As part of the annual Partner Program Guide, CRN designates some vendor channel programs as 5-Star Partner Programs. Here are the 5-Star Partner Programs among software vendors for 2026.
Software is how the real value of IT is realized. Whether it’s a financial management application, a development tool or an AI large language model, software is how intellectual property and ideas—everything from a product designer’s creativity to an automated manufacturing process—become the vehicle for capturing, encoding and operationalizing that IP.
But it’s the software products developed by software vendors like Microsoft, Red Hat and SAP and that are specifically of interest to the channel. And that’s why the partner programs that those software companies assemble and operate to manage their relationships with partners are so important to the channel.
The CRN 2026 Partner Program Guide offers the information solution providers need to evaluate the channel programs operated by the IT vendors they work with or are considering partnering with. The guide is based on detailed applications submitted by vendors outlining all aspects of their partner programs.
As part of the Partner Program Guide, CRN designates some programs as 5-Star Partner Programs because they provide the most comprehensive lineups of incentives, resources, training, services and benefits.
Here we provide snapshots of the 5-Star designees in the software space, a category that includes providers of application development/DevOps, application integration and application performance monitoring tools; AI software and AI models; big data and data analytics software; ERP, CRM and office productivity applications; unified communications collaboration software; and more. Details of every vendor’s partner program can be found at the 2026 Partner Program Guide page at CRN.com.
Slide shows in the 5-Star Partner Program Guide series include companies that provide products and services in eight technology categories: cloud, computing, data center, MSP platforms, networking, security, software and storage. A separate list will highlight startup companies with 5-Star Partner Programs.
While many companies provide products and services that span multiple technologies, we’ve assigned each vendor to the slide show for the technology category in which they are most prominent.
Acumatica
Program Name: Acumatica Partner Program
Channel Chief: CJ Boguszewski, SVP, Partner Programs, Strategy
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Over the past year, Acumatica significantly advanced its partner program by aligning global education initiatives to better support partner enablement. The company modernized its training curriculum and delivery platform, introducing AI-powered, instructor-led learning modules and refining content for key roles across the ecosystem.
Acumatica also strengthened its demand generation systems and enhanced opportunity management to drive greater sales efficiency and partner success, while continuing to offer all educational resources free to partners.
In addition, Acumatica realigned attribution toward the VAR margin program to focus demand on the sales of Acumatica products, while still rewarding VARs for selling complementary products from within our ISV and Alliance program networks.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=4
BMC
Program Name: BMC Ecosystem Partner Program
Channel Chief: Sam Lakkundi, VP, Global Partner Sales
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Launched a new tiering program. The launch of a new logo source program that supports our partners finding and closing new logos. Partner Elevate Americas and International gathered 100-plus partners fostering collaboration and growth. New partnerships in Asia-Pacific, EMEA and North America. Incremental investment in MDF. Focus on distribution model in key countries.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=26
Broadcom
Program Name: Broadcom Advantage Partner Program
Channel Chief: Brian Moats, SVP, Global Commercial Sales, Partners
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Measuring partners on a value-based approach using a points-based system to reward them for execution for the transaction, services delivery execution, and capability via training and certifications. Shifting from product to role-based training. Rewarding partners based on tiering for capacity, expansion and renewal motions through differentiated rebates and deal registration discounts. Integrating our services focused Expert Advantage program as a requirement for our highest tier partners. Introduced free on-demand training and incentive campaigns for all partners and expanded Knights certification track for partners. Access to new self-serve tools and dashboards to allow partners greater ability to manage their business.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=27
Broadcom
Program Name: Broadcom Expert Advantage Partner Program
Channel Chief: Brian Moats, SVP, Global Commercial Sales, Partners
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Completed the on-boarding our VCF and Tanzu EAP partners across all regions and added a Distributor EAP class to support go-to-market strategies for SME. We expanded our Broadcom Knights program to include VCF, Tanzu and ANS. We added VCF education delivery partners to the program and promotion on the INSIGHTS platform at expert.broadcom.com. Successfully created knowledge pages on the INSIGHTS platform for delivering Broadcom professional services IP directly to the partner community.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=28
Calero
Program Name: Calero Partner Program
Channel Chief: Jason Wieser, SVP, Partners, Alliances
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Calero has intentionally matured its partner program, shifting from a traditional enablement model to a growth-led, insight-driven partner motion. We focused on scaling and formalizing the capabilities that partners told us mattered most: continuous visibility, differentiated customer engagement and repeatable revenue creation.
