Cisco Cloud restructuring puts focus on partner organisations

Cisco is reshaping its Cloud and Managed Service Organisation following the departure of Edison Peres.

His role as senior VP of Cloud and Managed Service Partner Organisation reportedly won’t be filled after his retirement at the start of November.

According to Peres, the move comes as the company continues to mainstream many of its field operations that it has had in the cloud, into the broader sales organisation. Peres told CRN: "We’re going to be restructuring the CMSO organisation."

Under the changes, the responsibility for driving channels sales of the company’s cloud offerings will fall to Wendy Bahr, the new global channel chief and Nick Earle, SVP, Global Cloud and Managed Services Sales.

The news comes a few days before the company is set to reveal full details on its restructuring, however some Cisco partners have already been welcoming changes.

Robert Keblusek, SVP, Sentinel CloudSelect, said: "I welcome them putting more visibility into cloud and managed services at the sales level. Up until now though, the field sales engagement hasn’t been as integrated as we would like."

Time will tell whether the proposed changes will better integrate sales into the organisation or if the loss of Peres will leave a hole in the organisation that will later need to be filled.

Peres has received plenty of praise for his role in leading the company’s cloud push, with partners stating that he helped to focus the channel play.

Just this year, Peres has been instrumental in launching several new cloud professional services including Cloud-Consumption-as-a-Service and a new breed of OpenStack based managed services bundle that helped to kick off the channel’s ability to make money selling private cloud and hybrid IT for certified partners.

The company is also making changes to its Irish operations which will be taken under the wing of its UK organisation. The change means that all elements of the Partner business will be combined into one unit with Angela Whitty taking responsibility.

Sean Collins, who will lead the UK’s Commercial business, said: "In recent years Ireland has come through recession to become one of Europe’s most vibrant technology hubs.

"Home to a number of technology multinationals, Ireland has become a hotbed of innovation and creativity, attributes echoed by the Cisco team based there. Lots can be learned from the work carried out in Ireland."