CRN's 2026 Partner Program Guide dropped and the networking category tells the whole story. Cisco 360 gets the headlines, but the more interesting signal is in who improved and who slipped.
The programs that earned five stars share three things. They reward outcomes over volume. They've invested in partner enablement that goes beyond portals and PDFs, meaning actual humans who answer the phone when you call. And they've simplified their incentive structures enough that a partner can explain the comp plan without opening a spreadsheet.
The programs that lost stars? They're the ones still measuring partner value in product throughput while using the word "outcomes" in every slide deck. The channel sees through it. Every time.
If your vendor can't explain how you make more money under the new program in two sentences, the program isn't for you. It's for them.