The most significant change was repositioning technology expense visibility as a strategic operating layer for partners—not just a product capability. Partners now use rapid, low-friction visibility engagements to gain a clear view into customer environments and convert that insight into funded transformation and advisory opportunities. This evolution enables partners to move from episodic selling to continuous account planning, strengthening their role as trusted advisors to CIOs and CFOs.
We also refined our joint go-to-market approach by aligning enablement, sales plays and demand generation around this repeatable motion. This has improved partner activation, increased pipeline quality, and accelerated deal velocity—without adding complexity to the program. Ultimately, the past year was about program maturity and scale: Giving partners clearer insight, stronger differentiation and a more predictable path to growth, rather than introducing incremental tools or fragmented initiatives.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=30
Cloudera
Program Name: Cloudera Partner Network
Channel Chief: Michelle Hoover, SVP, Alliances, Channels
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Cloudera expanded its partner ecosystem at EVOLVE25, adding ServiceNow, Fundamental, Galileo.ai, and Pulse to its Enterprise AI Ecosystem. These new alliances strengthen Cloudera’s AI-native platform strategy and broaden access for partners helping enterprises operationalize AI securely across multi-cloud environments.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=35
Cribl
Program Name: Cribl Partner Program
Channel Chief: Zac Kilpatrick, VP, Global GTM Partners
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Over the past year, we introduced value-based GTM initiatives that recognize and reward partners for driving tangible value throughout the sales cycle. This approach has not only strengthened partner engagement but has also directly contributed to improved customer outcomes and accelerated growth.
We have also initiated collaboration with key, strategic SIs worldwide that has led to the creation of innovative solutions tailored to complex customer needs.
And finally, we developed a refined, real-world Partner Journey Framework to guide partners in building their Cribl practices. This foundational work empowers partners to scale their value offerings and expand revenue opportunities globally.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=45
Flexera
Program Name: The Flexera Partner Program
Channel Chief: Bill Vergantino, SVP, Channel, Alliances
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Over the past year, Flexera’s primary focus has been on integrating legacy Spot partners into the existing Flexera partner program to ensure a unified and consistent partner experience. This effort involved aligning contractual frameworks, operational processes and partner data to support a single global program structure.
In parallel, Flexera worked to simplify and automate several key partner processes, including deal registration, opportunity management and incentive claim workflows. These enhancements were designed to make it easier for partners to do business with Flexera while improving internal visibility and responsiveness. Additional updates included refining partner communications and streamlining enablement content to ensure that both Flexera and legacy Spot partners have access to consistent tools, branding and messaging.
The overall goal for this year has been to create a more efficient, integrated and scalable partner ecosystem ahead of the new global partner program modernization and simplification planned for this year.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=78
Genesys
Program Name: Genesys Ascend
Channel Chief: Amy Slater, VP, North America Partner, Alliance Sales
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
We’ve made significant enhancements to our partner program to strengthen alignment, transparency and partner success. We refreshed our tier structure to make progression clearer and more directly tied to measurable partner performance, ensuring that advancement reflects both business impact and commitment. In addition, we enhanced the Ascend Partner Portal with improved automation and greater deal registration visibility, providing partners with a more seamless experience and real-time insights to better manage opportunities and drive growth.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=83
GoTo Technologies
Program Name: GoTo Partner Network
Channel Chief: Michael Day, VP, UCC Partner Sales
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
We implemented a formal partner segmentation process that aligns partners with the most suitable product and sales strategies, a move that has driven increased revenue and performance from previously underperforming segments. This targeted approach ensures resources are focused where they have the greatest impact, unlocking new growth opportunities for partners.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=87
Hitachi Vantara
Program Name: Hitachi Vantara Partner Program
Channel Chief: Adrian Johnson, SVP, GM
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
1. Our On Demand Learning Library is available at no cost for all contracted partners. More than 200 additional online courses and 10 guided and sandbox labs are now at partners’ fingertips.
2. We are rolling out agentic AI to our partner portal, helping partners find the most relevant content and resources they need to pursue opportunities faster and improve their online partner experience.
3. We have increased alignment between our field and partner teams, to accelerate our sales cycles and create greater efficiencies.
