Hi John-I happened to own Technology Vendor Management (and vendor risk) for Cisco Systems before running the same programs for several other technology and large financial institutions. You are asking a very common (and interesting question) which I will attempt to answer with the information provided (more information may be needed).
1) Did your organization contract directly with Cisco? If that is the case, even if the maintenance program is fulfilled by a "broker" the vendor is still Cisco and the maintenance provider may also be your direct vendor (or 3rd parrty to Cisco).
2) When you say "broker" do you mean "reseller"? If you contracted with a VAR (value added reseller) such as NTT, WWT, etc... (I am not intending to make an endorsement just giving examples), the vendor is the reseller. Their vendor (is Cisco) and depending on what contracts are in place for services, Cisco could be considered a "4th party" to your "3rd party" which is the reseller.
3) A question you didn't ask but I think is relevant. In some cases, the primary technology provider (like Cisco) ends the life of the product and/or ability to get service. In this case, your only options are finding a third party maintenance provider or self-support. In the former case, a vendor like Cisco is no longer on the "hook" as a 4th party.
I hope this information was helpful.
Best,
Keith Koo
Original Message:
Sent: 12-10-2019 02:56 PM
From: John Brightwell
Subject: Hardware/Software Vendors
I'm curious to know how others might classify this. If a maintenance program is "purchased" for Cisco's products/equipment through a Broker, would you consider the broker or Cisco as the vendor? Or both?