Partnerships are a key part of Splunk’s business. In fact, 90% of the cybersecurity company’s revenues are impacted by its partnerships, according to channel chief Gretchen O’Hara, vice president of Worldwide Partners & Alliances. She said this during her keynote at the company's Global Partner Summit at Splunk .conf24 in Las Vegas.
Cultivated and maintained through the Partnerverse program, Splunk’s partnerships — especially its MSP and MSSP relationships — are as much key to the success and growth of the company as the technology innovation it shares with Cisco, which purchased Splunk in September 2023 for $28 billion.
Partners including MSSPs and MSPs have been keeping a close eye on Splunk and Cisco's partner program integration on the months since the acquisition. Some analysts have said it will take 18 months to 2 years before a completely integrated partner program emerges. Meanwhile, the organizations are moving in the direction of having the sum be greater than the separate parts with executives from each company signaling cooperation and plans ahead.
In terms of cybersecurity technology, Splunk and Cisco both offer a host of technologies for MSPs and MSSPs — a key result of the merger being the integration of Splunk Enterprise for Security with Cisco XDR.
O’Hara was joined on stage by Cisco go-to-market president and Splunk GM Gary Steele and Cisco CEO and Chair Chuck Robbins to reinforce the importance of partnerships to the “Splunkers” in attendance. Together, they touted Splunk’s modernization of its Partnerverse program, including an open platform commitment and an “enhanced partner-led culture” across Splunk and Cisco.
Splunk and Cisco Channel Partnership Growth
The keynote session was also an occasion to introduce a new performance dashboard for partners, which will be available by the end of the year. Splunk is helping partners to spend time learning about Cisco's security portfolio to pursue opportunities, while the launch of a new partner acceleration initiative is replacing legacy programs with easier migration.
In addition, Splunk and Cisco said they are developing a "gold standard" set of tools and frameworks to help partners build world-class applications. Company leaders noted that Splunk Cloud is now offered via Microsoft Azure.
Also on the partnership front, Splunk has extended its early access program to welcome more partners globally. Designed to create value for partners, Splunk said its Partnerverse program operates on four pillars:
- Simplicity
- Consistency
- Transparency
- Adaptability
Splunk said its Partnerverse is designed by Splunk’s partners. Financial incentives include:
- Help building a profitable Splunk practice
- Tools, resources and training
- Go-to-market assistance to expand business opportunities
- Events and information that enable engagement with Splunk teams and customers
Other incentives include new partner rebates, including a cloud rebate offering starting in August, as well as new solution badges to offer flexibility and reduce complexity for resellers. Splunk allows its partners to choose “associate,” “premier” or “elite” partnership tiers based on their business model.
Splunk Announces Partner Awards
Splunk describes its 2024 Splunk Partner Awards as a "testament to the partners of the Splunk community who have made significant strides in creating positive social impact, delivering breakthrough solutions, and showcasing customer success.” These partners, recognized in specific categories, are an integral part of the Splunk Partnerverse Program.
Accordingly, Splunk announced the year’s winners at .conf24, with the Global Partner of the Year award going to Accenture, which operates an MSSP business unit.
