Zoom just dropped a not-so-subtle hint to its sales-only partners Wednesday: start adding more value or get left behind.
The cloud communications provider introduced a points-based system to reward the value added resellers, technology advisors and managed service providers that engage with customers across the product life cycle through its new Zoom Up Partner Program.
With its big push into contact centers and Zoom Phone, the company needs partners who can implement and support these more complex solutions, Zoom Head of Global Channel GTM Nick Tidd told Channel Dive.
You can't just throw a lead to Zoom and walk away. Well, you can, but Zoom won't love you for it.
Keeping score, with points
Points-based partner programs are not new in the channel – Microsoft and Cisco are among the many vendors with such programs now. But in a unified communications and customer experience market heavily populated by sales-focused partners, Zoom’s move is novel.
“Zoom’s shift toward scoring influence, advisory value, and lifecycle impact signals a meaningful trend,” Nabila Lulow, EVP and head of global CX and E78 Partners told Channel Dive in an email. “As vendors increasingly emphasize customer outcomes, retention, and time-to-value, others may follow this direction to reward partners who shape strategy — not just source deals.”
It’s the third points-based partner program for Tidd, who joined Zoom from Poly, the HP subsidiary, in 2024.
Zoom faced initial resistance from partners that did not want to take the time to track their status, according to Tidd. The company created a self-service Partner Performance Dashboard to quell concerns. The dashboard, which show partners exactly how many certifications and accreditations they need to accrue, will launch Feb. 26.
The vendor is integrating its services certifications with its sales competencies. The goal is to reward Zoom’s ecosystem of partners for the value they provide, including non-sales activity.
Zoom will rank partners according to their business model. For example, resellers will be stacked up in three tiers, and advisors in just two.
“The partner program itself now aligns the characteristics of each of those partners,” Tidd said. “We didn't do that before. We were trying to do one paintbrush for everybody.”
Tiered partners, layered benefits
The new program aims to deliver tangible benefits: visibility and cash.
Only the top two reseller tiers and the top advisor tier will be listed on the Zoom partner locator website. And there will be a yet-to-be-determined financial benefit for the higher tiers. Zoom is considering the “rebates and promotions” partners might earn. Tidd is weighing whether higher tier advisors could earn a higher commission.
Zoom wants partners who do more. The message is clear:
“I'll take that business from you all day long, but I'm not going to treat you as an equal party to the first.”
Tidd added that the program has established compensation “parity” between its routes to market. Notably, VARs can now earn sales performance incentive funds usually reserved for the commission-based TAs, even if the VAR sells the Zoom product through a discount resale model.
“Now, where promotions are written, I am agnostic to the route to market,” Tidd said.
The road to services
The new partnership program ties into the Zoom Up Services Program the company launched in February. At the time, Zoom pledged not to compete with partners on services, Tidd said.
Zoom plans to make delegated admin access generally available in Q4 after piloting the capability with select partners. That lets partners manage customer environments instead of having to call Zoom for everything.
Zoom will conduct its first annual assessment of partners in October 2026 and tell them where they land. Partners can start preparing now, Tidd said:
“You've got essentially a 12-month runway to… build up the benefits and align to those programmatic elements that will position you and differentiate you in the marketplace.
