Partnership Playbook: Separating 5% Winners from 95% Stuck
Hi, it's Roman from Partner Insight newsletter, where I deconstruct winning Cloud GTM strategies and the latest trends in cloud marketplaces.
Today we're exploring how AI is reshaping partnership strategies. We'll dissect Docusign's transformation from direct-sales to partner-first GTM and unpack the broader market reality where 95% of traditional SaaS companies are stuck at 9% growth, while AI-first companies are adding billions. Plus, we'll reveal how smart software companies are leveraging both AI and cloud marketplaces to break through growth barriers.
But before we dive in, don't miss our exclusive workshop next week with Palo Alto Networks, AWS, and Spektra SaaSify on July 1st.
We'll decode how Palo Alto built their $1B+ AWS Marketplace revenue engine with 70% of marketplace sales through partners. Register below to learn their playbook.
How AI is Forcing to Go Partner-First: Docusign Case Study
Docusign with $2.8B ARR is transforming from a direct-sales powerhouse into an AI and partner-powered growth engine. This strategy shift reveals critical lessons for many B2B alliance leaders.
Growth Challenge
After pandemic-fueled growth, Docusign faced slowing expansion. Revenue growth moderated to single digits in 2024-2025.
The solution? A two-pronged strategy combining a new AI product line with an aggressive partner push.
IAM: The Product Catalyst
Docusign's Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) platform launched as their most ambitious product expansion beyond e-signatures. IAM has quickly become "the fastest-growing new product in Docusign's history".
But this AI-powered end-to-end agreement platform is very different from their simple e-signature offering—and that complexity required a partner-led GTM.
Why Partners Became Essential
CEO Allan Thygesen explained the shift:
"Historically, we haven't had a huge relationship with SIs because it's been primarily about our CLM business, right?
Sign was so simple and easy to deploy for companies that there wasn't a lot of need for the kind of value added services that SIs provide. But with IAM that's a really change in the picture."
Numbers Validate This Strategy:
"Partner channel's contribution to the business continued to increase in Q4 and fiscal 2025, leveraging gains we've made with technology partners like Microsoft, SAP, and Salesforce, as well as growing interest from ISVs and global system integrators." - explained CEO.
CDW "achieved impressive triple digit growth with us last year."- he highlighted. Through alliances with Deloitte and SAP, DocuSign has "expanded our global footprint, and recently closed a major opportunity with a Fortune 500 company in the energy sector."
International Partner-First Strategy
Need for geographic expansion amplifies the partner imperative. Thygesen explained:
“Historically, Docusign's been a very direct first, second and third channel company. And even in markets where, frankly, we had very limited direct capabilities. And so, we try to get a lot crisper in top 10 markets or roughly that's where we're going to have direct first model.
And then other markets where we'll be partner-first or partner-only.”
Microsoft Azure Marketplace Play
Despite being still early-stage, DocuSign is leveraging cloud marketplaces strategically.
"As part of our growing strategic go-to-market partnership with Microsoft, we're delivering this IAM solution via the Azure Marketplace," Thygesen noted.
Complex AI Workflows Demand Partners
Even vendors like Docusign need partners and cloud GTM strategy for advanced AI products.
"Another area that we're investing in this year is deepening our work with partners for enterprise customers... Our work with the big SIs, for example, is a key focus area," Thygesen emphasized.
What's your experience with product complexity driving partnership strategy?
Online Workshop: Palo Alto's $1B+ Marketplace Strategy with Co-Sell, Partners and Automation
Palo Alto Networks wasn't just among the first to hit $1B in revenue on AWS Marketplace – 70% of their marketplace sales are with partners.
Join our July 1st free workshop to decode their Cloud GTM scaling playbook!
On July 1st, I'm hosting an exclusive online workshop with the architects behind this marketplace machine: executives from Palo Alto Networks, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Spektra SaaSify.
We will explain how they built this incredible marketplace revenue engine.
Here's what caught my attention in the data:
Palo Alto Networks not only crossed $1B in AWS Marketplace sales, but they also flipped the traditional ISV enterprise playbook.
While many software companies treat partners as an afterthought, PANW made them the centerpiece. Partners generate 70% of their marketplace sales (Canalys).
Palo Alto won 2024 AWS Global Technology Partner of the Year – one of the most coveted awards in the cloud ecosystem.
It’s also a finalist of 2024 AWS Global (and North American) Marketplace Partner of the Year.
