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Premier Certification

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Cisco Premier Certification expands technical competency in the integration of basic routing and switching, wireless LANs, and security technologies. It recognizes and rewards partners that have achieved the Express Foundation Specialization or a Cisco Architecture Specialization.

» Apply for Premier Certification

Partner Benefits

Cisco Premier Certified Partners benefit from an increased level of support from Cisco, including access to best-in-class products and services, technical support, productivity tools, online training, and marketing resources. In addition to branding as a Cisco Premier Certified Partner, benefits of Premier Certification include:

Premier Certified Partners also enjoy access to many Cisco resources, including customer satisfaction best practices and tools, the Partner Education Connection, and Marketing Resources.

Ready to Go?

After you gain certification, you can:

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Looking for a different certification?

Certification and specialization are based on meeting all requirements within a given country, or country grouping where relevant. All applicants must agree to the Cisco Channel Partner Program terms and conditions.

Current Requirements for Premier Certification

Base requirements:

Specialization Requirements

Role sharing allows a single individual to fulfill similar roles across two or more specializations, based upon the specialization and the role.

  • A single, qualified individual may fill only the account manager (AM) role in up to a total of four specializations.
  • A single, qualified individual may fill only the systems engineer (SE) role in up to a total of two specializations.
  • A single, qualified individual may fill only the field engineer (FE) role in up to a total of two specializations.
  • Individuals may not cross-populate between the AM, SE, and FE roles.

Certified Individuals in Specialization

Title Account Manager Project Manager System Engineer Field Engineer
Express Foundation CSE N/A CCDA CCNA

Support Requirements

Type Premier
Legal agreement Valid resale agreement or Cisco Indirect Channel Partner Agreement (ICPA) in place
Demo capabilities N/A
Customer service 8 x 5
Escalation process Not required
Call Back 24 hour
Support lab Not required
Pre-Sales Support Required
Post-Sales Support Requirements based on Partner Support Agreement

Customer Satisfaction

Note: Participation in the Cisco partner customer satisfaction survey is required.
Type Premier
New Certification* N/A
Recertification Minimum of 10 responses Partner CSAT is measured twice a year (**January and July) using results received in the 12 months previous to each measurement date.

and

Must achieve 100% of the regional customer satisfaction target by either January or July, whichever comes first after annual certification survey.
*The definition of "new" partner as it relates to the enforcement of the customer satisfaction requirement is a partner that has not been Premier, Silver, or Gold certified within the previous six months.

**The exact Cisco fiscal year measurement dates can be found in the Partner Access onLine (PAL) tool:

Exception

Premier partners moving to either Silver or Gold must have a minimum of 15 valid responses and meet the theater Customer Satisfaction target.

Note: If a partner does not remain in compliance with the applicable specialization or certification requirements, Cisco reserves the right to revoke the specialization or certification. Partners must notify Cisco of non-compliance promptly, but in no event more than 30 days after the partner first becomes aware of its non-compliance.

Upon receipt of such notice, the partner may qualify for an extension of time in which to renew its compliance with the applicable specialization or certification requirements. The partner's failure to provide such notice may disqualify the partner from receiving such an extension. If no extension is granted or if the partner fails to comply with the certification or specialization requirements by the end of the extension period, Cisco reserves the right to revoke the applicable specialization or certification immediately. Additional information regarding non-compliance may be found in the Audit and Policies Document.

Certification and specialization are based on meeting all requirements within a given country, or country grouping where relevant. All applicants must agree to the Cisco Channel Partner Program terms and conditions.

