Creating strong partnerships is more important than ever in today's competitive business landscape. When a business encourages collaboration and loyalty among partners (or channel partners), the business is not just building relationships but also driving sales and growth for the enterprise. But the challenge is how to motivate partners to stay engaged and committed. The answer lies in well-crafted partner incentive programs (or channel incentive programs). Partner incentives play a large role in partner engagement, partner loyalty, partner performance, partner retention, building lasting partner relationships, and complementing marketing efforts. It powers an entire partner ecosystem. Corporate partner programs are tailored based on the company's size, market reach, and expertise, but the core objective remains to secure partner loyalty and promote future growth. Effective programs foster collaboration by creating clear incentives and support systems for partners, ensuring their commitment while driving mutual growth in the rapidly evolving technology market.
Over the years, VARINDIA has fostered a dynamic community that supports both OEMs, service providers, and partners by emphasizing mutual growth and value. In light of this, the publication invited the participation of Channel Heads and Chiefs from the leading companies for its feature story. The views of some of these Channel Chiefs, on how they envisage a friendly channel policy, were presented in the October issue and now continuing with a few more insights in the November issue.
Commvault successfully assembles a strong, collaborative partner ecosystem
Balaji Rao
Area Vice President, India & SAARC, Commvault
“Channel-friendly policies are crucial in driving corporate business growth in India, particularly given the market's size and diversity. In a country where maintaining a direct sales presence across all regions is challenging, these policies help businesses reach new markets and customer segments more effectively. Channel-friendly policies enhance transparency, build mutual trust, and support long-term collaboration with partners, which is essential for navigating the complexities of the Indian market. Aligning business objectives with partner capabilities strengthens market penetration, lowers operational costs, and drives innovation.
With the push for a more connected channel ecosystem, organizations must adopt best practices for building and nurturing these relationships. Commvault’s channel-friendly policy has significantly contributed to its success in the Indian market by establishing a strong, collaborative partner ecosystem. The company’s partner-obsessed, partner-powered approach emphasizes mutual growth and value creation. Through initiatives such as the gamification platform and the "Bounty Bonus Rebate" across EMEA and India, Commvault rewards partners for securing high-value deals and focusing on key areas like cyber resilience rather than relying on traditional incentive models. Through transparent communication and a deep investment in nurturing successful partnerships, we will continue to drive profitability and growth, positioning our partners for success in a competitive landscape. Commvault measures the success of its partner programs through a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach. It defines clear goals and metrics tailored to each partner type, focusing on key factors such as revenue generation, customer acquisition, and overall profitability. Metrics like the number of new customers and deal size, especially in cyber resilience, are key indicators.”
Hitachi Vantara designs its channel programs to engage, enable, and empower partners
Darsshan Somaiya
the Head of Strategic Partner & Alliances for India and the SAARC region, Hitachi Vantara
“The partner program is a critical element of Hitachi Vantara’s strategy to drive business growth. At its core, it is designed to engage, enable, and empower partners by providing them with the resources, support, and tools necessary to meet customer needs, scale their operations, and accelerate their time to market. We recognize that partners are at the forefront of customer engagement, and they often serve as trusted advisors in their respective markets. An example of how we have evolved our partner program is seen in India, where we have introduced the Partner Advisory Board (PAB). This board is a collaborative platform that brings key partners together with our leadership team, allowing them to provide direct feedback and engage in strategic discussions. The PAB plays a crucial role in ensuring that our solutions are aligned with the specific demands of the Indian market, while also giving partners a voice in shaping our future innovations.
Hitachi Vantara places a strong emphasis on fostering open, honest, and consistent communication with partners to ensure that they understand what is expected of them and are fully supported throughout their journey. The Hitachi Vantara Partner Acceleration Program is a comprehensive incentive structure that aligns partner success with Hitachi Vantara’s strategic objectives. The program is designed to reward partners for their performance, encourage long-term collaboration, and support their growth by offering a range of financial and non-financial incentives. In addition to deal registration discounts, the company also offers Rebates and Performance-Based Incentives. These rewards are granted to partners who meet or exceed specific sales targets or achieve key program milestones.”
