.png?width=200&height=59&name=IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500%20(1).png "IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500 (1)")
Plenty of providers say they run a great managed service. Cisco Powered is one way to check. In this blog, we'll explain what the Cisco Powered designation means, what Cisco audits every year, and what it changes for you as a customer of IPTel's managed network services.
Cisco Powered: What Does the Designation Mean?
Cisco Powered is Cisco's program for managed services built on Cisco technology. Providers are independently audited every year against Cisco's published requirements for tools, processes, engineering practice and customer outcomes. IPTel is an audited Cisco Powered Managed Services provider with five Cisco Powered Services.
Audited providers can carry the Cisco Powered Service mark on the services that pass:
It isn't a badge for reselling hardware. The audit looks at how a service is actually run: the platforms used to monitor it, the processes behind incidents and changes, how the engineers work, and what customers experience as a result.
Because the audit repeats every year, the standard can't be met once and then left to drift.
For us, it sits alongside our Cisco Preferred Partner status and our ISO 27001 accreditation, and it underpins every part of our managed services.
Independent Audit: What Does It Mean for You?
For you, the audit means our delivery model is verified, not self-declared. Before you sign anything, you know the tools, processes and engineering practice behind the service have been checked by Cisco against a published standard, and that the check happens again every year rather than once at the start.
That gives you a fairer way to compare providers. Every managed service sounds similar in a proposal; far fewer can point to an independent audit of how the service is run.
It also matters when something hard goes wrong. Our engineers work with direct relationships into Cisco engineering and Cisco TAC, so a difficult fault reaches the right people quickly instead of sitting in a queue.
Pro-Tip: When you compare managed service providers, ask which of their services carry an independent audit and which are self-described. Then ask to see how incidents, changes and reports appear in their customer portal. A short demo tells you more than a capability statement.
Service Domains: What Can IPTel Manage?
Our managed services cover ten service domains across Cisco, Meraki and multi-vendor networks. You pick the domains you need and we scope them in one agreement, so a Meraki branch estate, a Catalyst campus and a cloud security stack can all sit under one service and one engineering team.
On the Meraki side, Meraki Access covers MS switching, MR Wi-Fi and single-WAN MX appliances, while Meraki Security and SD-WAN covers next-generation firewall, AutoVPN and SD-WAN on MX and vMX.
For Cisco campuses and WANs, Cisco Campus Access manages Catalyst 9000 switching and wireless through Catalyst Center, and Cisco SD-WAN looks after the Catalyst SD-WAN control plane, edge routers and application-aware routing.
Security is covered by Security Service Edge (Cisco Secure Access and Secure Connect) and Cisco ISE for network access control.
The remaining four are Meeting Rooms for Cisco room devices, Webex Calling for cloud calling managed through Webex Control Hub, AI Infrastructure for UCS compute, Nexus and ACI fabrics, and Non-Cisco Devices, which brings platforms such as Aruba, Juniper, Fortinet and Palo Alto under the same service.
Service Tiers: How Much Cover Do You Need?
There are four tiers, and each operational tier builds on the one before it. You choose the tier that matches how critical your environment is, then step up as your scale or risk profile changes. One tier applies across your whole engagement, and each service domain page sets out what that tier adds for that technology.
Enablement is for teams that run their own operations. We drive licence and feature adoption, training and lifecycle planning, with quarterly reporting. Monitoring and incident response aren't included.
Essential is entry-level managed infrastructure: monitoring and incident response during business hours, advisory firmware guidance, quarterly reporting and access to our shared engineering pool.
Advanced adds extended-hours cover, security-aware operations, monthly reporting, a monthly allowance of simple changes, enhanced observability through Highlight and a shared Customer Success Manager.
Critical is for mission-critical and operational technology environments, with 24x7x365 cover: 24x7 incident response, a named Level 3 engineer, a named Customer Success Manager, executive reporting and risk-based patching.
Co-Managed: Do You Keep Control of Your Network?
Yes. We work in a co-managed model, so you keep full administrative access to your own environment for the life of the agreement. Both teams work from the same operational picture, which means your engineers can still make their own changes while we handle monitoring, escalation and the work you'd rather hand over.
Getting there is planned, not rushed. We start with discovery and tooling, build a risk register and a remediation plan, transfer knowledge to and from your team, and finish with formal operational acceptance. Most transitions take four to twelve weeks.
Once the service is running, Highlight gives you a live dashboard of device health, performance and open incidents across your sites, and ThousandEyes can be added for internet, cloud and SaaS path visibility. One customer portal holds your requests, planned changes, maintenance windows, reports and root-cause analyses.
We also track software currency and end-of-life milestones, test new releases before they reach production, and meet with you monthly or quarterly, depending on your tier, to review performance, incidents, changes, capacity and your technology roadmap.
Cisco Powered Managed Services: FAQs
What Does Cisco Powered Mean?
Cisco Powered is Cisco's program for managed services built on Cisco technology. A Cisco Powered provider is independently audited every year against Cisco's published requirements for tools, processes, engineering practice and customer outcomes.
How Often Is a Cisco Powered Provider Audited?
Every year. The annual audit means the standard has to be maintained, not just reached once.
Is Cisco Powered the Same as Cisco Preferred Partner?
No. Cisco Preferred Partner is IPTel's partner status with Cisco, while Cisco Powered applies specifically to managed services and involves an annual independent audit of how they're delivered. IPTel holds both.
Do You Only Manage Cisco Equipment?
Cisco and Meraki are our core, but our Non-Cisco Devices service manages common third-party switching, Wi-Fi, WAN edge and firewall platforms alongside them, at base feature parity, so you can deal with one provider for the whole network.
Cisco Powered Managed Services: Summary
Cisco Powered means the managed service you're buying has been independently audited by Cisco, and is audited again every year, across tools, processes, engineering practice and customer outcomes. At IPTel that audited service spans ten domains and four tiers, runs co-managed so you keep full access, and gives you live visibility, one portal and regular reviews.
Need Help With Cisco Powered Managed Services?
If you'd like to see where you'd sit, the free 10-minute Build Your Business Case assessment gives you a recommended service tier and the value at stake for your network. You can also read more about our Cisco Powered managed services.
If that's useful, make an enquiry and tell us about your environment, or drop us a line at sales@iptel.com.au.