SolarWinds has announced a significant overhaul of its global partner programme, positioning the update as a strategic reset designed to strengthen partner-led growth and improve customer outcomes across its ecosystem.
The refreshed programme was unveiled at the company’s 2026 Partner Summit in February and introduces a range of enhancements spanning partner benefits, enablement, marketing investment, and overall partner experience. SolarWinds said the changes are intended to help partners scale more predictably, compete more effectively, and deliver measurable value for customers operating increasingly complex IT environments.
“Our enhanced 2026 Partner Programme provides a renewed foundation to drive great customer outcomes and an improved overall partner ecosystem,” said Barb Huelskamp, vice-president of global channel sales and alliances at SolarWinds. “By aligning our strategy with our purpose, mission, and CARE values, we’re establishing a framework that can support predictability for our partners and scalable growth for partners and their customers.”
A central element of the updated programme is the introduction of new tiered benefits. As partners progress through higher programme tiers, they will gain access to expanded incentives and increased discounts, with performance metrics including channel-initiated growth playing a larger role. SolarWinds said it is also working with its distributor network to ensure programme benefits and requirements are cascaded more consistently to resellers, including the publication of reseller-specific benefits.
In North America, the company plans to pilot a new rewards centre that will allow partner sales teams to accrue points redeemable for cash and other incentives, adding a further performance-based component to the programme.
The programme refresh also places increased emphasis on partner-led demand generation. SolarWinds said it is expanding its marketing investments to help partners build and sustain sales pipelines more consistently. Depending on programme tier, partners will gain access to proposal-based marketing funds, co-brandable assets, and pre-packaged “campaigns in a box” available through the partner portal. The company said these tools are designed to help partners generate qualified demand and accelerate growth within their target markets.
Enablement is another focus area for 2026. Building on updates introduced last year, including role-based certifications, SolarWinds plans to expand its enablement curriculum with new content and specialisations aligned to subject-matter expertise, services, and vertical markets. These will include dedicated tracks for public sector partners, reflecting continued demand for observability and IT management solutions in regulated and mission-critical environments.
Alongside programme structure and incentives, SolarWinds said it is investing in improving the overall partner experience. Planned updates to the partner portal include streamlined deal registration, enhanced lead-sharing capabilities, an improved not-for-resale request process, and new onboarding and business planning checklists intended to reduce administrative friction for partners.
“This programme reflects our serious commitment to a partner-first culture at SolarWinds,” said Sudhakar Ramakrishna, president and chief executive officer of SolarWinds. “By equipping partners to help customers predict disruptions, reduce risk, and recover faster, we enable real operational resilience. These investments are focused on accelerating time to value and helping partners deliver meaningful outcomes for their customers and solve complex problems via simple, secure, and powerful solution.”
The partner programme announcement was accompanied by SolarWinds’ annual partner awards, recognising performance and contribution across its global partner community. The company said further details on the updated programme and on-demand access to the Partner Summit are available through its partner portal.
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