Pure Storage Adds New Automation, Solutions Focus To Partner Program

‘We're in this place where it's not just about storing data anymore. It's really about enabling a consistent experience across traditional and modern applications. And so that means delivering a holistic data platform value proposition, not just point products,’ says Amy Fowler, general manager of the commercial business at Pure Storage.

Pure Storage has updated its channel partner program with new tools and incentives to help its solution providers to upgrade legacy systems while improving customers’ readiness for modern AI and cyber resilience requirements.

The new reseller partner program is aimed at channel partners whose customers are facing multiple challenges in the data center, said Amy Fowler, general manager of the commercial business at the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company.

“We’ve got file systems and SANs that tend to be deployed in pretty rigid, vertical stacks that aren’t able to address AI initiatives or the increased demands on cyber resilience, and that can't really support multi-cloud objectives,” Fowler (pictured) told CRN. “And so we’re in this place where it’s not just about storing data anymore. It’s really about enabling a consistent experience across traditional and modern applications. And so that means delivering a holistic data platform value proposition, not just point products.”

Pure Storage’s new program has three objectives, Fowler said.

The first is around the enablement and how the company is helping partners to address customers and their evolving requirements.

“We’re substantially driving up the investment in enablement and simplifying it,” she said. “We’re refreshing all of it with a completely new set of content for both AEs (account executives) and SEs (systems engineers), with a very aggressive roadmap for additional solution-centric enablement that ties very closely to our partners’ specific focus areas and their ability to improve their profitability with services there.”

The second focus is expanding on Pure Storage’s ability to be a simple company to do business with, Fowler said.

“We want to ensure that it is as simple to engage as a partner with Pure as it is to run the Pure platform,” she said. “That means new tools such as enhancements to Pure partner intelligence to tell partners exactly where there are opportunities for them to sell and expand into their existing Pure customer install base, identify those new opportunities, streamline deal registration, get content help them win business, and much more.”

The third is significant enrichments for partners who have built proactive practices and are on the journey to go from point products to delivering Pure Storage’s platform value proposition, Fowler said. “We're really doubling down as it relates to the type of financial enrichments associated with the program heading into next year,” she said.

Fowler declined to disclose a dollar figure for Pure Storage’s investment in enablement. However, she said the company has built an entirely new team and added resources focused both on ensuring the channel content is current and relevant.

“So there’s a whole new team and an enablement roadmap for let’s call it the scope, build, and deploy folks at our partners,” she said. “It’s tied not just to our products, but to the full stack of solutions that they're focused on. And we’ve also built an entire team to deliver tools such as our Pure partner intelligence so partners have a window into the profitability opportunities in their install base.”

Helping partners focus on full solutions comes as the IT environment faces a multitude of challenges, Fowler said.

“Historically, you would need different stovepipe products to address those different challenges,” she said. “And today, whether it’s a challenge associated with a new AI deployment, rapid recovery, cyber incidents, or legacy hybrid or spinning rust environments, the Pure platform can address all of that. That hasn’t always been the case. Pure started off as really selling and positioning products to address specific point solutions. And over this past 15-plus years, we've really moved to where the Pure platform can address the entire breadth of customers’ data challenges and requirements, and having a holistic value proposition not only for modern applications, but also to address traditional applications. That's a real differentiator.”

Fowler also said Pure Storage is doubling the incentives for its partners’ AEs and SEs and substantially expanding where they can earn Pure awards.

This includes such moves as:

A new Digital Partner Master Services Agreement process which brings partners an automated system for customer upgrades, expansions, and renewals.
Expanding what partner AEs and SEs can earn when upgrading customers’ environments to Pure Storage and growing the vendor’s wallet share.
Introducing new rebates for both preferred and lead partners on partner-sourced replacement opportunities.
Establishing a very predictable base rebate on all business for elite partners on top of the rebate elite partners earn on partner-sourced opportunities.
Adding additional accelerators for elite partners for overachieving on growth targets.

Megan Amdahl, North American chief operating officer at Pure Storage channel partner Insight Enterprises, ranked No. 17 on CRN’s 2024 Solution Provider 500, told CRN that the vendor is a strategic partner for the solution provider, and is doing the right things to help its solution providers.

“Our understanding is they're now giving us a rebate incentive from dollar one, which will help from a predictability standpoint so it's easier for us to determine and consistently reinvest in the partnership,” Amdahl said. “We're excited about that. The seller and engineer incentive increase, we think, is meaningful and important. It will be really important to our sellers and our engineers.

Increased automation in the program will mean a meaningful improvement to the time needed to make quote, Amdahl said.

“We think it's really important,” she said. “Our clients are getting more and more consumer-like in their expectations around client experience, and so the improvements in our quote turnaround times should be meaningful. The fact that today you have to get somebody at Pure to help with the quote each time, including all the edits to it, is just cumbersome.”