4. We have combined our field and partner marketing teams to increase collaboration, grow our activities and drive pipeline generation.
5. The introduction of our new Partner Marketing Hub (PMH)—a gateway for partners to scalable, ready-to-execute marketing campaigns designed to drive demand, generate high-quality leads and grow their businesses.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=91
Intermedia
Program Name: Intermedia Champions Program
Channel Chief: Jonathan McCormick, COO, Head Of Sales
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Over the past year, Intermedia advanced its partner program in a number of ways, including:
1. We continued to commercialize Intermedia AI, giving partners new revenue streams through embedded intelligence across UCaaS, CCaaS and productivity tools.
2. We deepened our Service Provider Program, helping carriers and IT providers transition from legacy softswitch environments to cloud-native platforms with flexible branding, faster deployment and expanded training resources.
3. We expanded our Microsoft Teams integrations, creating new opportunities for partners to reach built-in user bases with seamless UCaaS and CCaaS experiences that enhance collaboration, analytics, and customer engagement—without additional licensing complexity.
4. We continued integrating the NEC UCaaS and CCaaS businesses, ensuring continuity for existing partners while strengthening our global channel footprint. Through these initiatives, Intermedia reaffirmed its commitment to simplicity, partner control and innovation.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=100
Jamf
Program Name: Jamf Global Partner Program
Channel Chief: Marc Botham, VP, Global Channel Sales, Alliances
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Over the past year, Jamf executed the most substantial modernization of its partner program in a decade, focused on driving global consistency, partner trust and operational scalability. We also standardized partner tiering, certification requirements and benefits across all regions, removing historic inconsistencies and creating a level playing field for Elite, Professional, and Registered partners. These changes were paired with significant operational improvements, including simplified deal registration logic, automated discount rules, and improved governance around margin, escalations, and renewals.
In parallel, we elevated our enablement strategy by expanding the Partner Hub, optimizing content quality and structure, and introducing role-based learning paths designed to accelerate on-boarding and improve readiness for both resellers and MSPs. Collectively, these changes reduce friction, strengthen partner confidence and ensure a more predictable, channel-driven revenue engine.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=103
Laserfiche
Program Name: Laserfiche Partner Program
Channel Chief: Josep Domingot, Worldwide Sales Leader
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Over the past year, we’ve strengthened our partner program by expanding training, streamlining communications, increasing funding opportunities, and providing ready-to-launch campaigns, making it easier than ever for partners to grow their Laserfiche business and deliver value to their customers.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=110
M-Files
Program Name: The M-Files Partner Program
Channel Chief: Mike O’Neill, VP, Channel, Alliances
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
MDF investment was increased by 10x supporting the focus on driving joint GTM activities with partners.
Introduced a new tier (Premier Elite) focused on jointly pursuing large-scale opportunities with large services partners.
Our Partner Hub underwent two major upgrades, adding advanced tools for lead and opportunity management, MDF tracking, and implementation support, giving partners more control and efficiency in managing their business with M-Files.
Enablement was a top priority, with expanded training and certification programs focused on knowledge work automation and technical expertise. We complemented this with dedicated webinars and workshops to ensure partners are fully equipped to deliver exceptional customer outcomes.
Communication improvements included launching a Solution Partner newsletter and providing better visibility into joint planning and ROI metrics, fostering stronger collaboration and alignment.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=116
Microsoft
Program Name: Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program
Channel Chief: Nicole Dezen, Chief Partner Officer, CVP, Global Channel Partner Sales
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
MAICPP empowers partners to lead as “frontier firms,” organizations embedding AI and agentic capabilities across every layer of their business. A major advancement is the introduction of the Frontier Partner badge and Frontier Distributor designation, both designed to create clear market differentiation for partners driving AI transformation at scale. The program enables partners to become “customer zero,” operationalizing AI internally to build credibility and bring differentiated capability into their go-to-market. To accelerate this, we expanded product benefits for enrolled and designated partners, including early access to high-value solutions like Copilot Studio, AI Foundry and GitHub Copilot—all designed to fuel partner-led AI transformation.
We also made record investments in skilling, introducing Agentic AI hands-on training anchored in solution plays. Partners now access 145 AI-focused courses, a 66 percent increase year-over-year, alongside immersive workshops that teach multi-agent orchestration using Azure AI Foundry and Copilot Studio.
