The Power of Partnership, Part 2
July 9, 2020
Infoblox, channel succeed together through commitment and reciprocation
Channelnomics Staff
This is part 2 of a two-part series.
Channel partnerships are – or at least should be – a two-way street, with both parties bringing something valuable to the table. With Infoblox and its partners, the traffic does, in fact, flow in both directions. While the vendor delivers quality products and a high ease-of-doing-business (EODB) quotient, its partners respond in kind with loyalty and commitment.
The public health crisis posed by COVID-19 has proven to be a rigorous test of both resilience and loyalty. “I was told by a very strategic partner advisor that it’s in times like these when loyalty is formed,” said Lori Cornmesser, Vice President, Worldwide Partner and Alliance Sales, Infoblox. “When business is good, everybody’s good to each other, but when you’re down, you see who’s going to stand next to you.”
Infoblox has stood by its partners, reaching out to its advisory board to explore what it can do to help channel players through today’s choppy waters. Cornmesser said Infoblox decided to offer 90-day free trials of BloxOne Threat Defense Advanced and Cloud solution, so remote workers could work securely; to extend 100% discounts on not-for-resale (NFR) BloxOne DDI unified service for distributors and Platinum and Gold partners; and to double rewards on the SPIFF program for new logos.
“We’re also protecting our marketing investment in terms of SKOs [sales kick-offs] and events instead of stepping back,” she said, explaining that money originally earmarked for in-person meetings has been repurposed for virtual get-togethers. “Our training and certification has quadrupled in [recent] months. We’ve been creative about that. For example, we’ll host a call with 45 engineers and send everybody a Grubhub coupon, and then we’ll go through some training for a couple of hours.”
In May, Infoblox rolled out additional partner services and incentives, creating a dedicated team of business development specialists to help partners find new customers and expand business with existing ones; offering a bigger cut of contracts approved through its deal-registration program; extending its “triple play” incentive to give partners greater rewards for new customer wins; and delivering special incentives and loyalty pricing for incremental business such as technology refreshes and work-from-home deployments.
That willingness to help partners grow their business, coupled with a leadership position in secure cloud-managed network services and an easy-to-navigate channel program, has compelled partners to stick with Infoblox for the long haul.
Research by The 2112 Group, parent company of Channelnomics, has found that vendors with a high EODB quotient enjoy increased wallet share of partners’ business when compared with their more “difficult” peers.
“One of the biggest mistakes that new channel chiefs make is to change everything, especially the partner programs,” Cornmesser said. “We’ve looked at what’s working in our program and said let’s not change a whole lot about it. Let’s leverage the basics of the program, and I think partners really appreciate that.”
That program is value-based, with Authorized, Gold, and Platinum tiers and a system of rewards and benefits based on skill set, expertise, and customer base. In many ways, it’s a standard channel initiative, with partners having to meet certain technology and sales requirements to earn their keep, but Infoblox puts the focus on “simplicity and profitability,” Cornmesser said.
“Partners can work with us any way they like. They can come in and transact on a deal that we’ve found, they can team with us, or they can bring us deals that they’ve hunted down on their own,” she added. “That third way is where there’s the most value and reward. We’ve put a lot of weight behind net-new business. The program is just a lever you pull; the magic is when [partners] engage with field teams and conversations start to happen. When you know you’ll be rewarded for new logos, [everyone] comes to the table differently.”
Ultimately, Infoblox has made a commitment to lead with the channel. Currently, 95% of the company’s business flows through partners, and that percentage continues to climb. “It may sound cliché, but it’s all about the right partners in the right places,” Cornmesser said. “We need to let them engage in the areas where they’re strong to help us promote joint value in the market together. My advice to partners is to focus on business outcomes and think about digital transformation for customers. That’s very important as we navigate everything that’s going on right now.”
Channel partnerships are – or at least should be – a two-way street, with both parties bringing something valuable to the table. With Infoblox and its partners, the traffic does, in fact, flow in both directions. While the vendor delivers quality products and a high ease-of-doing-business (EODB) quotient, its partners respond in kind with loyalty and commitment.
The public health crisis posed by COVID-19 has proven to be a rigorous test of both resilience and loyalty. “I was told by a very strategic partner advisor that it’s in times like these when loyalty is formed,” said Lori Cornmesser, Vice President, Worldwide Partner and Alliance Sales, Infoblox. “When business is good, everybody’s good to each other, but when you’re down, you see who’s going to stand next to you.”
Infoblox has stood by its partners, reaching out to its advisory board to explore what it can do to help channel players through today’s choppy waters. Cornmesser said Infoblox decided to offer 90-day free trials of BloxOne Threat Defense Advanced and Cloud solution, so remote workers could work securely; to extend 100% discounts on not-for-resale (NFR) BloxOne DDI unified service for distributors and Platinum and Gold partners; and to double rewards on the SPIFF program for new logos.
“We’re also protecting our marketing investment in terms of SKOs [sales kick-offs] and events instead of stepping back,” she said, explaining that money originally earmarked for in-person meetings has been repurposed for virtual get-togethers. “Our training and certification has quadrupled in [recent] months. We’ve been creative about that. For example, we’ll host a call with 45 engineers and send everybody a Grubhub coupon, and then we’ll go through some training for a couple of hours.”
In May, Infoblox rolled out additional partner services and incentives, creating a dedicated team of business development specialists to help partners find new customers and expand business with existing ones; offering a bigger cut of contracts approved through its deal-registration program; extending its “triple play” incentive to give partners greater rewards for new customer wins; and delivering special incentives and loyalty pricing for incremental business such as technology refreshes and work-from-home deployments.
That willingness to help partners grow their business, coupled with a leadership position in secure cloud-managed network services and an easy-to-navigate channel program, has compelled partners to stick with Infoblox for the long haul.
Research by The 2112 Group, parent company of Channelnomics, has found that vendors with a high EODB quotient enjoy increased wallet share of partners’ business when compared with their more “difficult” peers.
“One of the biggest mistakes that new channel chiefs make is to change everything, especially the partner programs,” Cornmesser said. “We’ve looked at what’s working in our program and said let’s not change a whole lot about it. Let’s leverage the basics of the program, and I think partners really appreciate that.”
That program is value-based, with Authorized, Gold, and Platinum tiers and a system of rewards and benefits based on skill set, expertise, and customer base. In many ways, it’s a standard channel initiative, with partners having to meet certain technology and sales requirements to earn their keep, but Infoblox puts the focus on “simplicity and profitability,” Cornmesser said.
“Partners can work with us any way they like. They can come in and transact on a deal that we’ve found, they can team with us, or they can bring us deals that they’ve hunted down on their own,” she added. “That third way is where there’s the most value and reward. We’ve put a lot of weight behind net-new business. The program is just a lever you pull; the magic is when [partners] engage with field teams and conversations start to happen. When you know you’ll be rewarded for new logos, [everyone] comes to the table differently.”
Ultimately, Infoblox has made a commitment to lead with the channel. Currently, 95% of the company’s business flows through partners, and that percentage continues to climb. “It may sound cliché, but it’s all about the right partners in the right places,” Cornmesser said. “We need to let them engage in the areas where they’re strong to help us promote joint value in the market together. My advice to partners is to focus on business outcomes and think about digital transformation for customers. That’s very important as we navigate everything that’s going on right now.”