But the real story isn't about trophies; it's the systematic approach they built to scale.
Join us on July 1 to learn $1Bn marketplace playbook from the minds behind the machine:
Pashupathi Kura - Director, Product Management - Ecosystems at Palo Alto, who oversees the strategy that's driven this billion-dollar marketplace success
Louise Strandoo - Head of AWS Marketplace, AMER , who literally wrote the most influential guide on marketplace success – her COSS (Characteristics of Successful Sellers) framework is now the industry standard for ISVs scaling on AWS
Paul Liao - Cloud Marketplace Business Operations Lead at Palo Alto, who has been the operational architect accelerating marketplace momentum and eliminating bottlenecks
Manesh Raveendran - CEO, Spektra SaaSify, whose marketplace automation platform powers the engine behind PANW's incredible marketplace scale and deal velocity
Three marketplace insights you'll walk away with:
1️⃣ Marketplace + Co-Sell Leverage
Learn how PANW is orchestrating marketplace strategy and co-selling with AWS teams – turning cloud sellers into leverage and extended salesforce
2️⃣ Channel Partner Private Offers (CPPO) at Scale
Discover how working on marketplace with channel partners, like distributor Westcon-Comstor, created a sales process that accelerated marketplace growth
3️⃣Automation That Actually Matters
Learn about the workflows and systems that powered $1B in marketplace sales, eliminating bottlenecks and helping to scale
The timing couldn't be better.
With customers cloud commits on AWS reached $189B last quarter, there's never been a more committed budget waiting to be unlocked via its marketplace.
Join us on July 1st at 10am PT
In this free online workshop we'll dissect the strategies and systems that built a $1B+ revenue stream.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn $1B playbook directly from leaders of AWS, Palo Alto and Spektra SaaSify.
See you next week!
95% of software companies stuck at ~9% growth. AI-first hit $15B+, what’s their GTM Playbook?
Only 5% of public software companies are growing at 25%+. Meantime, AI upstarts are adding billions in revenue; Azure, GCP and AWS – powering the AI shift – are growing 20-30%. The growth playbook has changed.
Coatue's 2025 EMW conference data paints a stark reality:
Median NTM (next 12 months) growth for traditional SaaS sits at just 9%.
Meanwhile hyperscalers powering the AI transformation posted Q1 growth of 33% (Azure), 28% (GCP), and 17% (AWS).
This shows the shift in how software gets built, and scaled.
Hyperscalers aren't slowing
Cloud commits are growing >20% YoY in addition to revenue, approaching $500B this year, while these 3 giants invest >$250B in CapEx this year alone.
"Before this generation of AI, we thought AWS had the chance to ultimately be a multi $100 billion revenue run rate business. We now think it could be even larger," emphasized Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO recently.
Not only is cloud infrastructure powering everyone else, but their marketplaces are becoming the primary distribution channel as customers consolidate spending and seek AI-enabled solutions.
AI-first companies have added $15B in revenue in the last 2 years and their growth is literally exploding, highlights Coatue
Smart software companies are leveraging both AI and hyperscalers to achieve this acceleration.
Case in point: Glean, an AI-first startup, grew 42X on Google Cloud marketplace in a year, with 60% of their top FY25 deals flowing through GCP Marketplace.
Not to mention OpenAI (which powers Microsoft Azure) that just hit $10B ARR this week, doubling from last year and targeting $125B in revenue by 2029 (The Information).
The $500B SaaS industry faces a reinvention moment across three critical dimensions:
Product evolution
Embedding AI to drive measurable customer value, not just feature checkboxes
Distribution transformation
Adding to your sales playbook the marketplace-first GTM strategies that align with how enterprises buy today
Partnerships depth
Moving beyond traditional channel relationships to co-innovation partners and with hyperscalers who control infrastructure and increasingly customer budgets
While the shift is complex, the reinvention success stories are telling:
Salesforce is not only all-in on AI agents, but it became "the fastest growing ISV on AWS Marketplace," transacting $2B through AWS while tripling year-on-year.
Notion, after adding AI to their successful product foundation, now closes over 50% of deals with AI attached. Their largest enterprise deal was closed via Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace.
– both proving that established companies can embed AI and successfully pivot to marketplace GTM strategies.
As AI companies sprint to billions while 95% of traditional SaaS hovers at 9% growth, which side of history will your GTM strategy land on?
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