Juniper Partner Advantage 2024: Elevating Partner Success with AI, Sustainability, and Enhanced Support
CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Harshavardhan Kathaley Director – Commercial Sales & Area Partner Director (India & South)
- Can you provide an overview of the new elements introduced in the Juniper Partner Advantage (JPA) Program for 2024?
The Juniper Partner Advantage (JPA) Program for 2024 introduces new elements to help partners leverage AI for IT Operations (AIOps) to offer managed networking services for increased reliability, agility, and reach. These elements aim to unlock new revenue opportunities for partners as they equip customers with solutions that enable a consistent experience-first approach across their networking infrastructure.
- What is the significance of the new Partner Assured designation, and how does it benefit Juniper’s partners?
The new Partner Assured designation provides partners with third-party validation from Information Security Systems International (ISSI) of their capabilities across the customer lifecycle. This designation helps accelerate partner profitability by equipping partners with market leading AIOps and verification of superior customer outcomes and lower operational costs.
- How has Juniper transformed its managed service provider (MSP) designation, and what impact does this have on customer service and partner profitability?
Juniper has transformed its MSP designation by integrating new AI capabilities, resulting in improved customer service and increased profitability for partners. This transformation has led to a 44 percent growth in the number of partners receiving the designation, showcasing the tangible benefits of AI-driven networking solutions in enhancing partner operations and customer satisfaction.
- Could you explain the role of the new Advisor designation and how it rewards partners?
Advisor designation is provided to non-Juniper transacting partners who are defining, influencing purchasing decisions, and potentially supporting post-sales design, deployment, management, and services for their customers while gaining rich benefits when leading with Juniper. The Advisor designation rewards partners for influencing customer decisions and optimizing customer success.
- How is Juniper addressing environmental sustainability through its Partner Advantage program?
Juniper is addressing environmental sustainability through JPA by amplifying partners’ efforts to drive sustainable outcomes. This includes encouraging partners to work with customers to achieve key climate goals, such as decarbonization, adoption of sustainable technology, and waste reduction and recycling. By promoting sustainability, Juniper and its partners are not only contributing to environmental conservation but also appealing to eco-conscious customers who prioritize sustainable business practices.
- What are the key highlights of the Juniper Partner Advantage 2024 program, especially regarding vertical expertise and GTM engagement?
The key highlights of the Juniper Partner Advantage 2024 program include the recognition of partners’ vertical expertise, enhanced GTM engagement, and the introduction of the Deal Central Dashboard to streamline the deal registration process. These highlights emphasize Juniper’s commitment to empowering partners with the tools and resources needed to deliver speed, scale, and value to customers in a dynamic marketplace.
- Can you elaborate on the Deal Central Dashboard and how it streamlines the deal registration process for partners?
The Deal Central Dashboard is a centralized platform that consolidates Juniper partner deals, quotes, and marketing leads, enabling partners to respond more efficiently. This tool allows partners to manage their deals effectively, ensuring quick responses to customer inquiries and enabling partners to focus on delivering value-added services that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- What growth and success metrics has Juniper observed in its partners, such as the Champions Program and sales growth for partners with specializations?
Juniper has observed significant growth and success metrics in its partners, such as a 233 percent growth in participants YoY in the Champions Program and a 20 percent sales growth YoY for partners invested with three or more Juniper specializations. These metrics demonstrate the positive impact of Juniper’s partner programs on partner growth and customer satisfaction, highlighting the effectiveness of Juniper’s approach in driving partner success.
- How does Juniper aim to deliver speed, scale, and value to customers through its partners?
Juniper Networks leverages its Juniper Partner Advantage Program and AI-Native Networking Platform to empower partners in delivering speed, scale, and value to customers. The program introduces the Partner Assured designation for quick response to customer needs and transforms the MSP designation with new AI capabilities, driving partner growth. The Advisor designation rewards partners for customer success, enhancing their scalability. Juniper’s focus on environmental sustainability adds value to eco-conscious customers, further enhancing the customer experience.
- What resources and support does Juniper offer to partners through the Partner Advantage program, and where can partners find more information?
Juniper offers various benefits and resources throughout the partnership journey. For 2024, we’ve introduced several new features and functions to make it even easier for our partners to take advantage of the opportunities available within JPA, including our new Learning Academy that includes enhanced courses. We also have our partner marketing tools/program to help our partners generate more leads and create more upselling and cross selling opportunities. This is in addition to our Market Development Funds (MDF) to drive joint demand generation activities.
Finally, we have our Juniper Seller Rewards that incentivize our partner’s sales representatives to engage in a variety of sales-focused activities, such as Deal Registrations and Advantage Insights – a detailed performance dashboard tracker – to help facilitate the closure of new opportunities and business expansion.
