In the dynamic world of enterprise data storage, the shift from traditional disk to all-flash architecture is not just a technological evolution but a fundamental reshaping of the IT channel. At the forefront of this movement is Pure Storage, a company that has built its entire go-to-market strategy around its partners. To unpack how they are empowering the channel to lead this charge, we’re joined by Maryanne Baines, a leading analyst in cloud technology and enterprise infrastructure. With deep experience evaluating technology stacks and partner programs, she provides a sharp perspective on what it takes to succeed in this competitive landscape.
Our conversation explores Pure Storage’s strategic focus on cultivating a smaller, more elite group of partners and how this approach fuels significant growth in recurring revenue. We’ll examine how partners are capitalizing on major hardware performance boosts to address new market opportunities, particularly those created by recent shifts in the virtualization space. We will also delve into the tangible benefits and specialized training that define Pure’s top-tier partners, discuss how partners can build their own profitable service practices on the Pure platform, and look at the digital tools that streamline the path from opportunity to sale. The discussion culminates with a look toward the inevitable all-flash future and the channel’s crucial role in the final chapter of the disk-to-flash transition.
Geoff Greenlaw mentioned “doubling down on fewer, bigger bets” within the channel. Given the 22% growth in subscriptions, could you walk us through the practical steps Pure takes to identify and invest in these key partners to drive that kind of recurring revenue growth?
This strategy is really about moving from breadth to depth, and it’s a smart play. The identification process is data-driven, focusing on partners who not only hit certain annual booking thresholds but also show a serious commitment to learning the technology through certifications. This weeds out the partners who are just moving boxes. Once a partner achieves that ‘Elite’ status, the investment goes far beyond just better back-end rebates. Pure pours resources into them—advanced training, dedicated support from their technical and business-critical services teams, and co-investment in marketing. This creates a highly skilled partner who can confidently lead a customer through a complex data storage transformation, making it natural to position subscription-based, as-a-service offerings like Evergreen//One. That 22% subscription growth isn’t an accident; it’s the direct result of having a smaller, more capable channel that is deeply integrated and enabled to sell modern, recurring revenue solutions.
The text highlights major enhancements to the FlashArray X range, making it 30% faster for databases. How are partners leveraging this performance boost, especially when positioning Pure as an alternative for customers concerned about recent Broadcom VMware licensing changes and seeking new virtualized environments?
The smartest partners are using this 30% performance leap as a powerful conversation starter that addresses a much bigger pain point. They aren’t just leading with “Hey, we have faster storage.” Instead, they’re approaching customers who are reeling from the sticker shock of Broadcom’s VMware licensing changes and saying, “While you’re being forced to re-evaluate your entire virtualization stack, let’s solve a fundamental problem and build your new environment on a platform that guarantees performance for your most mission-critical databases.” It’s a brilliant tactical move. The performance boost becomes the proof point for a larger strategic discussion about cost optimization, resilience, and future-proofing. They are effectively turning a market disruption created by a competitor into a compelling event to displace legacy infrastructure and secure a new, high-value workload for Pure.
Your program has Elite and Preferred tiers based on bookings and certifications. Beyond higher back-end rebates, what specific investments does an Elite partner receive, and can you share an example of how these resources help them win a competitive take-out deal against legacy disk systems?
The difference is transformative; it’s about creating genuine experts, not just resellers. An Elite partner gains access to a deeper level of enablement. They’re not just taking an online course; they’re getting the investment needed to achieve advanced certifications like the FlashArray Architect Professional. This means they can architect a complete solution, not just quote a part number. Imagine an Elite partner in a head-to-head battle against a legacy disk vendor for a big deal. The disk vendor is stuck talking about the cost per terabyte. The Pure Elite partner, armed with this deep training, can completely reframe the conversation. They’ll use Pure’s own cost calculators to build a bulletproof TCO model that demonstrates how all-flash will slash the customer’s power and cooling costs—a huge factor when you consider data centers consume up to 3% of the world’s electricity. They can then leverage specific rewards for a partner-sourced competitive take-out, making the financial argument to rip and replace that old disk array simply undeniable.
The Service Specialization Program allows partners to offer their own branded services. What is the process for a partner to achieve this specialization, and how does it change their profitability model compared to simply reselling the Evergreen//One storage-as-a-service offering?
The path to achieving the Service Specialization is a serious commitment to building expertise. It requires a partner to invest heavily in their technical team, guiding them through a rigorous series of IT professional services certifications to achieve ‘Specialist’ or ‘Expert’ level credentials in areas like FlashArray implementation, migration, or support. This isn’t a weekend workshop; it’s about proving you have the certified talent to deliver. The reward, however, completely changes their business. Instead of earning a standard margin on a resale of Evergreen//One, they are now building their own branded, high-margin professional services practice. They control the service delivery, they own the customer relationship, and they wrap their unique intellectual property around Pure’s technology. This makes them incredibly sticky and elevates their profitability from transactional sales to high-value, recurring service engagements.
The content lists tools like the Pure Partner Intelligence dashboard and Pure Realize. Could you provide a real-world example of how a partner uses these tools, from identifying a new opportunity to building out a price quote for a FlashBlade AI solution?
It’s a workflow designed for speed and precision. A partner might start their day in the Pure Partner Intelligence dashboard. The analytics could flag an existing customer showing a massive spike in unstructured data growth, a classic indicator that they are preparing for an AI or machine learning initiative. That’s the initial lead. With that insight, the partner pivots to Pure Realize to access solution expertise. They can pull up certified designs and proposals for AI workloads on FlashBlade, which helps them build a credible and compelling business case for the customer. From there, they dive into the CPQ—configure, price, quote—tooling. They use the FlashBlade//S cost calculator to model out the solution, ensuring it meets the customer’s performance and budget needs. Within a very short period, they’ve gone from a data-driven insight to a fully formed, technically sound, and accurately priced proposal, all without leaving Pure’s partner ecosystem. It takes what used to be a weeks-long process and condenses it dramatically.
Founder John Colgrove spoke about an “all-flash future” and a deal hastening the “death of disk.” What is your forecast for the complete enterprise transition from disk to flash, and what critical role will the channel play in managing the final stages of this shift?
My forecast is that while the “death of disk” for primary enterprise workloads is inevitable, the final transition will be a methodical, workload-by-workload battle fought over the next five to seven years. The inertia of legacy systems is powerful. The channel’s role in these final stages is absolutely paramount and has two distinct functions. First, they must be the ‘business case architects.’ They have to move beyond performance talk and become experts in articulating the sustainability and TCO story—proving with hard numbers how replacing disk reduces data center footprints, power consumption, and cooling costs. Second, and most critically, they will be the ‘migration masters.’ Getting decades of business-critical applications and data off of entrenched disk systems is a complex, high-stakes process. The partners who have invested in the certifications and services specializations to expertly manage these migrations will be the ones who not only survive but thrive, guiding customers across the finish line into their all-flash future.
