In a recent post, we highlighted how end customers could preserve their Catalyst investments without investing in an on-premises DNA Center appliance by leveraging the value of their DNA subscriptions through monitoring Catalyst switches in the Meraki dashboard. Besides benefitting end customers, Cisco partners can increase their recurring revenue streams by renewing DNA subscriptions (DNA Advantage or DNA Essentials). End customers may not have seen value in a DNA subscription without a DNA Center appliance, but the value Cisco continues to add to its subscriptions is causing many end users to take another look.
DNA Advantage includes ThousandEyes on Catalyst 9300 and 9400 Series switches One example of a value-add that’s now included with a DNA Advantage Catalyst switch subscription is ThousandEyes. Catalyst 9300 and 9400 Series switches with a Cisco DNA Advantage subscription natively support the Cisco ThousandEyes Enterprise Agent and will receive one Cisco ThousandEyes network/web test (run at 5-minute intervals) with their subscription license. Additionally, for each supported Catalyst switch and Cisco DNA subscription tier, customers can:
- Help ensure the reachability and availability of campus-critical SaaS, internally hosted apps and cloud-based services over any network
- Measure and track employee experience in SaaS applications such as Microsoft 365, Salesforce and Cisco Webex
- Gain visibility into SD-WAN deployments through in-depth visibility into both underlay and overlay network performance
- Correlate external service delivery paths with internal LAN and network device metrics and alert and report on the health and availability of all services connected to the campus
- Gain insights into device performance and network topology maps through Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) polling and automatic device discovery
Another value that the DNA Advantage subscription provides is the ability to host applications directly on a Catalyst 9300 or 9400 Series switch, sometimes known as edge computing. This capability aligns with ThousandEyes to deploy an Enterprise Agent directly on the switch as a container app. As a result, fewer resources are needed to deploy ThousandEyes, and end users get the full value from their Catalyst switch and DNA subscription investments.
Leverage ThousandEyes to provide full-stack observability
Cisco recently announced several new specializations, including Full-Stack Observability (FSO), which are complementary to the DNA Advantage value-adds. Unlike most competitor solutions focusing only on network monitoring, FSO (powered by ThousandEyes) provides insights and actions, along with AppDynamics and Intersight Workload Optimizer.
Earning this specialization will help partners capitalize on a tremendous growth opportunity, with full-stack observability projected to reach $26 billion by 2025. Getting an FSO specialization will help Cisco partners cut through the data noise and resolve issues before they affect a customer’s digital experiences.
To become FSO specialized, a minimum of two individuals (one salesperson and one technical person) must complete the knowledge and experience requirements outlined in the requirements document. In addition, after obtaining specialization, partners must maintain compliance with entry eligibility requirements and meet renewal-specific requirements annually.
Contact the Ingram Micro Business Transformation Center (BTC) for more information about DNA Advantage, ThousandEyes or any of the new Cisco specializations, including Full-Stack Observability, Hybrid Work from Office, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), Hybrid Cloud Networking, Hybrid Cloud Computing and Hybrid Cloud Software.
Contact the BTC