Like: More Firepower Against Microsoft ELAs

Partners said the Cisco EA gives the channel a new go-to-market sales strategy to better compete against Microsoft in the enterprise and midmarket. Computex's Bhutto said only large Microsoft partners primarily sell its ELAs, which is not the same path Cisco appears to be going down.

"If Cisco's going to get into this game, they cannot restrict it how Microsoft does to where only large VAR's can sell it. And it looks like the [Cisco EA] criteria is basically allowing all Gold partners to go out and do it," said Bhutto. "This EA is the right thing to do."