In addition, we launched a unified Microsoft Marketplace and introduced federation capabilities for distributors and partners, enabling broader reach, simplified transactions and scalable co-sell opportunities. These innovations deepen technical capability, expand market access, and enable partners to build healthy, profitable businesses while setting the pace for what’s next in the AI era.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=177
NetDocuments
Program Name: NetDocuments Partner Program
Channel Chief: Reza Parsia, Global VP, Partnerships
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Doubled our sales and technical enablement for our partner community with additional courses, tools and material. Doubled our marketing investments into partners who grow their business with NetDocuments.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=122
New Relic
Program Name: New Relic Partner Program
Channel Chief: Jon Lingard, Global Head Of Alliances, Channel
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
This year we upgraded training, increased tiered incentives, and established dedicated PSMs for business planning and marketplace collaboration. These changes enhance partner engagement, align strategic goals and drive mutual growth, ensuring partners succeed and maximize their potential within the New Relic ecosystem through tailored support and strategic collaboration.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=125
NinjaOne
Program Name: NinjaOne Now
Channel Chief: Joe Lohmeier, VP, Channel Sales
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
NinjaOne continued to expand on NinjaOne Now, our global partner program, with the launch of our Partner Academy. Along with our partner portal, the Partner Academy provides partners with sales and technical certification paths, as well as regular detailed product updates. These certifications provide partners with easy access to develop sales and technical skills to drive their success.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=127
PTC
Program Name: PTC Partner Network Program
Channel Chief: Kimberly King, Chief Partner Officer
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
1. Transformation of the Partner Growth Program: Under Kimberly King’s leadership, PTC restructured its global partner programs to align incentives with business outcomes, simplify engagement models and accelerate partner performance. This effort reimagined how we engage, enable and reward our global partner ecosystem. We realigned our go-to-market coverage, launched a new tiering and incentive structure, and introduced benchmarking frameworks through multiple third-party organizations to ensure our programs were data-driven and outcome-focused. This has contributed to stronger pipelines, higher renewal rates, and a measurable increase in partner-driven revenue.
2. Strategic ecosystem expansion: PTC deepened relationships with major systems integrators (SIs), hyperscalers and technology partners, unlocking new opportunities in AI-focused product development and indirect sales motions. This expansion was supported by joint go-to-market strategies and co-innovation initiatives, positioning PTC and its partners at the center of digital transformation. 3. Partner-centric enablement and recognition: The team launched new technical certifications, improved MDF utilization and streamlined partner marketing operations. These efforts were showcased at PTC’s SPARK, where PTC recognized top-performing partners and reinforced its commitment to partner success through executive panels, breakout sessions, and strategic planning for FY26.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=143
Qlik
Program Name: Qlik Partner Program (QPP)
Channel Chief: Susie LeMay, Sr. Director, North America Channel Sales
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Over the past year, the Qlik Partner Program has invested significantly in systems, programs and enablement that foster partner loyalty and revenue growth. Partner360, our partner customer success program, is focused heavily on the entire customer life cycle.
Furthermore, Qlik achieved several transformative milestones that strengthened our partner ecosystem and expanded our global channel impact. We were recognized as Snowflake’s Data Integration Partner of the Year, underscoring Qlik’s leadership in driving joint cloud analytics and AI innovation. In addition, Qlik was selected as an AWS Agentic AI Marketplace Launch Partner, positioning us at the forefront of the emerging AI ecosystem and enabling partners to deliver trusted AI-driven insights through Qlik and AWS.
We also successfully launched the Qlik Distribution Program across North America and EMEA, providing scalable enablement, simplified routes to market, and new co-marketing opportunities that accelerate partner growth and profitability. This expansion enhanced our ability to reach new markets and support partners with innovative go-to-market tools, training and incentives.
Lastly, in recognition of our partner-first strategy and execution, Qlik was honored by TD Synnex as the Emerging Partner of the Year in North America, reflecting our shared commitment to delivering customer success through a vibrant and growing channel.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=144
Red Hat
Program Name: Red Hat Partner Program
Channel Chief: Kevin Kennedy, VP, Global, Americas Partner Ecosystem Success
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
In 2025, Red Hat continued to enhance its global partner engagement experience. This included the introduction of the Build program module to support partners that certify, validate and develop solutions on Red Hat platforms. This was the extension of Red Hat’s updated modular approach to its partner program, which began in 2024 with three modules focused on Resell, Distribution and Sell-With activities designed to help partners more easily focus on activities that align with targeted business outcomes.
