There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes in cloud. This makes it difficult to know how reliable a provider's cloud is going to be. Many are best-effort implementations, meaning you only have the provider's word for it that their cloud is reliable. These providers also often employ a white-box infrastructure so you don't know what kind of equipment your data is running over or how well integrated that infrastructure is. You have no guarantees, not even an SLA. It's your business on the line if the cloud goes down. That's a lot for a cloud provider to ask when they promise, "Trust me."

And therein lies the power behind Cisco Powered. The promise that a cloud provider who offers Cisco Powered services makes is not just words. It's a promise with teeth. To use the Cisco Powered ingredient brand, providers must first go through a comprehensive certification process. Then, each and every one of their Cisco Powered services must pass a rigorous third-party audit.

This audit isn't just a formality. Many of our partners have been surprised at how hard the audit is to pass. But it's hard for a reason. There's a lot that can go wrong in the cloud. A provider new to cloud may not be familiar with many of the pitfalls that await them. The audit is there to verify that the provider can and will deliver superior service, security, and support. And they only pass the audit when they are able to prove to a third-party that they can do this.

Many of these same vendors are the ones who praise the audit once it's completed. They see the value of making sure that they can deliver. They understand that because the audit is so comprehensive and difficult, they are able to immediately offer a level of service unparalleled in the industry.

The final facet of the reliability of Cisco Powered services is the fact that they run on Cisco equipment. You trust Cisco in your data center and the network. Now you can trust Cisco in the cloud. In addition, because your data and applications are running on Cisco architectures, you'll know your data is safe with end-to-end security.

The promise of Cisco Powered is that you can connect with confidence. It isn't a promise our partners make lightly. They've worked hard and made a substantial investment in time and money to prove that they can deliver.

There's a reason Cisco Powered is the industry standard for cloud and managed services. It's a promise that stands up to its name.

Learn more about the promise of Cisco Powered and the Partners offering these services