Cisco Systems is a multinational technology conglomerate that develops and manufactures networking hardware, software, telecommunications equipment, and cybersecurity solutions for global enterprises.
Cisco Systems is the world’s largest networking and enterprise communications vendor, generating $56.6 billion in annual revenue (FY2025) across networking, security, collaboration, and observability. For South African telecoms resellers, Cisco offers a dual opportunity: the BroadWorks carrier-grade UC platform serving 26 million users globally through 450+ service providers, and the cloud-native Webex Calling suite with AI-powered agents, contact centre, and device ecosystem. With local distribution through Comstor (dedicated Cisco distributor), Westcon-Comstor, Axiz, and Logicalis SA, and the new Cisco 360 Partner Program launching February 2026, Cisco provides resellers with premium-margin collaboration and networking solutions backed by integrated security (Duo, Talos, Splunk) and network intelligence (ThousandEyes, Meraki).
Cisco Systems is a multinational technology company founded in 1984 by Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner at Stanford University. Originally a networking hardware manufacturer, Cisco has evolved into a full-stack enterprise technology vendor spanning networking infrastructure, unified communications, cybersecurity, observability, and cloud services. The company is publicly traded on NASDAQ (CSCO) and is consistently ranked among the world’s most valuable technology companies.
In the communications space, Cisco operates two major platforms: Cisco BroadWorks, the carrier-grade UC platform acquired through the 2018 BroadSoft acquisition, and Webex, the cloud-native collaboration suite that encompasses calling, meetings, messaging, and contact centre. The $28 billion acquisition of Splunk in March 2024 extended Cisco’s capabilities into security analytics and AI-powered observability, reinforcing its position as the only vendor offering an integrated stack from network hardware through to security, collaboration, and data analytics.
For South African telecoms resellers, Cisco presents a premium-tier vendor opportunity with higher margins than commodity collaboration platforms. While Microsoft Teams and Zoom dominate global UC market share, Cisco’s differentiation lies in its integrated approach: a single vendor for networking infrastructure (Catalyst, Meraki), collaboration (Webex, BroadWorks), security (Duo, Talos, Umbrella), and network intelligence (ThousandEyes). This cross-portfolio bundling allows resellers to expand deal value beyond calling into networking and security, significantly increasing average contract value.
The BroadWorks installed base of 26 million users across 450+ service provider deployments worldwide creates a substantial migration and upsell opportunity. Service providers running BroadWorks can offer hybrid migration paths to Webex Cloud Calling, while maintaining the carrier-grade reliability their enterprise customers require. For SA resellers, this means an established base of enterprises already committed to Cisco UC that need modernisation and AI-enablement services.
Webex Calling is Cisco’s cloud-native PBX replacement, offering enterprise telephony features including auto-attendant, call queues, voicemail, hunt groups, and PSTN connectivity. The platform includes AI-powered features such as noise suppression, real-time transcription, meeting summaries, and the new AI Receptionist (launched 2025) that automates call handling and transfers. Webex Contact Center provides cloud CCaaS with AI agents for suggested responses, wrap-up summaries, and quality management coaching.
BroadWorks is the carrier-grade UC platform deployed by 450+ service providers globally, supporting 26 million users. It provides hosted PBX, SIP trunking, and UCaaS capabilities purpose-built for multi-tenant service provider environments. BroadWorks remains the platform of choice for telecoms operators requiring carrier-class reliability, regulatory compliance, and wholesale deployment capabilities. In South Africa, several service providers operate BroadWorks-based hosted PBX services.
Cisco Meraki provides cloud-managed networking including wireless access points, switches, security appliances, and SD-WAN. The Meraki dashboard offers centralised management of distributed networks, making it particularly suited to multi-site South African deployments. For telecoms resellers, Meraki represents a recurring-revenue networking product with annual licensing that complements voice and collaboration sales.
The Catalyst 9000 series switching and routing family is Cisco’s enterprise networking backbone, with new AI-ready variants launched in 2025 targeting data centre and campus deployments. Catalyst SD-WAN (formerly Viptela) provides software-defined wide area networking with integrated security. The Catalyst 8300/8200 branch routers include built-in ThousandEyes vantage points for network performance visibility.
Cisco’s security portfolio includes Duo (cloud multi-factor authentication and zero-trust access), Talos (threat intelligence), Umbrella (cloud-delivered DNS security), and the Splunk platform for security analytics and incident response. The integration of Splunk’s data analytics with Cisco’s network telemetry creates a unified security and observability layer. For SA resellers serving regulated industries such as financial services and healthcare, Cisco’s security stack provides compliance-ready solutions.
ThousandEyes provides network performance monitoring and diagnostics across internet, cloud, and enterprise networks. Integrated with Webex, Meraki, and Catalyst, ThousandEyes gives resellers visibility into call quality issues, application performance, and network path analysis. This is particularly valuable in South Africa where connectivity quality varies significantly across providers and regions.
