cabling it, patching it. The demo guides are perfect for demonstrations, training, learning a new Software product, and for the curious - the ability to take the dCloud demo “off road” and prove a certain corner case, or develop a new operational process (because dCloud is using the actual Cisco software - not some type of regulated or strict demonstration emulation).

New Demonstrations appear on dCloud every month. It’s a differentiating service from Cisco for partners, and allows partners who get to know dCloud - a competitive edge for themselves as well. Partners can proxy share dCloud demonstrations to their end customers in many cases.

I’m excited about the future of dCloud, as much as I was when I first experienced it several years ago. Partners are too! #FMDL's are good. :-)