WatchGuardOne: What’s in store for the partner program in 2025

Choosing which IT vendors to work with – and which partner programs to join – is a big decision for solution providers.

WatchGuard’s award-winning partner program WatchGuardONE helps partners build recurring revenue and increase their go-to-market capabilities regardless of their business model.

The only security vendor with a platform and organization purpose-built for MSP success, WatchGuard’s partner program aims to equip partners with the necessary tools and support to adapt and expand their business.

WatchGuardONE offers three levels of participation: Silver, Gold, and Platinum, with partners able to access product discounts, free and low-cost training classes, 24x7 technical support, flexible payment options, sales and marketing resources, partner tools to manage renewals, leads and syndicated content and access to WatchGuard’s growing portfolio of solutions.

WatchGuardONE partners receive front-end discounts, back-end rebates, deal registration, co-op funds, MDF, SPIFF programs.

The program emphasizes partner engagement, with partners able to increase their status in the program through engagement-based actions such as earning sales and technical certifications and hands-on use of WatchGuard products.

As part of CRN’s 2025 Partner Program Guide , WatchGuard shared how its partner program has evolved over the past year and its plans for the rest of 2025.

Read on to find out what’s on the cards for the WatchGuardONE partner program and how WatchGuard is responding to the rise in Cloud marketplaces and advances in AI.

What are the most significant changes made to your partner program over the past year?

As Michelle Welch, CMO and SVP of Business Strategy, puts it: "We built an in-house partner marketing platform capable of handling marketing funds and more. To better understand our partner's business priorities, we expanded our "Voice of the Partner" program. We've also honed our Sales Certification Program to deliver best-in-class go-to-market training and instituted a partner feedback process.”

What goals are you setting for your program in 2025?

“WatchGuard’s goals for its partner program in 2025 include increasing the total number of levelled WatchGuardONE partners, expanding our robust catalog of Sales and Technical trainings, as well as developing new strategies to engage the partner community and serve their ever-evolving needs.

What element of your program do you wish more partners took advantage of and what are its benefits?

“WatchGuardONE Specializations unlock a universe of benefits, incentives and discounts designed to help partners be more successful and increase their go-to-market capabilities. We've seen that partners with three or more specializations are more likely to see increased sales and encourage our partners to explore opportunities for further Specializations.”

How is your channel program adapting/changing its strategy given the rise of cloud marketplaces?

“WatchGuard has a longstanding and successful relationship with Pax 8 and we are continuing to keep a watchful eye on this space as the category evolves. However, WatchGuard has always been and remains committed to being a channel-first company and values the relationships we build with our partners.”

How has your partner program changed over the last 12 months to incorporate or support the selling of AI solutions by your channel partners?

“WatchGuard uses AI to drive automation and efficiency. Our AI-driven XDR and MDR solutions enable threat detection and response for threats including ransomware, supply-chain attacks, and more, delivering correlated alerts and rapid automated remediation. We provide sales and technical training on AI as it is integrated at the product level.

“As part of our commitment to our partners, we are currently exploring where and how to best use integrate artificial intelligence technologies into our channel partner program so that the integration would create beneficial and profitable opportunities for WatchGuard partners. We look forward to providing more updates in 2025.”

Want to find out more? Read the guide here.