Hasan Khan – General Manager, Cisco Qatar, Sameena Naaz – Distribution Account Manager, Cisco Emerging Gulf & Qatar and Renton D’Souza, Vice President, Comstor MEA, discuss their roles as digital transformation enablers for Qatar in this exclusive interview.
Cisco has long been a strategic technology partner in advancing Qatar’s digital transformation. What are the company’s key strategic priorities for FY26 in the country?
Hasan: Cisco’s strategy in Qatar builds on our global vision of securely connecting everything to make anything possible. We are focusing on three strategic pillars to help drive customer outcomes across AI-Ready Data Centers, Future-Proofed Workplaces, and Digital Resilience.
In alignment with Qatar National Vision 2030, we are deepening our commitment to AI infrastructure with the Ministry of Communications and IT (MCIT) and key industry partners like NVIDIA and AMD. In addition, we are advancing safety and security to protect communities, businesses, and critical national infrastructure, while accelerating focus on transformative experiences across sports and entertainment.
From a channel and distribution perspective, how is Cisco’s ecosystem supporting these strategic priorities in Qatar?
Sameena: Cisco’s channel and distribution ecosystem is central to driving our strategic priorities in Qatar. Our FY26 strategy is anchored in a partner-led approach, leveraging our partner ecosystem to accelerate digital transformation in alignment with Qatar’s national vision. Through our programs like Cisco 360 and platforms such as the Partner Experience Platform (PXP), we aim to empower our distributors and resellers with advanced tools, training, and resources to deliver outcome-based solutions.
In Qatar, our focus is enabling partners and distributors to transition to managed services, embrace software-led and recurring revenue models, and adopt a lifecycle approach to customer engagement. Cisco ensures our partners are well-positioned to capture growth opportunities and support the country’s drive toward a digitally empowered economy.
Renton: From Comstor’s standpoint, we are deeply aligned with Cisco’s transformative channel strategy. Our role is to simplify the partner journey through enablement, intelligent automation, and lifecycle value creation. In Qatar, we are providing partners with specialised training, commercial flexibility, and access to digital tools such as Partner Central. This ensures that they are well equipped to transition to subscription-based business models and to deliver sustained value in a rapidly evolving digital economy.
Comstor has long been one of Cisco’s key distribution partners in the Middle East and Africa. How is Comstor aligning with Cisco’s FY26 strategy to empower the channel?
Renton: Comstor’s alignment with Cisco’s FY26 vision is rooted in enablement, profitability, and lifecycle value. We’re investing in advanced partner enablement programs that help resellers transition to Cisco’s software and services model. Through initiatives like the Comstor Cyberfire program, we equip partners with technical training, business consultancy, and digital tools to maximize recurring revenue opportunities. A key part of this investment is Partner Central, Westcon-Comstor’s digital marketplace that unlocks rich self-serve capabilities, enabling partners to efficiently manage and grow their business profitably as they transition to subscription and recurring revenue models. Additionally, we focus on multi-architecture selling—across security, networking, collaboration, and data center—to reflect Cisco’s integrated approach.
Cisco has recently launched the Cisco 360 Partner Program. How does this differ from the various programs Cisco has introduced throughout its 30-year history? How is Comstor assisting partners to achieve a seamless transition to the Cisco 360 program?
Hasan: The Cisco 360 Partner Program marks the most significant evolution of Cisco’s partner ecosystem in nearly 30 years, fundamentally redefining how Cisco recognizes, rewards, and supports its partners. Unlike previous programs that focused on multiple transaction-based incentive and rebate schemes, Cisco 360 consolidates these into a streamlined Cisco Partner Incentive. It simplifies partner statuses, reducing them from four tiers to two—Cisco Partner and Cisco Preferred Partner—allowing partners to gain recognition and market themselves at the portfolio level (e.g. Security or Networking) with a strong emphasis on value delivered across the customer lifecycle, including managed services, skills investment, and ecosystem engagement.
Sameena: Cisco’s current partner program is well respected and has led the industry for more than two decades, up to the tectonic market shifts we are experiencing today. The new program further aligns to these market changes by unlocking our robust partner ecosystem to customers so that they can find the expertise they need. Rather than basing partner rewards mostly on transactional product sales approach, our new program will reward partners based on outcome-based metrics while allowing them to drive growth and foster deeper relationships with customers.
Renton: Comstor plays a critical role in enabling a seamless transition for partners to Cisco 360. As a dedicated Cisco distributor and channel specialist, Comstor is actively supporting partners by launching enablement tools like a simplified Cisco 360 playbook, and offering tailored guidance through one-on-one sessions with expert teams. This support focuses heavily on helping partners understand and improve their Partner Value Index (PVI) scores, which are key to unlocking incentives and rebates under Cisco 360. Comstor’s approach helps partners build future-ready business models centered on recurring revenues, value-added services, and lifecycle selling, while addressing knowledge gaps to smooth the transition to the new program framework. In summary, Cisco 360 is a transformative, simplified, and value-centric partner program designed to foster growth, innovation, and profitability across Cisco’s partner ecosystem, with Comstor providing critical enablement and personalized support to maximize partner readiness and success in this new era.
How do Cisco and Comstor jointly envision their contribution to Qatar’s digital economy in the years ahead?
Hasan: Leveraging Cisco’s innovation alongside Comstor’s partner expertise, we are advancing Qatar’s vision for a digitally driven economy. Our focus remains on sustainable, secure, and inclusive technology development that creates enduring benefits.
Sameena: Our partnership with Comstor highlights our aligned dedication to building an ecosystem that supports secure digital transformation, sustainable infrastructure, and the nurturing of local talent. Together, we empower organizations across Qatar to leverage technology for national advancement and long-term growth.
Renton: We see this collaboration as a driver for sustained value creation. By merging Cisco’s advanced technologies with Comstor’s channel enablement strengths, we intend to position our partners as trusted advisors leading innovation, resilience, and digital expansion throughout Qatar’s economy.
Image Credit: Cisco & Comstor
