What Partners Like (And Dislike) About Cisco's New Enterprise Licensing Agreements

cisco ela

Like: "True Forward" Provisioning

One highlight from the new EA that partners think should have received more fanfare is what Cisco dubs "True Forward" provisioning. This feature in the agreement includes 20 percent more licenses that customers can use towards unforeseen growth without the need to purchase more licenses.  If the customer grows beyond the 20 percent allowance, they will not be billed retroactively for any overuse.

"So that's a 20 percent buffer that the customer won't get billed for it again – that's attractive," said Computex's Bhutto. "If someone wants to turn on a feature on Cisco ONE or try out some new collaboration functionality, they can without worrying about working with their procurement offices and buying 50 licenses. That's a painful process."