Code42
Ryan Gruening
Director, Worldwide Channels
Focus on the reps NOT the partners. You'll never win the whole partner, but you can certainly win a percentage of the partner reps. Pick the right partners. You can't find the right reps if you have the wrong partner.
Understanding the partners your customers will buy from is critical to the velocity of growth for your program. Partnering with companies that sell similar technologies is critical. Make sure your sales reps are invested in the channel. Building a program without your sales reps buying in makes for a very slow start and will not scale in the long run.