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Docusign rolls out fresh programme to arm partners with IAM answers
E-signature specialist enhances channel offering in reaction to changing market dynamics
Docusign has cut the ribbon on a fresh partner programme to encourage its channel base to take advantage of the growth in intelligent agreement management (IAM).
The agreement management specialist has seen the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) emerging in the IAM solution, which the firm introduced last year, to offer more capability, including agreement creation, commitment and improved management for users.
Against that background, the vendor has revised its partner programme with an emphasis on encouraging differentiation through certifications, as well as a move to define partners on go-to-market action rather than the classic bronze, silver and gold approach.
The vendor will now offer three tracks – Build, Sell and Service – that cover those that integrate the technology in a wider solution, provide consultancy and support deployments with high levels of expertise.
Bronwyn Hastings, group vice-president of partner development and alliance at Docusign, said the market was developing, and an increasing number of customers were looking to minimise problems by adopting IAM.
She quoted research from Deloitte that has indicated poor agreement management is costing $2tn globally as customers struggle with disparate systems that slow down growth. “If you look at that as the context, the aperture is broadening, bringing AI and automation and the art of the possible in agreement management together; it was really important that we then had a look at our partnering environment … and how do we make partners ready to capture that opportunity ahead?” said Hastings.
“We needed to acknowledge the motion or the engagement of the past partners – whether they are solutioning, whether they are selling and whether they are building – and so that’s the first fundamental change that we’re making to the Docusign partner programme: we are acknowledging the motion of the partner and the type of business that they do, and meeting them where they are,” she added.
Encouraging specialisations
The other main plank of the programme is to encourage specialisations to give partners the chance to stand out from the competition and underscore their expertise around aspects of IAM.
“We are really trying to bring that depth of knowledge to the fore with the partnership so they can solve the things that customers are looking for from them,” said Hastings. “So, the likes of IAM for CX or IAM for areas that IAM can solve.”
The plan is to continue adding more specialisations and support as the technology evolves so partners can remain on top of developments.
“As we move through the rest of the year, we will bring more into the programme that allows us to build more specialisation and more value to both the partner and the value that the partners are delivering to the customer,” she said.
Hastings joined Docusign a few months ago, coming in with plenty of partner experience gained most recently at Google Cloud, and said there were increasing opportunities for those that sold and supported the vendor.
“Partners have always been a part of Docusign’s route to market,” she said. “But if you think about it with e-signature, the amount of services around the signature, motion and those sorts of things is not as extensive as it is now.
“As we bring this partner programme to life, [you’ll see Docusign] also sharing with the partners the importance of partnering in the routes to market, because, in particular, things like IAM really bring more opportunity for partners,” said Hastings.
