Zoom Up Partner Program Gets Big UpdatesZoom Up Partner Program Gets Big Updates

Communications and collaboration giant Zoom is launching a framework within the Zoom Up Partner Program called the Zoom Up Services Program.

"It's a program that allows partners to scale and invest at their desire and level of expertise," said Nick Tidd, Zoom's head of channel, noting that the latest iteration of its partner program is about "fully embracing the channel."

The latest update to the Zoom Up Partner Program comes just one year after the launch of version 2.0, with Tidd lending some perspective.

"You have a well-known brand, an outstanding portfolio and a financial balance sheet that allows the scale to grow, so what's the last pillar? It's creating an environment that enables partners to succeed with us," Tidd said.

The Zoom channel head cited the vendor's fourth-quarter financials set to drop on Feb. 24, contending that the missing aspect is how to perfect and capture the opportunity of services.

"You have to create a full stack of profitability," Tidd told Channel Futures.

Zoom Partner Program Updates

The company will place partners enrolled in the Zoom Up Partner program into a category of certified partners who can sell and deliver their services with a Zoom endorsement, meaning they earn accreditation and validation from the vendor.

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"More importantly, we have enabled them with the right tools around the product portfolio that is most active to them," Tidd said.

The Zoom channel executive said there's another element to the equation: partner-delivered program members.

"We will facilitate co-sell opportunities whereby we will have partners deliver on our behalf or for other partners who don't have that same skill set," Tidd said.

Both of these partner types come with a curriculum that Zoom will roll out over the next year, "but we will focus initially on contact center and Zoom Phone, eventually presenting other parts of the portfolio over the year."

Zoom Up Partner Program 3.0 In the Works

The Zoom channel executive advised us that, in tandem, Zoom will introduce various financial incentives for partners over the year as well, eventually culminating in the 3.0 version of the Zoom Partner Up Program by year's end.

Since joining Zoom in August, Tidd said he's made it his goal to create offerings that allow Zoom to scale, "but there is still some work to be done," he said.

Before Zoom can release version 3.0 to partners, Tidd said, "Our quote-to-cash tools and those for order enablement/fulfillment need some work," including feedback gathered from partners, Channel Futures learned.

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Version 3.0 will roll out in two parts. First, Zoom will focus on APIs, web platforms and enabling direct procurement partners globally. Second, in the first week of May, Zoom will introduce an indirect quoting tool, something Tidd said will allow the vendor to "get a handle on our quote-to-cash system while enabling services, as this is part of the profitability equation that's been missing."

On the job for six months, Tidd said he's been looking for ways to improve. Since starting, partner tickets in ServiceNow have been slashed in half, a sign that things could be on the right track during his tenure thus far.

"Those tickets center around onboarding, contracts, commission payments, etc., and as the tickets come down and our number of net-new partners coming on board improves, it is a positive sign that we are addressing critical areas that have previously been inhibitors," Tidd told Channel Futures.