Dive Brief:

• Device management platform provider Fleet launched its inaugural partner program last week after ten years as a direct sales vendor. The multi-tiered program marks Fleet's move to a partner-first strategy, the company said in the announcement.
• “We wanted to go partner first right from the beginning,” Mike McNeil, CEO of Fleet, told Channel Dive. “That means every new customer relationship we have will go through a partner. If they don't have a partner, we'll find them one. That's essential for growth on both sides.”
• The program uses a model that “rewards partner investment and customer impact,” the company said a press release. Partners can progress through silver, gold and platinum levels, and the program guarantees that every Fleet deal flows through a partner. Fleet is also offering an incentive for partners supporting customers that migrate to Fleet’s open device management platform from competitor Jamf.

Dive Insight:

AI adoption is growing rapidly, with worldwide AI spending projected to increase 44% year-over-year, reaching $2.5 trillion this year, according to a recent Gartner brief. Enterprise IT budgets are shifting towards automation and generative AI, Deloitte found in a survey of 548 business and technology decision-makers last year.

As the trend spreads to employee phones and laptops, McNeil said partnering with Fleet is an opportunity for channel firms to participate in this large-scale technological transformation. Fleet offers unified device management for Apple, Windows, Linux and Android devices in one place, including support for infrastructure as code and integration into modern AI workflows. 

According to McNeil, Fleet’s multi-platform capabilities allow companies to efficiently implement changes across a range of devices, while providing partners with a space to manage services. Competitor Jamf focuses only on managing Apple devices.

For managed service providers, where revenue is shrinking, partnering with Fleet could help open new margin opportunities.

“There's this idea in IT services that device management is a solved problem,” McNeil said. “But there's a lot of shifting right now, and our customers are going to look to partners to help make changes. If partners can react quickly enough and be a part of the transformation, I think there's a lot of margin to be made.”

Fleet is a small, growing company. It has raised $54 million in funding to date and has 70 employees. Year-over-year, its revenue growth has roughly doubled, McNeil said. 

Currently, 10% of Fleet’s revenue comes directly from partnerships. Fleet aims to grow that number by targeting mutual growth: offering its open platform to channel firms while connecting with existing partner customers.

"Fleet's partner program is a young one so one can expect teething issues, such as documentation lacking or moving sales targets, so the fact that it has clarity as a program focus is comforting," Sharon Hiu, principal analyst at Omdia, a Channel Dive sister company, said in an email. "Strong sales and services partner margins, as well as effective deal registration mechanics will also be attractive to pioneering partners since they are breaking into new markets and competing against incumbents."

The program's success will require a long-term channel commitment, Hiu added.

"Close engagement and consistent support to partners will also be crucial to build long-term relationships with them," said Hiu. "Many early-stage partners often lose interest when vendors fail to engage or support them, or when they expect partners to do the grind work by themselves to establish credibility and bring in deals."