Palo Alto Networks constantly enhancing market coverage by scaling up the VAR network

Krithiwas Neelakantan, Channel & Alliances Leader, Palo Alto Networks

Importance of Partner Program
Our business in the India and SAARC regions is completely partner-led and our partners are integral to our business plan and execution in these regions. As a result, our partner program is designed to drive customer centricity, business value, and a competitive advantage in the industry.  Our NextWave 3.0 Partner Program provides partners with an array of specialized products and services which provide them and our customers a competitive edge. We also encourage partners to integrate these products and services into their own operations.

Percentage of the channel business
Our channel partner ecosystem is thriving globally across all key performance indicators, including partner-initiated bookings, pipeline, and new customers. In terms of success stories, our partners have completed 7300 security lifecycle reviews, 12400 Best practice assessments and 5900 customer evaluations. As of FY21, they have helped us onboard 7500 new customers and have grown their technical certifications by more than 18,000, clocking a 23% year-on-year increase.

Appointment of VARs/partners as an integral part of the GTM strategy
Our ecosystem of partners includes VARs who provide focussed, solution-driven outcomes for our customers. We constantly enhance our market & industry coverage by scaling up our VAR network. Recently, we partnered with Infosys to enable global organizations to secure hybrid cloud infrastructure from a single unified platform, while maximizing existing investments and integrating Secure-Access Service Edge and Zero-Trust architecture components with our Cortex XSOAR offering. We also partnered with Tech Mahindra to create specialized industry solutions that will offer complete visibility and control of the network, endpoint, and cloud security.

Channel strategy of the company
Currently, our partners are broadening their horizons and are servicing customers with a variety of products instead of the sole offering, thus making them full-fledged business consultants that provide long-term security. On the customer front, demand is strong and not exclusive to security. Adopters are looking to secure their systems and networks and maintain respectable levels of convenience and automation to deal with a digital-first world.