Cisco CEO Robbins Forecasts 'Shift' In Apple's Relationship With The Channel

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Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins fielded questions concerning the company’s new partnership with Apple at The Channel Company’s Best of Breed Conference Tuesday, and the CEO said Apple’s relationship with the channel might soon change.

’I think you’re going to see a shift, and I am happy to tell [Apple CEO] Tim [Cook] he needs to get more active with you guys. Especially in light of this announcement and the IBM announcement,’ Robbins told Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company.

Cisco and Apple unveiled their partnership at the end of the summer, and Robbins said he hopes first and foremost that the collaboration will supply seamless integration between Cisco video platforms and consumer platforms and iOS devices.

Robbins would like the partnership to help create ’a world where that iPhone or iOS device is a fully integrated endpoint in a unified communications platform.’

He also said there is ’a need’ to give native prioritization capability and native traffic management capability at the operating system level, so that a person using an iPad to create spreadsheets for work is not slowed down by the person in the next cubicle watching a cat video, for example.

Robbins told Faletra and the audience that the shift in Apple’s attitude from being very consumer-minded has to come from the top.

’Tim’s view is that they need to be more enterprise-centric, that they need to respond more to what the enterprises need as these devices are proliferating the enterprise, and I think it’s smart. He’s looking for the top players,’ Robbins said.

PUBLISHED OCT. 13, 2015