My family and I like to vacation at Bethany Beach in Delaware. This small seaside town with its boardwalk, farmer's markets, and the Poseidon festival at the end of May, has always been a nice getaway from the chaotic day-to-day. The little over three-hour drive takes you directly over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. At almost 5 miles long and with heights of 186 feet, it is absolutely one of the world's scariest bridges due to its length and the frequent storms that roll in.

This bridge, in the middle of a rather straightforward drive, is the one roadblock that could either prevent us from our favorite seaside town or keep us from getting to the comforts of home. The concrete pillars of this construction must be firm, not only into the ground below the ocean's surface, but also interlocked together with steel beams. If the bridge stays firm, there's no reason to fear.

This bridge reminds me of our teams. There's Cisco and on the other side we have customers. You, our distributors, and your partners are the bridge that connects us. You are firmly connected to each other, and we hope you feel as though our relationship is solid. You take what could be dizzying heights and unsurpassable lengths and offer unique value to our customers. Any storms that could roll in, you hold strong and help customers arrive at the best solution for their needs all while providing key service, specialized IT knowledge, and vast insights to Cisco's product portfolio.

You make everything and anything possible while fueling your partner's success.

Cisco Live 2021 is coming up March 30-31 and we are excited toTurn IT UP. I can't wait to celebrate you and how you have absolutely defied the odds by helping organizations not only survive this past year but thrive. There are possibilities at every turn and that is because of you.

I hope you have registered for this event or will in the coming days.

Oliver Tuszik, SVP of Cisco's Global Partner Organization, shared a sneak peek of what's to come at Cisco Live -how you bridge true customer value-and exclusive, early-access content only Cisco Partners and Distributors can access on March 22.

I look forward to Cisco Live and to what we will accomplish in the year to come.