Cisco Systems was founded in December 1984 in San Francisco, California, giving the company over 41 years of industry experience. From its origins as a multi-protocol router manufacturer, Cisco grew to become the dominant force in enterprise networking through the 1990s and 2000s. The company’s expansion into collaboration began with acquisitions including Tandberg (video conferencing, 2010), BroadSoft (carrier-grade UC, 2018), and most recently Splunk (security analytics, 2024). Cisco has been led by CEO Chuck Robbins since 2015.
Cisco is the only technology vendor offering a fully integrated stack spanning networking hardware, collaboration software, cybersecurity, and AI-powered observability under a single brand. This integration means that a Webex call can be monitored by ThousandEyes for quality, secured by Duo for access control, and analysed by Splunk for threat detection — all within a unified management plane. For resellers, this creates cross-sell opportunities that pure-play collaboration vendors like Zoom or RingCentral cannot match.
Cisco’s investment in agentic AI across the Webex platform is another differentiator. The 2025 launch of AI agents — including Meeting Scheduler, AI Receptionist, Notetaker, and Contact Center AI agents — provides resellers with tangible AI features that can be demonstrated and sold to enterprise customers, moving beyond the generic “AI-powered” messaging that competitors offer.
Cisco has maintained a significant presence in the South African market for over two decades, with enterprise networking infrastructure deployed across banking, mining, telecommunications, and government sectors. The primary Cisco-dedicated distributor in SA is Comstor (part of the Westcon-Comstor group), which provides specialised Cisco value-added distribution including deal registration, financing, and technical support. Additional distribution is available through Axiz and Mustek. Logicalis SA operates as one of only five Cisco Global Gold partners worldwide, specialising in managed SD-WAN, SASE, and enterprise networking.
For collaboration, Cisco’s SA channel includes service providers operating BroadWorks-based hosted PBX platforms and resellers deploying Webex Calling and Webex Contact Center. The company’s networking dominance in SA enterprise accounts provides a natural pathway for resellers to introduce collaboration and security solutions into existing Cisco networking environments.
Cisco is transitioning from its legacy partner tiers (Select, Premier, Gold) to the new Cisco 360 Partner Program, launching February 2026. The new programme simplifies partner designations into two levels: Cisco Partner (entry) and Cisco Preferred Partner (advanced, required for specialisations). Portfolio-specific recognition — such as “Cisco Preferred Security Partner” — replaces the previous broad tier system. Specialisations available include Secure AI Infrastructure, Secure Networking, and Collaboration, each requiring Cisco Career Certifications (CCNA, CCNP, CCIE) and demonstrated technical capabilities. SA partners register through partner.cisco.com and can access local training through providers including Fast Lane and Global Knowledge SA.
The following distributors carry Cisco products in South Africa:
Cisco Webex is Cisco’s cloud-based unified communications and collaboration platform, combining video conferencing, messaging, calling, and contact centre capabilities in a single suite. It replaces and consolidates Cisco’s older on-premise products (such as Cisco Unified Communications Manager and WebEx Meetings) under a single cloud-first brand. Webex is designed for hybrid work environments and integrates natively with Cisco’s hardware portfolio including Webex Desk devices and IP phones.
Cisco acquired BroadSoft in 2018 and integrated its cloud telephony platform into the Cisco portfolio. The BroadSoft BroadWorks platform — widely used by telecoms service providers to deliver hosted PBX and UCaaS services — is now sold and supported as Cisco BroadWorks. It serves 26 million users across 450+ service provider deployments globally. Service providers that were BroadSoft partners are now Cisco partners, and the platform continues to be developed under Cisco’s ownership alongside the cloud-native Webex Calling platform.
To become a Cisco channel partner in South Africa, register through the Cisco 360 Partner Program at partner.cisco.com. The new programme (launching February 2026) offers Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner designations, with portfolio-specific specialisations available for Preferred Partners. Requirements include certified staff (CCNA, CCNP, or CCIE), demonstrated technical capabilities, and customer satisfaction benchmarks. South African distributors including Comstor, Westcon-Comstor, and Axiz provide deal registration, training access, and co-op funding to support partner development.
Yes — Cisco offers interoperability between Webex and Microsoft Teams. Webex devices can be certified for Microsoft Teams, allowing organisations to use Cisco room systems and desk devices natively in Teams meetings. Cisco also provides a Webex app integration for Teams users. This hybrid approach is popular among larger South African enterprises that use both platforms across different departments or business units.
For the South African SME market, the most relevant Cisco products include Meraki cloud-managed networking (switches, wireless, security appliances), Webex Calling for cloud telephony, Cisco IP Phones (the 6800 and 7800 series), Duo for multi-factor authentication, and Cisco Umbrella for cloud-based DNS security. Meraki’s cloud dashboard simplifies multi-site management for SMEs, while Webex Calling provides enterprise-grade telephony without the complexity of on-premises infrastructure.