Palo Alto Networks on Thursday unveiled the lastest version of its NextWave partner program with new enhancements, incentives and training.

NextWave 3.0 will help partners differentiate their services. Furthermore, they can build new security expertise and grow profitable businesses as they meet customers’ needs.

Palo Alto Networks‘ NextWave partner program includes about 6,500 partners who help 80,000 customers globally with the company’s technologies. In fiscal year 2020, 900 NextWave partners doubled their business through Palo Alto Networks.

Palo Alto Networks continues to expand its integrated platform of cloud, network and AI-driven threat protection capabilities. Its partners have been instrumental in providing complementary solutions to help customers implement the best security architectures.

Building Its Capabilities

Karl Soderlund is Palo Alto Networks’ senior vice president of worldwide channels.

Palo Alto Networks’ Karl Soderlund

“The cybersecurity landscape is more complex than ever,” he said. “For more than two years, Palo Alto Networks has been building an integrated platform of capabilities, both organically and through acquisitions, to address fundamental shifts in the network, the cloud [and] intelligent threat protection. These market dynamics have given rise to a substantial services economy in cybersecurity, and a clear opportunity for partners to address these emerging needs.”

Customers are looking to refresh their security architectures to meet the challenges of digital transformation, Soderlund said. And they need security experts to help them.

“NextWave 3.0 was designed to help our partners tap into these opportunities by leveraging our entire platform,” he said. “This is our effort to bring partners the enhancements, tools and incentives to build cybersecurity expertise where the need for that expertise is greatest.”

Latest Program Enhancements

The latest NextWave partner program will:

Moreover, NextWave 3.0 includes new enablement resources and ways for partners to earn or maintain NextWave status.

“Since we launched the first NextWave enhancements in 2019, we’ve been listening to our channel to invest in the segments and capabilities where partners can bring the highest value to the customer experience and where they can grow profitably,” Soderlund said. “Some outcomes of that listening have been opening Prisma Cloud for resale, in addition to the deal referrals already in place, more focus on our partner MSSP programs … and expanding paths for training and enablement.”

Palo Alto Networks brought on 44 new MSSPs the past quarter.

Impact of COVID-19

The pandemic significantly accelerated the need for work from anywhere, cloud adoption and AI-driven threat intelligence, Soderlund said.

“[The] SolarWinds [hack] compounded that crisis, which should compel any organization to reexamine its real-time visibility capabilities across its digital footprint,” he said. “We didn’t build our security platform to address COVID-19. But as a company, the work we’ve been doing for two-plus years to build the future of the network, cloud and AI-driven threat protection, along with the focus of NextWave 3.0 on these areas, will help our customers and partners address the cybersecurity demands it has created.”

Chris Barney is senior vice president of Presidio‘s cybersecurity practice.

“More than ever, our customers in every industry are looking for IT to transform businesses with advanced technologies — to drive innovation, connectivity, lower costs and optimize processes,” he said. “We are very pleased to partner with Palo Alto Networks, and to leverage NextWave 3.0, which will help us build our security services and expertise across the life cycle of security needs for our customers.”