F5 encourages its partners to deliver value through sales and services
Munish Bhasin
Director- Channels & Alliances, F5
“F5 has a robust partner ecosystem in the country consisting of distributors, resellers, and system integrators. It has a dedicated team that oversees our channel partner network and promotes growth in the region.
F5’s primary focus in India has been on cloud-based services and application security, which has significantly expanded our operations. We prioritize our channel partners, encouraging them to deliver value through sales and services. These partnerships enable us to leverage our partners’ deep regional and vertical expertise, ensuring our solutions are tailored to meet our customers’ specific needs and preferences. Moreover, our channel partners play a vital role in navigating the complex regulatory landscape in India, ensuring compliance and mitigating risks. By partnering with reputable organizations, we foster diversification, innovation, and credibility. Additionally, these partnerships provide joint resources, cross-selling opportunities, and enhanced customer satisfaction and retention.” F5 strongly believes that spreading knowledge and replicating its skill set within the channel will help the brand to scale up. It offers attractive incentive and rebate programs that motivate its partners to excel. F5 offers a comprehensive suite of partner programs, including Unity+, Global Systems Integrators, and Authorized Training Partner programs. It also provides robust marketing support through joint campaigns and promotional materials, and its dedicated partner portal makes accessing essential resources.
Channel-friendly policies have been a cornerstone of F5’s success in the Indian market. The launch of F5’s Point of Presence (PoP) sites in India in the year 2022 is an example of the same. These PoPs enable the company to be closer to customers, and its channel partners to assist in reaching out to customers and providing seamless delivery and support.”
Jio abides by the principle of keeping its channel profitable always
Yashasvi Vats
AVP & Head of Partner Marketing, JioCloud, Jio Platforms
“Channel partner programs are essential for businesses that are ready to grow. The best channel partner programs have become much more than an indirect sales engine, shifting towards sophisticated ecosystems made up of strategic service partners and alliances as well. Channels give the required reach to businesses much beyond their own sales teams and contribute in certain cases up to 80% of the sales revenue. This is possible only by having channel friendly policies to help nurture the channel relationships and helping drive businesses.
For instance, at Jio Cloud we have made our channel policy transparent and easy by upfront discounts.
When it comes to designing a channel policy, Jio considers the following elements as important –
1. Transparency in pricing/discounts/margins
2. â Support for partners across technology, sales and marketing and even operations if needed
3. â Tech enablement for partners
4. â Learning opportunity of partners
5. â Support for the extraordinary deals
6. â Enabling partners to sell more and more solutions
In addition to the above, keeping an open communication channel and a single window for any query becomes very important for Jio. Unlike other players in the cloud market, we have our channel policy transparent with all discounts and margins upfront without conditions, also adding a predictability in earnings by allowing channel partners to lock discounts for longer durations like 5-7 years. Our mantra is simple, enable channel partners to make more money.”
Partners help Optoma position itself as a leading B2B large display solution provider
Vijay Sharma
Managing Director, Optoma Technology
“It is essential to develop channel-friendly policies to maintain a competitive edge, particularly in the Indian market, which is recognized as one of the most diverse and competitive marketplaces globally. Since the year 2000, Optoma has positioned itself as a leading B2B large display solution provider in this region, actively working to establish a robust partner network aimed at driving sales growth. As a prominent player in the projector market, we uphold transparent policies that form the foundation of trust, enabling us to effectively address customer needs and ensure access to a variety of product segments. For its channel partners, Optoma implements flexible policies that foster collaboration and facilitate a seamless connection among manufacturers, channel partners, and customers. This approach creates a mutually beneficial situation for all parties involved and establishes a straightforward framework that contributes to a stable business environment, attracting more partners and enhancing sales throughout India.
Our achievements stem from a robust partnership model that we have cultivated. To enhance the capabilities of our channel partners, we offer a variety of training courses, workshops, and sessions that highlight the strengths of our products and the underlying technology. We have implemented a well-defined certification program for our channel partners, which assesses their strengths and offers a tiered margin structure. Additionally, Optoma periodically introduces incentive programs that enhance margins and provide enriching experiences for partners.”
