Palo Alto Networks is launching a new initiative designed to push its cybersecurity platform deeper into the midmarket and small-to-medium business sectors by handing more territory to its channel partners, according to executives at the company. The new Commercial Velocity Program aims to increase sales velocity in customer segments the vendor historically struggled to penetrate, relying on solution providers to handle the sales process rather than assigning direct sales representatives to the accounts. This marks a significant shift for the cybersecurity giant, which is simultaneously pushing to expand its platformization strategy and AI-powered security offerings to a broader range of clients.
Chief partnerships officer Simone Gammeri confirmed that the program will roll out globally after a successful pilot in Japan, the U.K., and Australia and New Zealand. Under this new structure, a specific pool of downmarket accounts will be designated as partner-only territories. Palo Alto Networks will not assign direct sales staff to these accounts, with Gammeri stating that the company will “draw a line and say, all these accounts are served just by partners.” Inside sales representatives will remain available to support the partners, but the vendor will not own the opportunities, allowing the partners to go and mine the prospect base by themselves.
The financial mechanics of the program are designed to remove the friction of acquiring new customers. Gammeri explained that the company is redirecting what used to be its cost of customer acquisition back to the partners and distributors in the form of rebates. This change creates a “massive profitability opportunity” for partners who were previously too small to receive these incentives. It builds on previous updates to the NextWave Partner Program, where rebates were increased by two or three times and rules restricting partner eligibility were removed.
Stephen Ayoub, co-founder and president of Chicago-based solution provider Ahead, noted that customers are investing in large Palo Alto enterprise agreements because they want a cohesive platform rather than individual point products. Ahead, which has expanded its own midmarket organization to serve this demand, welcomes the vendor’s increased focus on the channel. “Network security has always been important—but we’re seeing customers invest in large Palo [enterprise agreements] because what they want is a platform play, not a point product play,” Ayoub said.
Gammeri emphasized that the highest financial rewards will go to partners who adopt the vendor’s full platform. While specialized partners can still compete on individual products, the company signals a clear preference for partners that leverage a wide range of offerings, including next-generation firewalls, Prisma Browser, Cortex endpoint security, and Prisma SASE. As the company moves into its fiscal year 2027, this channel-first approach is intended to solidify its position as a key security provider across all organization sizes.
