Dashlane Revamps Partner Program, Hires First Channel Chief For Credential Security Push

Key updates in the new channel program include a shift from a medal-based system to a points-based program that rewards partners for a variety of valuable activities in addition to sales performance, Dashlane CEO John Bennett tells CRN.

Dashlane announced a redesigned partner program Wednesday along with the hire of its first-ever channel chief as the credential security vendor looks to rely more heavily on partners for its next phase of growth.

In an exclusive interview with CRN, Dashlane CEO John Bennett (pictured) said that the company is seeking to accelerate its work with the channel focused on the vendor’s recently released Omnix platform — with the company ultimately seeking to expand from about half of new annual recurring revenue generated through partners currently.

“We want to get to where a minimum of 75 percent of our new ARR is coming through these relationships,” Bennett said. “And so we're making appropriate investments there — in go-to-market support, incentives, headcount, infrastructure.”

Key updates in the new channel program include a shift from a medal-based system to a points-based program that rewards partners for a variety of valuable activities in addition to sales performance.

The new program also comes as Dashlane looks to expand from its roots as a provider of password management to a broader credential security vendor.

As part of Dashlane’s new channel push, the company disclosed to CRN that it has hired cybersecurity channel veteran Tom Laffaye as its first director of channel sales.

Laffaye was previously an early channel hire at Okta, joining the identity security vendor in 2013 and staying through to the company's initial public offering in 2017. Most recently, Laffaye headed channel sales at Censys.

With the launch of the new points-based partner program, Dashlane is recognizing that the “industry has shifted from the typical reselling model to more of a consultative sales approach,” Laffaye said.

The new program is a solid vehicle for delivery of Dashlane’s Omnix platform, which offers “complete credential security all in one platform,” he added.

The company — which has 180 partners currently — is now expecting to see “a lot of new partners leaning in” with the combination of the new AI-powered platform and channel program, Laffaye told CRN.

At one Dashlane partner, People Driven Technology, the launch of the new partner program and channel chief hire is welcome news, according to Matt Nelson, security sales specialist at Byron Center, Mich.-based People Driven Technology.

Nelson applauded the decision to hire a channel chief with the “caliber, personality and drive” that Laffaye brings to the role. People Driven Technology has been partnering with Dashlane for less than six months, and so the hire of an experienced channel chief makes it “so much easier for us in a new partnership to get things up and running quickly,” Nelson said.

The move to a points-based channel program is also a strong indicator of where Dashlane is looking to go with partners, he said.

“It motivates both sides of the equation to develop and further the partnership, versus just giving us a [sales] number,” Nelson said. “It rewards effort for us to go out and build this [partnership].”

‘Differentiated Technology’

In terms of product capabilities, Dashlane is also seeking to help partners stand out by offering an easier way to help their customers protect credentials from compromise, Bennett said.

One major way Dashlane does that through its Omnix platform is by offering a browser extension that can automatically assist with protecting credentials even if an employee takes no action, he said.

“It doesn't require the employee to set up their vault before there is a level of protection on them,” Bennett said. “I think that's probably the key differentiation versus everyone else in the space.”

Ultimately, when it comes to Dashlane’s push to engage with more partners, “we recognize there are a lot of vendors vying for their attention,” he said. “We're bringing what we believe is differentiated technology, but it's also technology where the enterprise sees that value sooner — and so the contract values are larger, which is also beneficial to partners.”