Furthermore, Red Hat implemented an aligned distribution model to encourage greater engagement between distributors and their focused partners, helping to enhance skills development and improve go-to-market execution. Red Hat also extended partner incentives and rebate offerings, incorporated more go-to-market opportunities within the partner program, and introduced new tooling like the Partner Demand Center to further enable partner marketing activities.
Lastly, the Red Hat Specialized Partner designation was launched to recognize and enable partners with deep technical expertise and certified professional services capabilities in key areas like AI, containers, virtualization and more.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=149
SAP
Program Name: SAP PartnerEdge Program
Channel Chief: Karl Fahrbach, Chief Partner Officer
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
SAP PartnerEdge became a 100 percent cloud-focused program, rewarding partners aligned to the SAP strategy, recognizing partner contributions along the customer journey, which in turn impact partner program levels within the program. SAP also consolidated MDF and BDF into a single proposal-driven development fund, launched new leveling and consequence management tied to cloud KPIs and customer success, and enhanced the partner experience via SAP for Me and Partner Benefits Catalog.
The company also strengthened its Open Ecosystem Build offering as an entry to the SAP PartnerEdge Build Track, which has evolved to better reward partners aligned to our suite and AI-first strategy with a new Spotlight Plus recognition.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=154
ServiceNow
Program Name: ServiceNow Partner Program
Channel Chief: Michael Park, SVP, Global Partnerships, Channels
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
We introduced Five for 2025, our vision for ongoing innovation in the partner program:
-implified program requirements and more growth: We’ve streamlined several of the program criteria across Route to Market Program modules to reduce complexity and fuel growth and introduced new benefits to maximize partner success.
More differentiation opportunities: We introduced new AI-specific Product Line Achievement (PLA) opportunities. We launched three new AI specializations to empower partners to stand out in the market and capture new business.
Streamlined deal registration: The time frame for partners to receive sourced credit has been extended. In addition, resell deal registrations for net-new logos in commercial and midmarket accounts are now automatically approved, streamlining sales cycles and reducing administrative overhead.
AI innovation opportunities: In addition to AI-centric differentiation programs, we have expanded access to AI-equipped instances to support demos, solution development and AI innovation.
More financial incentives: A 4X increase in partner incentives in 2025 for more partner opportunities to generate revenue, boost margins and invest in their practice. We added three additional incentives to those announced in January: AI Agent Fast Dash, AI Developer Incentive, and Retain and Expand Incentive, which offer more ways for partners to earn lucrative rewards.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=163
Smartsheet
Program Name: Smartsheet Aligned
Channel Chief: Eva Schoenleitner, VP, Worldwide Partnerships
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Over the past year, we’ve made transformative changes to Smartsheet Aligned to strengthen partner profitability, expand global reach and simplify engagement. Historically U.S.-focused, we’re beginning to lean heavily into Asia and Europe, forging strategic relationships with global leaders like PwC UK and NTT Japan to deliver “intelligent work management” at scale. This shift includes targeting larger distributors, regional resellers and global systems integrators to broaden our footprint and replicate success worldwide.
To reward expertise and accelerate growth, we introduced enhanced incentives: higher deal registration margins, emerging market discounts and increased MDF, providing immediate value to partners. We launched a Global Partner Badge, recognizing those with the scale to deliver multilingual, 24×7 support and consistent global implementation standards. We also upgraded the System Integrator track with a reciprocal subcontracting model, enabling seamless collaboration between Smartsheet and GSIs on complex projects.
In addition, partners now have access to powerful tools like a self-service quoting tool to speed sales cycles and Gainsight insights for certified Customer Success Managers to proactively drive adoption and retention.
These changes reflect our commitment to eliminating friction, empowering partners, and creating a globally connected ecosystem for growth.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=168
SolarWinds Partner Program
Program Name: SolarWinds Partner Program
Channel Chief: Barb Huelskamp, Global VP, Channels, Alliances
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
SolarWinds continued the evolution of the partner program with new investments driving partner growth and profitability. The 2025 theme of “Elevating Together” reflected our ongoing commitment to innovation, growth and strengthening our partnerships.
