Dive Brief:
- Pure Storage revamped its partner program to focus on services and technical expertise rather than pure resale volume. The data management vendor updated its tiering, added specializations and aligned partner incentives with customer outcomes, according to the Wednesday announcement.
- One of the key features of the update is an Ambassador tier designed to recognize a select group of partners with deep technical expertise across the Pure Storage platform, the company said. The changes build on smaller tweaks introduced last year, signaling a renewed commitment partner enablement, services and simplified engagement models.
- “The evolution of our partner program reflects Pure’s continued investment in enabling partners’ success,” said Amy Fowler, GM of Pure Storage’s commercial line of business, in the announcement. “The introduction of the Ambassador tier is a key step in helping our partners embed Pure into their solutions, while reinforcing our dedication to an indirect-first business model.”
Dive Insight:
Pure Storage’s partner program overhaul reflects a broader channel move toward outcome-based incentives and tiering tied to technical expertise.
A key theme of the refresh is a move away from volume-driven incentives toward verified technical capability and solution specialization. Pure Storage introduced Solution Practice Designations for resellers to recognize partners that demonstrate specialization in four areas: AI and analytics, cyber resilience, cloud, and application modernization.
The designations are intended to help partners stand out in an increasingly crowded market while giving customers clearer signals around capability and outcomes, the company said.
Program changes — effective immediately — span the company’s reseller, managed service and distributor channels.
For MSPs, the program emphasizes data-centric solutions, including private and sovereign clouds, storage services and backup and disaster recovery. The company said it will prioritize collaboration with MSPs that deliver these services, using Pure Storage as the underlying data platform.
Distributors also play a larger role in the updated model, which expanded distributor responsibilities around partner enablement, training and readiness, supported by new growth incentives and increased marketing investment.
Partner feedback provided in the announcement indicated that the solutions and outcomes shift aligns with customer demand.
Prashant Singh, VP of partner alliances at Insight, said the renewed focus on enablement and incentives supports partners delivering end-to-end modernization projects with greater confidence. “Pure Storage’s solutions-first partner evolution allows us to deliver end-to-end solutions that align infrastructure, data and business outcomes,” said Singh.
Technology ecosystem partners also welcomed the move.
Michelle Graff, SVP of global partners and channels at Commvault, said customers are increasingly looking to partners to help manage cyber risk and resilience. “Pure Storage’s solutions-focused partner program creates new opportunities for partners to collaborate, differentiate, and deliver integrated solutions,” she said.
Pure Storage emphasized that the program is designed to support partners’ long-term profitability and growth, particularly as customers accelerate investments in AI, cyber resilience and hybrid cloud architectures.
“These updates deliver our most rewarding program to date,” said Geoff Greenlaw, Pure Storage's VP of channel for EMEA and Latin America, told Channel Dive. “We’re giving partners clearer paths to margin, more predictable growth engines, and the support they need to succeed with customers in 2026 and beyond.”
