Puppet's Competency-Based Channel Partner Program

Channel partners play a vital role in the success of Puppet. Our thoughtfully curated selection of partners truly understands the needs of our customers, and serves as a trusted advisor for them. Our channel partners are a true ecosystem in that we all work in tandem to shared benefit; our successes are interconnected.

Today, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of our new, competency-based Global Channel Partner Program to continue to benefit our channel partners and customers alike.

• What is a Competency-Based Channel Program?
• Why Does this Make Sense for Puppet?
• What is the New Global Channel Partner Program?
• What's Next for Puppet's Partner Initiatives?

What is a Competency-Based Channel Program?

More often than not, channel partner programs are tied directly to revenue. The dollar amount a channel organization transacts within a year determines their partner tier (e.g. Silver, Gold, Platinum), and based on their tier, the partner receives certain benefits, rewards, or incentives. This is, of course, an oversimplification. There are typically other requirements that determine partnership levels. But for the most part, revenue is the predominant requirement.

And in most cases a revenue-based channel program makes sense. After all, channel partners are sales organizations. More often than not, their success (and failure) as a partner is determined by their ability to drive revenue, so it stands to reason that their goals and incentives should align with revenue.

But there is another way.

A competency-based approach is an alternative to the traditional revenue-based channel program. In a competency model, partners are encouraged to achieve competencies, or specializations, that align with that partner's unique value proposition. Revenue is still a component, but not the primary driver.

For example, a channel partner with deep technical expertise would be encouraged to receive a technical competency. Or a partner with a niche focus, like security or implementation, could receive a coinciding competency. Competencies can be very targeted, focusing on a specific product or product line, or more broad, focusing on a business discipline, such as sales or marketing.

Why Does this Make Sense for Puppet?

Competencies are extremely flexible and their flexibility is what makes them so valuable to incorporate into a channel program. With a competency-based approach, Puppet is better enabled to incentivize partners based on what makes them unique. Likewise, they allow the partner to continue to do what they do best to provide value to their customers.

Given the technical nature of Puppet and the complex business challenges that our customers look to solve, this is a natural evolution of our channel program. The channel partner that transacts the highest dollar amount isn't always the best partner for Puppet. The ideal partner for Puppet is one that truly understands the needs of their customers and has the technical expertise to act as the customer's trusted advisor.

What is the New Global Channel Partner Program?

The new partner program focuses on simplicity. It extends program benefits to all channel partners and makes it easy to maintain partner status from year to year. We've listened to the feedback we've received from our partners over the years and incorporated it to make our new program easy to manage and partner-friendly.

The new Global Channel Partner Program will have two partner levels: Authorized Resellers and Solution Providers.

Authorized Resellers

The vast majority of Puppet channel partners will be Authorized Resellers. Authorized Resellers don't hold any specific competencies but are still entitled to a variety of partner program benefits, such as deal registration, marketing discretionary funds (MDF), and incumbency.

Solution Providers

Solutions Providers are our highest tier of channel partners and will be required to pass a Puppet Service Delivery certification. Puppet will continue to rely on our Solution Providers to be the voice of the customer and will be empowered to provide services on Puppet's behalf.

What's Next for Puppet's Partner Initiatives?

In addition to the new partner program, Puppet is also rolling out some other key channel enablement tools in the coming year. We plan to launch our new partner portal in the coming months and are already planning our first-ever Puppet Partner Conference, which will be held mid-March.

We couldn't be more excited to launch this new competency-based program, which officially launches on February 1, 2022. Puppet remains deeply committed to our channel and channel partners, and we truly believe this new program will empower more partners to be successful!

Interested in becoming a Puppet Channel Partner?

Get In Touch 

Learn More

• How Puppet's TAM service helps infrastructure teams overcome common operational challenges