It is a great time to be a NextWave partner. Together, we continue to seize new growth opportunities. Our disruptive technologies differentiate us from the competition, and our newly enhanced partner program is fueling mutual success.
When we launched our NextWave enhancements in February, we highlighted our objectives to boost program flexibility, fuel long-term partner growth, and accelerate the transition to partner-delivered services. We delivered eight (8) new profitability initiatives and three (3) new opportunities to enable you to build or expand your services-led business, and we automated three (3) significant business systems to optimize partner productivity.
This month, we demonstrated the program’s flexibility and our commitment to helping you maximize profitability with an additional three incentives that reward you for incorporating our latest innovations into your customer offerings.
Your adoption of the NextWave enhancements has been phenomenal. In just three months, we’re seeing partners reach growth levels that are ahead of what we expected this early into the new program. In Q3 FY19, our most recently completed quarter, partners drove some jaw-dropping results:
- Nearly 400 partners saw their businesses grow by 100% year over year
- Partners initiated a record-breaking increase in pipeline with 59% YoY growth
- Partners secured a record-breaking 2,000+ new customers
- Partner-initiated bookings grew 63% year over year
In addition to our enhanced NextWave program, we recently completed our global partner satisfaction survey; the response was unprecedented, and the results are even more impressive. Annually, we invite you to rank all aspects of our channel strategy. The feedback you provide is critical to shaping our channel strategy so we stay ahead of changing market dynamics. This year over 4,200 partners completed the survey – a company record. And the best part: you rated Palo Alto Networks as the No. 1 cybersecurity vendor in the following critical partnership areas:
- Profitability
- Margins
- Revenue
- Growth
- Product satisfaction
- Professional services opportunities
As we evolve with you into the services-driven economy, we are pleased that around the world, you have embraced the enhancements we introduced to fuel mutual business growth and enable more partner-led services. The professional services opportunity around Palo Alto Networks product offerings ranks 50% greater than the next highest industry vendor. According to you, we are the clear leader for new growth opportunities, outranking the competition by 300%.
“Some of the new enhancements to the NextWave program are key items we have been asking for to help Sirius deliver more of the solutions and services our clients need to drive better engagement and loyalty,” said Deborah Bannworth, senior vice president for Strategic Alliances, Inside Sales & Maintenance Services from Sirius Computer Solutions, Inc.
We continue to listen, learn, and act to support our NextWave partners in building successful Palo Alto Networks security-based practices. The success you’re seeing from the changes we’ve made to help grow your business is encouraging. We look forward to remaining your partner of choice and winning together!
Go Palo Alto Networks!
Karl