This evolution included new role-based, online, no-charge for certifications for sales and pre-sales, a new single pane of glass partner portal with new functionality, and several new financial incentives. The partner portal was a significant investment supporting partners with streamlined deal registration, NFR requests, all new assets and resources to support our joint sales cycles, easy-to-launch marketing campaigns in a box, branding resources, and improved content discoverability and automation.
The new incentives rolled out to resellers and distributors globally provided additional profitability for growth in key product areas, and the new subscription conversion initiative.
Finally, SolarWinds has made significant investments across the business in support of partners including more channel managers, new distribution channel managers, stakeholders in Revenue and Partner operations, marketing, engineering, and legal. This exemplifies the SolarWinds amplified commitment to a partner-first strategy driving cohesity across the business.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=169
Sovos Compliance
Program Name: Sovos Partner Network
Channel Chief: Chris Clinton, Chief Partner Officer
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Over the past year, we have made significant enhancements to our partner program, with a major focus on expanding and elevating our certification framework. We launched four new certifications designed to deepen partner expertise, strengthen solution delivery and drive measurable customer outcomes.
These new certifications provide a clear path for partners to build specialized knowledge across our key solution areas, ensuring they can effectively position, implement and support our offerings in the market. Each certification includes updated training modules, hands-on assessments and digital badges that recognize and validate partner achievement. By investing in this expanded certification portfolio, we are empowering partners to differentiate themselves, unlock new benefits within the program, and accelerate growth opportunities.
These changes reflect our commitment to developing a more capable and competitive partner ecosystem—one that aligns closely with our customers’ evolving needs and drives mutual success.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=172
SUSE
Program Name: SUSE One Partner Program
Channel Chief: Jim Sarale, Head Of Global Partners, Industries
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Our changes ensure partners can grow their business faster in key areas and reflect our commitment to making SUSE the easiest and most profitable open-source infrastructure company to partner with. The biggest change was opening our successful Cloud Elevate Program to Managed Service Providers (MSPs), allowing MSPs to capitalize on the shift to utility-based and SaaS models—including new offerings like SUSE Cloud Observability. By making solutions available through platforms like the AWS Marketplace, we’re helping them tap directly into the explosive cloud consumption economy. We also deepened integrations with major cloud provider incentive programs (like AWS CPPO, DSOR and MSFT MPO) and expanded our overall Marketplace listings.
Beyond the cloud focus, we also:
Boosted investment in solution builders: We prioritized partners who are building innovative, joint customer solutions on top of the SUSE portfolio.
Added co-sell recognition: We introduced a formal co-sell registration process to make sure partners who influence deals and drive adoption—even if they don’t transact—are properly recognized and rewarded.
Refreshed our global partner site: We launched a better, more inclusive loyalty site that now has over 60 percent active engagement. This allows us to deliver training and enablement that directly translates into profitable skills for the field.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=177
Zoom Communications
Program Name: Zoom Up Partner Program
Channel Chief: Nick Tidd, Head Of Global Channel GTM
Most Significant Changes To Partner Program Over The Past Year
Zoom Up overhaul: In November 2025, Zoom announced significant enhancements to the Zoom Up Partner Program, offering a transparent, achievement-based progression system that rewards partners for their investments and achievements across three categories: performance, proficiency and participation. Reseller and Agency partners will have separate tracks that allow differentiation to the market, with both having points-based criteria providing flexibility and recognition of their value beyond just revenue. A new program Dashboard (coming in Feb. 2026) will simplify the program with targets, attainment and guidance.
Zoom Up Services Program: In June 2025, Zoom launched the Zoom Up Services Program, a comprehensive program specifically designed to empower partners to deliver differentiated world-class, post-sales services spanning solution deployment, support, customer success, and managed services to serve customer needs across the Zoom platform.
Self-service capabilities: Throughout 2025, Zoom introduced numerous enhancements to the partner program designed to dramatically reduce quoting and ordering times from hours and days, to, in some cases, just minutes and seconds, helping partners grow faster alongside Zoom and increase revenue in this quarter.
Service Provider Program: This program is designed to empower qualifying service providers to deliver world-class, custom unified communications solutions, giving partners more autonomy.
Partner Program Details: https://www.crn.com/partner-program-guide/ppg2026-details?c=208
