Alternative Cloud Provider Vultr Opens Partner Program, Touts Margins

Cloud channel partners looking for avenues around the Big Three – Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud – have a new option. On Tuesday, alternative cloud provider Vultr made its partner program generally available. The Florida-based company seeks to add more managed services providers, resellers and so-called technology innovators to its roster.

More than 500 partners already work with Vultr, the vendor says. These folks “are frustrated by the limited margins, high prices and restrictive programs of the big tech cloud providers,” Vultr notes.

In direct response to those frustrations, Vultr says its partners earn “industry best” margins on computing and storage. Pricing also can come in around 50% lower than the hyperscalers’ rates, Vultr says. Moreover, partners get “channel-friendly” packaging such as annual SKUs. At the same time, MSPs, VARs, developers and other participants can build services on top of Vultr’s platform.

Vultr’s Shane Zide

“As the Big Tech clouds have gotten bigger and more powerful, partners have been left with shrinking margins on cloud compute and cloud storage, increasingly complex program rules, and less personalized attention,” said Shane Zide, vice president of global sales and channel at Vultr. “Vultr’s new partner program is a fresh alternative.”

Indeed, more alternative cloud providers continue to crop up and target the channel. Linode has been around the longest, since 2003; there’s also DigitalOcean. Vultr, founded in 2014, joins those competitors in an industry where no one believes they can actually replace the hyperscalers, but instead act as options or complements. As such, Vultr delivers cloud computing, storage and bare metal through partnerships with providers including Digital Realty, GTT, Level 3 and Equinix; it even has its own marketplace.

We wanted to learn more about alternative cloud provider Vultr, its partner program and plans for the coming year. So Channel Futures sat down with Zide, a familiar face in the channel. He worked for almost five years at CDW as a founding member of the cloud team. He also spent brief stints at Revenue.io and at Digital Ocean. Prior to those roles, Zide served as channel sales director at Verizon. He has led the Vultr channel since April 2021. This year, expect to see him spend a lot of time with partners. His intent?

“[T]o make sure we build and grow our partner programs in a way that preserves our foundation of high partner margins and low barriers to entry,” he said. “We want Vultr partners to have a fast ROI so that they are excited to grow with us.”

Check out Channel Futures’ Q&A with Zide as he explains more about the Vultr partner program, from structure and margins to support and expansion. We have lightly edited the discussion for clarity in the slideshow above.