CRN Exclusive: Infoblox Revamps Channel Program To Reward Partners Who Bring In Business, Add Value

Network management and control vendor Infoblox is revamping its BuildingBLOX channel program to better "evolve the baseline" for partners around growth, focus and value.

Chris Jones, the vice president of worldwide partners at the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, told CRN that the new changes will enable additional benefits and training for the channel as Infoblox looks to invest further in its go to market strategy.

"We spent a lot of time talking with the partner community and getting feedback centered around growth, focus and value, and we wanted to evolve our program to better reward partners for adding value, as well as add more resources and incentives for top partners," he said. "We want to invest with the partners who are investing in Infoblox by offering substantial discounts and driving greater profitability."

[Related: Infoblox Hires Former Polycom Executive As New VP Of Worldwide Partners]

The new program will take several steps to make sure that partners who go above and beyond in driving business and value will be recognized.

For instance, BuidingBLOX will now reward partners for their investment in accreditation, so that partners who invest in certifications and trainings will receive increased benefits, said Jones. Infoblox has also enhanced its deal registration tool so that partners can receive a pay-for-performance reward for opportunities based on value.

In addition, the company has tied rebate rewards into its channel platform as a way to incentivize partners to drive business with its security platform technology, and Infoblox has additional plans for a partner training portal to help its channel gain better resources.

Finally, Infoblox has gold- and platinum-level tiers as part of its partner program, so that partners who qualify for these tiers are eligible for higher discounts and other resources.

"It really centers around the fact that we want to make sure we're driving a value-based program, which ultimately will lead to a great customer experience for the end user," said Jones.

Jones, who came to Infoblox in May from Polycom, has been working with the company's sales teams to grow and scale its business through partner initiatives – including enhancing the partner program to expand benefits and enablement through partners.

Looking to the year ahead, with DNS security becoming an increasing issue, Jones said he hopes to provide partners with something "new to discuss and differentiate themselves in the crowded field of security" with expertise and new offerings, as well as by investing in emerging fields like IPv6, IoT and mobility.

"This is the most exciting time to be partnering with Infoblox and taking advantage of DDI [DNS, DHCP, and IP address management] … we're here to offer unique opportunities to bridge the gap between network providers and security providers," he said.

Partners, for their part, applauded the new changes as essential to enabling the channel to keep up with new security trends as more devices become connected to the network.

’As a long time Infoblox partner, we appreciated the opportunity to influence the BuildingBLOX partner program to drive profitability and growth for invested partners," said Brian Jones, the area vice president for Southeast and Federal at Optiv, a Denver, Colo.-based Infoblox partner, in an email. "We believe the access to greater tools, resources and field engagement will allow us to further penetrate incremental markets in DDI and security.’