CISCO BLACK BELT FRAMEWORK FOR ENGINEERS - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What courses are available in Black Belt?

a. It consists of 8 architectures including the Data Center, Collaboration, Contact Center (available only for
India Partners), Enterprise Networks (SDA & SDWAN), Meraki, Programmability and Security. Each
architecture is broken down into 3 tracks- Pre-sales, Deployment and Support, furthermore each track is
then divided into 3 proficiency Stages 1, 2 and 3. There may be a slight difference in each architecture.
Please visit the Black Belt homepage for more information.

2. What are the completion requirement for each course and Stage?
a. The Stage of each course consists of 1-3 stages. The higher the Stage, the more complicated the completion
condition is. Stage completion requirement includes various conditions such as online test/ offline test/
participation in CISCO education / interview with TAC. The condition varies from one course to another.
Therefore, you can check the conditions from the Homepage and proceed with the process whichever is
more appropriate for you.

3. Can I get CISCO education/training only through Black Belt?

a. Registering with Black Belt is not mandatory. You can participate in the training of CISCO even if you do not
register. However, in the future, all training sessions will be conducted in conjunction with Black Belt, and
Black Belt Stage can be completed only after registering with Black Belt. Therefore, we recommend that you
register with Black Belt.

4. How is it different from the existing Fire Jumper program?

a. Fire jumper Program is the enablement engine for Security track in Black Belt Framework. If you participate
in the Black Belt Security architecture, it means the same as participating in the fire jumper and you can get
rewarded as either Black Belt or Fire jumper

5. How do I benefit from this Framework?

a. As a Partner
i. Continuous Learning Points to renew Architecture Specialization
ii. Black Belt Rewards for Engineers or the Partner
iii. Simple Enablement Framework across all Architectures
iv. Clear Learning road map for all Eng. Roles
v. Alignment with Cisco’s Needle Mover Technology
vi. Edge above the competition
vii. ROI mapping on Training investments – Tracking Education to Monetization
viii. Improved Rebates from Cisco (CSPP, VIP, TIP etc.)
ix. Investments from Cisco (Big Bets/ Smart Bet)
x. Improved Customer Satisfaction
b. As an Engineer
i. Pre-Sales Engineer
• Easy to follow learning map around Needle Mover Technologies of Cisco
• Better equipped to pitch/demo new technologies
• Technical Proficiency in Needle Mover Technologies
• Knowledge about Tools & Services - dCloud, Sales Connect, Competitive War Rooms,
Qvidian, Partner Helpline, PSOG etc.)
• Transition from product selling to Solution design & Selling
• Better equipped to close the deals
ii. Deployment Engineer
• Easy to follow learning map around Needle Mover Technologies of Cisco
 • Better equipped to deploy new technologies and Cisco Validated designs in lab &
Customer environments
• Well versed with Cross Architectural deployment
• Better engage with Cisco Resources such as Advanced Services, PDI, etc.
iii. Support Engineer
• Easy to follow learning map around Needle Mover Technologies of Cisco
• Improved ability to troubleshoot Frequently faced issues
• Increased awareness due to subscription to Field notices and vulnerabilities
• Lesser dependency on TAC
• Better engage with Cisco Resources such as TAC, TS and BU for bug related issues.
• Ability to support Cisco Validated Designs

6. I am interested to start the journey. How to get started?

a. You can get started by completing 3 simple steps
i. Register for Black Belt Framework as per your role and Architecture (Individual CCO ID required)
ii. Black Belt Rewards Company enrolment (Cisco Partner Alliance Manager to complete)
iii. Black Belt rewards Individual members Registration (Cisco Partner Alliance Manager and Partners
Engineer to complete)

7. How can we register our company and Engineers for Black Belt rewards?
a. Partners must first be enrolled the program. If the partners are not Black Belt Rewards Central (hereinafter
called the "CRC") or Commercial Xcelerate (hereinafter called the "CX) member, partners must register the
program here

8. How do I get rewarded for completing each Stage?

a. You will be provided with
i. Stage 1: Black Belt certification + 10,000 Black Belt Reward points
ii. Stage 2: Black Belt certification + 20,000 Black Belt Reward points
iii. Stage 3: Black Belt certification + 40,000 Black Belt Reward points
• Certificates are generated and issued twice a month. Usually it takes 4 working weeks of
being marked as Certified in the Black Belt system to complete these activities. Please
note that this is dependent on the date you meet the requirements, whether the date
falls within the first or the second cycles
• Black Belt Rewards are allocated on a monthly basis. Example, if you complete Stage 1
Black Belt on the 5th May, Cisco will allocate your points on the last day of the month
31st May. The reward points will be allocated to your company account once a month"
• Hong Kong, China & Taiwan partners can participate in Black Belt Frame work and
receive Certification of Completion at fulfilling the requirements for each stage but the
Black Belt Rewards points will not be allocated. Please reach out to your Theatre SE team
for more information
• All Security Black Belt points will be rewarded under the Cisco Security Rewards
• SD WAN, Meraki, Programmability, Contact Center tracks where the assessment
criteria is same across multiple tracks (Pre-Sales, Deployment and Support). Certificates
will be generated for each track but, the Black Belt Reward points will be allocated for
only one track

9. What is Continuous Learning Points? How do I receive it?

a. Continuous Learning recognizes what Partners are already doing to enhance their business expertise.
Continuous Learning accelerates alignment between Cisco’s innovations in the Partner’s future business
 expansion by introducing Partners to new products and solutions earlier, and streamlines the
Specializations renewal process. Each participant will contribute 20 Continuous Learning Points per track
at the completion of each Stage. If you complete Stage 3 in a track a total of 60 Continuous Learning
points would have been received.

10. Who should I reach out to in case of queries?

Support Mailers
EN & Meraki [email protected]
DC [email protected]
COLLAB [email protected]
Programmability [email protected]
Contact Center [email protected]
Security Track [email protected]

11. Where can I find More information about Black belt?

a. For More information, you can access our Partner Central websites at the following links
Black Belt Data Center Collaboration Contact Center EN & Meraki Security Programmability
Framework