To help organizations simplify software management and get the most out of their technology investments, Cisco has introduced a new enterprise-wide software product and services agreement that will change how customers purchase, deploy and adopt Cisco technology.
Organizations of all shapes and sizes are demanding simpler ways to purchase, use and renew software technology. Today, most organizations struggle to manage multiple complex licenses, juggle contracts that expire at different times, and face compliance challenges. Organizations need software they can purchase when they want, deploy when and how they need, and easily keep up-to-date.
The Cisco® Enterprise Agreement (EA) lets customers use the products and services they need today, then scale and add additional capabilities as they grow – simply and without penalty. Available in three- and five-year contract terms, the Cisco EA spans infrastructure, security and collaboration portfolios today, with other Cisco software capabilities being added over time.
Rewarding Growth
The Cisco EA is designed to encourage customers to grow by providing a 20 percent growth allowance and a unique “True Forward” provision. Cisco EA includes 20 percent extra software and software support services (SWSS) that customers can use toward unforeseen growth without purchasing more. The traditional billing model used by most software vendors is a “true up” approach, in which there is a periodic review of customer software usage and retroactive billing for over-usage. With the “True Forward” provision, Cisco EA customers that grow beyond the 20 percent allowance will not be billed retroactively for any overuse of their entitlements. Instead, their contract is revised at the beginning of their next billing period.
Flexibility and Visibility
The Cisco Enterprise Agreement includes suites of products and support services for collaboration, Cisco ONE™ Software for infrastructure, and security. Customers can choose a single suite or a combination and get a single agreement for all products and services. These suites include:
- Collaboration: Cisco Spark™ Flex Plan, Cisco Unified Communications Suite, Cisco Meeting Server add-on Suite, Cisco WebEx® On-Premises Suite, among others.
- Infrastructure: Cisco’s flagship infrastructure and data center technologies delivered through Cisco ONE Software suites: Switching, Wireless, WAN, Data Center Networking, and Data Center Cloud and Compute.
- Security: Email Security Suite, Cloud and Web Security Suite, Policy and Visibility Suite, and Security Essentials Suite.
