RingCentral’s Partner Program has one guiding tenet: make it easy for partners to work with RingCentral.
It starts by eliminating channel conflict, a priority of our program since day one. But that’s just the beginning—we’re also committed to listening and adapting, taking feedback, and turning it into action.
That feedback can come in many forms. Sometimes it’s direct input from partners, which resulted in substantial changes to our program this past year. Sometimes it’s in the numbers. For example, in Q4 of 2020, channel ARR increased 55% year over year. And sometimes that feedback comes from independent analysts.
That’s why today, we’re honored to announce that for the sixth consecutive year, CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has awarded RingCentral’s Partner Program five stars in their 2021 Partner Program Guide. This makes us the only pure-cloud UCaaS provider to earn the highest possible ranking over that period of time.
So how have we continued to support our partners, given the events of last year?
Remote enablement
First, it started with revamping our programs to connect with partners remotely, with a full transition of our training and strategic events to an all-virtual format. By only focusing on high-value events that drive sales, we always try to stay cognizant of our partners’ return on time invested, especially in a world of webinar fatigue.
It also meant a full redesign of our Partner Portal, with more resources than ever for partners to own the conversation around cloud adoption. Providing an easy-to-navigate, one-stop-shop for any sales or marketing need is yet another way to enable partners digitally.
Without in-person events, we also sought new ways to recognize our top performers, with the introduction of the High-Performing Partners Program. This multi-tiered rewards program offers increasing benefits based on partner performance, showing our appreciation in ways that go beyond fancy dinners (although we’re certainly excited to host a few of those soon!).
Adapting and evolving
Another major change, as I alluded to above, is a completely new way for partners to do business with RingCentral in 2020: the IGNITE! Partner Program. Designed to give full control over the sales process for SMB and Mid-Market deals, IGNITE! grants partners the power to swiftly pursue new opportunities. And while it was in planning well before last year, this speed allowed partners to more quickly transition customers faced with sudden office closures to the cloud, helping to ensure business continuity.
Similarly, on a product level, RingCentral responded to demand by introducing Glip Pro and Glip Pro+. Featuring our integrated message and video capabilities without a PBX service, this provides partners yet another path to the cloud for their customers who don’t need phone capabilities. In this era of rapid digital transformation, it’s all about allowing partners to connect to customers on their terms.
Building the future of work, together
For all the above and more, we’re proud of the part we continue to play in building today’s work-from-anywhere world. Thank you to CRN, and thank you to our partners for their continued support in helping us improve year after year.
On a personal note, I’d also like to thank Lisa Del Real, from whom I took over Global Partner Programs when I joined RingCentral last year. Lisa built the Partner Program into the industry powerhouse it is today, and I hope to carry on that legacy by continually listening to our partners and finding better ways to work together.
If you’re not a RingCentral Partner yet, there’s no better time to join us on this journey!
The 2021 Partner Program Guide will be featured in the April 2021 issue of CRN and online at www.CRN.com/PPG.
Originally published Mar 29, 2021, updated Mar 17, 2021