Westcon-Comstor has teamed up with Palo Alto Networks to set up the Partner Growth Circle, a programme for selected partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Participants work with the distributor to draw up a business plan for selling Palo Alto Networks solutions. Those who execute that plan gain access to workshops, certification support and demand generation funding.
The distributor announced the initiative following its WestConnect event in Barcelona, where partners from the region met representatives of both companies. The programme is aimed at a selection of Westcon partners in EMEA. The company does not say how that selection is made.
Joint business plans
Partners draw up a business plan for their Palo Alto Networks activities together with Westcon-Comstor. In it, they set out priority solutions, target accounts and pipeline goals. The distributor’s commercial and technical activities are then aligned with the plan. Each quarter, Westcon-Comstor reviews every partner’s performance against the plan and the agreed pipeline.
Benefits for execution
According to Westcon-Comstor, partners who execute their plan gain access to a package of additional benefits. These include tailored workshops, certification support and demand generation funding. Participants can also make use of the distributor’s existing services, such as the Tech Xpert community, virtual demo environments in the 3D Lab, and sales and pre-sales enablement.
Westcon-Comstor is also deploying its Intelligent Demand (iD) programme. This sales and marketing programme uses predictive data analytics to identify sales opportunities. The company says this helps partners find opportunities that are more likely to result in an actual sale.
Continuing the partnership
The Partner Growth Circle builds on the distribution relationship between the two companies, which spans several markets in EMEA. They previously launched SASEvolution, which combines Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma SASE with Westcon’s managed services into solutions that partners can resell directly.
Daniel Hurel, Senior Vice President Westcon EMEA Go-To-Market at Westcon-Comstor, points to demand for Palo Alto Networks solutions in the region as organisations adapt their security strategies to the opportunities and risks of AI. Hurel says Westcon-Comstor aims to use the programme to help partners convert that demand into repeatable growth and more recurring revenue. He describes the approach as based on shared commitments and measurable progress.
Patricia Murphy, Vice President of EMEA Ecosystems at Palo Alto Networks, calls the initiative the next step in the relationship with Westcon-Comstor. Murphy expects that the combination of Palo Alto Networks’ products and the distributor’s channel expertise will enable partners to expand their growth and technical capabilities.
Dutch partner recognised
At WestConnect, the companies also presented seven regional awards relating to Palo Alto Networks. The criteria were growth, technical expertise, customer focus and commitment to developing the Palo Alto Networks business. Dutch company ncubed B.V. was named Northern Europe Partner of the Year. EMEA Partner of the Year went to Compugeddon CC from South Africa.
The remaining awards went to Fireware LLC from the United Arab Emirates (MEA), Netica S.R.L. from Italy (Southern Europe), Blue Technologies Ltd & Co KG from Germany (DACH) and Boxxe Limited from the United Kingdom (UK&I). Spain’s Esferize received the Rising Star award.
This article was originally published in Dutch on MSP Business. Read the original →