Premier Certification Requirements including Architectural Specializations
(effective Aug 1, 2012)

Base requirements:

Specialization Requirements

Express Foundation Specialization or one Architecture Specialization

Certified Individuals in Specialization

Title Account Manager Arch System Engineer Field Engineer
Collaboration Architecture CSE CCDA CCNP Voice
Title Account Manager Project Manager System Engineer Field Engineer
Express Foundation CSE N/A CCDA CCNA
Title Account Manager Arch System Engineer Field Engineer (R&S) Field Engineer (Security) Field Engineer (Mobility)
Borderless Networks Architecture CSE CCDP CCNP R&S CCSP/CCNP Sec CCNA Wireless
or
Adv WLAN Field Specialist
CCNP Exams 642-731, 642-741
Title Account Manager Arch System Engineer Field Engineer (UCS) Field Engineer (Unified Fabric) Field Engineer (App Services)
Data Center Architecture CSE N/A N/A CCNP CCNA
Title Account Manager System Engineer 1 Field Engineer 1
IP NGN Architecture CSE CCNA SP
or
CCIE Service Provider		 Professional Level SP Cert
or
CCIE Service Provider

Certification Transition

Certification transition began in FY12. From August 2011 through July 2012 partners may submit certification applications for both technologies and architectures.

Effective August 1, 2012, partners will be required to meet the new certification requirements at their next certification anniversary date.

Support Requirements

Type Premier
Legal agreement Valid resale agreement or Cisco Indirect Channel Partner Agreement (ICPA) in place
Demo capabilities N/A
Customer service 8 x 5
Escalation process Not required
Call Back 24 hour
Support lab Not required
Pre-Sales Support Required
Post-Sales Support Requirements based on Partner Support Agreement

Customer Satisfaction

Note: Participation in the Cisco partner customer satisfaction survey is required.
Type Premier
New Certification* N/A
Recertification Minimum of 10 responses, Partner CSAT is measured twice a year (**January and July) using results received in the 12 months previous to each measurement date.

and

Must achieve 100% of the regional customer satisfaction target by either January or July, whichever comes first after annual certification survey.
*The definition of "new" partner as it relates to the enforcement of the customer satisfaction requirement is a partner that has not been Premier, Silver, or Gold certified within the previous six months.

**The exact Cisco fiscal year measurement dates can be found in the Partner Access onLine (PAL) tool:

Exception

Premier partners moving to either Silver or Gold must have a minimum of 15 valid responses and meet the theater Customer Satisfaction target.

Note: If a partner does not remain in compliance with the applicable specialization or certification requirements, Cisco reserves the right to revoke the specialization or certification. Partners must notify Cisco of non-compliance promptly, but in no event more than 30 days after the partner first becomes aware of its non-compliance.

Upon receipt of such notice, the partner may qualify for an extension of time in which to renew its compliance with the applicable specialization or certification requirements. The partner's failure to provide such notice may disqualify the partner from receiving such an extension. If no extension is granted or if the partner fails to comply with the certification or specialization requirements by the end of the extension period, Cisco reserves the right to revoke the applicable specialization or certification immediately. Additional information regarding non-compliance may be found in the Audit and Policies Document.

How to Apply

  1. Your company must be a Registered Partner before applying for any specializations or certifications. Visit the Become a Registered Partner page if you are new to the Cisco Channel Partner Program and have not registered.
  2. Verify that certified individuals fulfilling job roles are allocated to your company with their Cisco (CSCO) testing number.*
  3. Partner administrators and Cisco employees are able to verify this information using the Partner Self Service tool.
  4. Complete and submit the certification application.
    If you encounter any issues in the application or renewal process, please open a case with the Partner Relationship Team.

*Cisco typically receives exam results within five to 10 days from its respective testing agencies.

How to Renew Your Certification

You have 90 days prior to your certification anniversary date to begin the re-certification process. In the 90 days prior to your anniversary date, your status will change from Approved to Re-Cert in the Certification and Specialization Application (CSApp) online tool and you will receive a notification by e-mail. Once you verify that you are in compliance with current specialization requirements, please submit your application in the CSApp tool. You will not be able to submit your application unless all requirements are met.

If you encounter any issues in the application or renewal process, please open a case with the Partner Relationship Team.

Failure to submit a re-certification application 30 days after your anniversary date will result in loss of the certification.

Premier Certification Resources