Azul benefits from indirect strategy

Java specialist Azul has taken steps to expand its global partner programme on the back of decent growth with the channel.

The firm has seen its engagements and revenues with partners increase since it took the decision to go indirect a couple of years ago.

The last fiscal year has also seen the firm add more partners, striking 15 strategic partnerships – with distributors included – to bolster its indirect routes to market in Australia, the Middle East, South Africa and India.

The firm’s channel partners have also benefitted from strong customer demand for IT asset management and migrations that utilise Java. As a result, Azul reported that 44% of the firm’s new and upsell bookings for the H1 2025 came via the channel, and partners were responsible for a 50% increase in inbound opportunities.

The channel expansion and introduction of more distribution helped Azul improve its pipeline conversion by 13.5% year on year (YoY) in H1.

The firm has also seen 300 individuals gain or start the process of picking up a certification since it cut the ribbon on its PartnerConnect certification programme in May.

Azul is looking to continue its channel momentum and is aiming to increase the support it can offer by quadrupling the number of currently certified sales professionals, migration advisory and delivery partners, and partner engineers.

“Going forward, we’re focused on bringing migration partners into our own service engagements as well as collaborating with partners early in their advisory license engagements to provide pivotal recommendations, all through a more aggressive channel-centric sales model,” said Simon Taylor, vice-president of global channel sales at Azul.

“Typically, it takes up to five years to convert from a direct to channel approach. We’ve done this in two years because we recognised that resellers are keen to expand their differentiation into high-value service revenue streams due to pressure on traditional license margins.

“By empowering our partners with flexible terms, attractive margins, type-specific rewards structures and comprehensive training, we are building an ecosystem that delivers exceptional value to Java users worldwide,” he added.

Azul has expanded its channel base at a moment when more customers are turning to specialists to help them with Oracle Java services and license analysis, as well as providing guidance with alternatives.

Customers are scrutinising costs and considering their options, with those able to talk about OpenJDK options in a good position. The expectation from the vendor is that 60% of revenues will come from partners in its fiscal ’25.