Juniper Networks Looks to Drop Specializations in Partner Program Reorganization

JUNIPER NETWORKS EXECUTIVE PARTNER SUMMIT — Juniper Networks is rolling out a $15 million investment in its Juniper Partner Advantage (JPA) Program.

Gordon Mackintosh (pictured above), group VP of global channel & virtual sales at Juniper Networks, announced the updates at the Juniper Executive Partner Summit in Madrid, Spain. Channel Futures was there.

The updates follow an announcement at the event by CEO Rami Rahim that the firm wants to double revenue across all segments in five years. Juniper also aims to double its enterprise business over the next three years.

One of the most notable shifts is doing away with specializations in favor of partners building full-stack solutions.

“We’re going to be helping you shift into becoming full-stack solution providers where you can build that customer life cycle management. [Furthermore], we’re going to move away from specializations that happen every two years, and you need to take people out of the business. We’re going to take you on a journey,” Mackintosh told partners.

“Over the next 12-24 months, we will evolve the program to be based on solution building outcomes, as opposed to simply collecting badges for your engineers. I think that will save you a lot of time and it will really enable you for the future.”

Introducing Self-Service Quoting and Pricing

The company has also unveiled the Partner Business Center and Velocity Pricing Tool. Along with PartnerLink, partners can close deals faster, with real-time access to their Juniper team.

Mackintosh described the quoting process as an “Achilles heel to say the least” for partners. He said the vendor is investing tens of millions of dollars in a unified buying experience that will launch later this year.

“That will give you self-service and the ability to configure pricing and quotes important,” he said.

There are also changes to the Elite Plus Partner Tier, which Juniper launched in 2022, for its most dedicated partners. The program generated 15% channel partner sales to enterprise accounts up to the third quarter of 2022. This year, the vendor is adding more support for these partners, including new ROI modeling, simplified MOU processes and new rewards to help drive growth.

Juniper also is expanding the Juniper Champions program. Relaunched in 2022, it grew from 800 to 2,300 ‘Champions’, and will expand to include more partners and distributors.

Finally, Juniper is growing its Diversity+ Partner Program. The program supports certified diverse partner businesses, growing to 44 partners in a six-month period, and expanding in 2023.

Juniper has around 500 partners globally in the Juniper Partner Advantage. Almost 200 of those are in EMEA, with 30 key partners in the UK.