Vertiv positions itself as a trusted brand for partners to work with
Sanjay Zadoo
General Manager - Channel Sales, Vertiv
“Channel-friendly policies are crucial for driving successful channel sales growth in India’s dynamic and competitive tech and infrastructure market. At Vertiv, we understand that well-crafted channel strategies are essential to streamlining business operations, achieving alignment with partners, and building a mutually beneficial ecosystem. With the rise of AI, HPC, and Edge investments, system integrators play an increasingly vital role in delivering effective solutions to customers.
Vertiv's channel-friendly policies simplify processes and reduce friction, making it easier for partners to bring solutions to customers efficiently. These policies ensure alignment between channel growth objectives and partner goals, fostering trust and loyalty for shared growth. By prioritizing partner success, Vertiv builds strong, long-term partnerships, instilling confidence that their business goals are supported. Additionally, these policies enhance agility, equipping partners with the tools and resources needed to adapt quickly to shifting market demands, ensuring competitive advantage.
We establish clear guidelines on pricing, product information, incentives, and partnership terms to help partners make informed decisions and build client trust. Open communication keeps partners informed of strategies, changes, and opportunities, while access to tools, resources, and training —such as technical support and marketing resources — enables them to deliver top-quality solutions. With dedicated account managers and technical support, our partners have reliable contacts and expert guidance, fostering confidence and supporting strong, lasting partnerships for Vertiv. Continuous improvements in policies and processes have enhanced Vertiv’s responsiveness to market needs, while advanced tools have improved business leaders’ capabilities and visibility for tailored growth. This transparent, empowering approach builds lasting relationships with partners, positioning Vertiv as a trusted brand."
Qualys puts its partner ecosystem at the forefront of its business engagement
Debashish Jyotiprakash
Managing Director, India and ASEAN, Qualys
“A good partner program should provide talent, scale and collaboration. Partners are there to help the company, not just with the field selling but also to validate that the partner program has scale, relevance and velocity. You can have smart people in your team but you can’t have them all. Partners provide customer advocacy, a sense of customer success and most importantly win-win for all parties involved. One can learn by making mistakes, but if that’s the only way to learn then you have to make too many mistakes yourself to learn it all. So it is best to also learn from the mistakes of others and who else is a better friend than a seasoned partner in your channel-led growth story. Besides, increased brand awareness and an accelerated revenue growth are key outcomes of a good partner program.
A good partner is motivated by not just the right incentive or money but also by rewards like recommendations and shared growth plans. “A tree is known by the fruit it bears and a strong partnership is felt by sharing success and growth,” explains Debashish. “Our rewards policy goes beyond just a partner margin or discounts but a number of other elements like -
· Training and Certification Rewards · Exclusive Access and Early Adoption
· Joint Marketing Initiatives · Customer Success Bonuses
· Recognition and Prestige Programs
· Access to Specialized Tools and Resources like Advanced Technical Support that the partner can monetize
· Event Sponsorship and Speaking Opportunities.”
For SonicWall, partners are an extended arm for protecting customers’ business
Sanjeev Kumar
Regional Sales Director - India & SAARC region, SonicWall
“Channel Partners are pivotal to any vendor’s success story, forming the backbone of the company representing the latter to customers. Partners form inroads for companies to access new customer segments and expand their reach in the target markets across regions, thus driving business. Being a 100% channel partner-driven company, with more than 17,000 strong and active partners worldwide, our partners are the extended arm in protecting customers’ business every day. Thanks to them, our market share has increased in key price bands and market segments, confirming SonicWall’s place as one of the unquestioned leaders in the cybersecurity space.
SonicWall Secure First partner program which is upgraded and revamped at regular intervals, provides backend rebates to partners who achieve targets. We also extend Marketing Funds to our partners to enable their business expansion programs, offer free training to develop their team along with various other investments from time to time to support them -like offering them additional Back-end rebate for new customer logo acquisition etc.
SonicWall maintains effective communication with its channel partners through a variety of structured and strategic methods that align with its cybersecurity goals and strategies. It provides partners with comprehensive resources and training programs to ensure they are well-versed in the latest SonicWall technologies and threat landscapes. This includes access to detailed product documentation, cybersecurity updates, and threat intelligence reports. SonicWall also organizes periodic partner events and forums where they share insights on emerging threats and strategic direction, fostering a collaborative environment.”
