Pure Storage considers EMEA partner cull

Pure Storage has indicated it may consider cutting partner numbers in EMEA in a bid to eliminate complacency from its ranks.

The All-Flash storage vendor axed 60 North American partners in 2017, with Pure’s VP global channels and alliances, Michael Sotnick, announcing “our selectiveness is only going to continue…We do not need partners of convenience in our portfolio.”

“If we have to terminate some partners that do not transact with us, we will,” Pure’s new EMEA channel lead, Matthieu Brignone, confirmed to Microscope at the vendor’s Global Partner Forum this week in San Francisco.

“Anytime you’re in a high-growth phase, there’s partners that want to jump on and partner with you, but sometimes it doesn’t go the way you intended. But we did a good job of cleaning that up in North America, and I think Matthieu sees an opportunity to do a little of that too. Nothing dramatic but just good hygiene,” added Sotnick.

The exec also said that “vendors can be guilty of having a little complacency around the edges, and we try not to let that be the case.”

Pure’s selective approach to partner recruitment was reinforced this week by the launch of a new partner program that rewards partners for building a Pure Storage practice. Sotnick claims partners can achieve top level status based on their “investment, commitment and capability” around the firm’s technology.

“We would much rather get one, two, 30, 50 more sales people within your organisation, understanding how to present and position Pure for the right workload than sign a partner across the street, or across your town or across your country,” he told partners in attendance at the Forum.

Brignone suggested potentially replacing the axed partners with “guys with services experience”, hinting that Pure is working on developing more service offerings so resellers can expand their product resale businesses.

Sotnick confirmed that Pure was currently looking to build services practices “and make them transportable to the partners, so the partner can bake them into their own services model.”