In an insightful interaction with CRN India, Snowflake’s global leaders shed light on the company’s channel strategies and initiatives. Tyler Prince, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Alliances and Channels, emphasises Snowflake’s focus on rapid growth and innovation, positioning itself as the preferred data platform globally. Ash Willis, VP of Partners and Alliances for APJ, discusses Snowflake’s tailored strategies for the Asia Pacific and Japan region. Dhiraj Narang, Director and Head of Partnerships in India, highlights Snowflake’s significant growth in India, facilitated by partnerships with leading companies like Deloitte and Quantiphi. The discussion also covers Snowflake’s initiatives for industry transformation, partner success metrics, communication facilitation, and support in navigating complex compliance landscapes, showcasing Snowflake’s commitment to fostering a strong and mutually beneficial partner ecosystem.
What specific strategies and initiatives has Snowflake prioritised to strengthen its channel business?
Tyler Prince: As the world transforms, generative AI is going to impact every business function in every company and every industry. In order to have a successful AI strategy – you need a data strategy – In that order. We are bringing this amazing ecosystem together to support the rapid growth in such an important area, of helping companies all around the world get access to an incredible amount of data in a governed, secure and scalable way. This will set the direction of the way AI will look like moving forward.
Snowflake has a unique opportunity to help customers add value to all lines of business. As we assemble the industry data clouds – use cases particularly unique to an industry, like financial services, we need partners who can help customers in this space by delivering unique and tailored solutions. The opportunity is also across many parts of the world, not just the US. Our focus is on making sure our customers are successful, putting them first, with our partners. So everything we do is focussed on training, engaging and helping our partners grow. If our customers are successful, and our partners are growing – that ultimately will lead to Snowflake’s growth. We are doing this across all types of partners – GSI, SI, technology partners, cloud service partners globally.
What is Snowflake’s strategic vision for its alliances and channel program globally, particularly focusing on growing the ecosystem of apps and experts?
Tyler Prince: Snowflake’s approach focuses on continued rapid growth, incredible momentum and innovation, positioning itself as the data platform of choice across industries and regions, and growing a robust ecosystem of partners. This includes building technical capabilities among partners, fostering innovation through app ecosystem development, and collaborating with resellers and cloud providers.
Snowflake is ushering in a new era of data collaboration with Snowflake Native Apps, co-building with partners by enabling them with the necessary building blocks for app development, including distribution, operation, and monetisation within Snowflake’s platform.
What is Snowflake’s strategy for the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, and how does it plan to engage with organisations in India?
Ash Willis: Snowflake’s data cloud ecosystem is growing rapidly across the APJ region, and this growth is fueled by our partners – they are absolutely critical to everything that we do. India represents a huge potential for Snowflake, especially the opportunity to engage with ISVs and digital native organisations. The aim is to also ensure that our Indian partners build profitable and successful businesses along the way.
How has the growth been in India? Which industries are leading the charge, and how do partners play a role in this?
Dhiraj Narang: Snowflake has experienced significant growth in India, with major enterprises across various industries choosing to modernise their data platforms on the platform. This growth is facilitated by partnerships with companies like Deloitte, EY, Quantiphi, and BluePi, focusing on helping customers modernize their data strategies and uncover new business opportunities.
The banking and financial services industry (BFSI) presents the greatest potential for data platform modernisation due to its data-intensive nature and willingness to innovate. Its data is exceptionally rich, with a high velocity. However, their data sits in silos. Snowflake breaks these silos. Other industries like manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) also offer significant opportunities for transformation.
Ash Willis: Almost 50 percent of our APJ ecosystem is here in India, presenting significant opportunities. It’s not only the local partners driving domestic growth but also their influence on a global scale that contributes to Snowflake’s worldwide success. During our recent earnings call, we discussed our penetration into the G2000. Presently, we collaborate with 691 companies and are striving to expand this number. The efforts in India directly impact the success of these global organisations, playing a crucial role in Snowflake’s overall achievements.
What factors have contributed to Snowflake’s remarkable growth within its channel ecosystem, and how does it benefit both the company and its partners?
Tyler Prince: Snowflake’s growth is fueled by its partners’ efforts to drive customer acquisition and help companies understand the value of data-driven strategies. Every organisation is currently pondering how to leverage GenAI for disruption and business growth. The key lies in adopting a modern data platform. By centralising data securely, efficiently, and making it more accessible, companies can harness the power of Gen AI. And we believe that we are the platform of choice. This mutual benefit is evident in the substantial revenue generated for partners alongside Snowflake’s expansion.
Ash Willis: Snowflake has heavily invested in partner training and technical capabilities to support partner growth. Additionally, the company has introduced funding programs to help partners uncover new workloads and demonstrate the efficacy of Snowflake’s modern data platform.
Snowflake conducts various events, such as technical training sessions, Snowflake Partner Network (SPN) Connect events, and base camps, to educate partners and help them explore new opportunities. Snowflake invests in various initiatives to ensure effective communication and collaboration with partners, including online and in-person training sessions, industry events, and global summits. These efforts aim to scale communication and foster collaboration, ultimately strengthening the partnership ecosystem.
How does Snowflake work with cloud service providers, like AWS and Microsoft, in its ecosystem?
Tyler Prince: Snowflake was built on top of public cloud infrastructure and can deliver a single data experience across multiple clouds (GCP, AWS and MSFT) and regions. Snowflake recognises the importance of cloud service providers like AWS and Microsoft in driving the success of its customers and partners. These partnerships demonstrate a shared investment in the success of Snowflake’s ecosystem, and contribute to its overall growth.
What sets Snowflake apart from its competitors in terms of its unique value proposition for partners?
Snowflake’s unique value proposition for partners stems from its modern data platform designed to support all industries, personas, and workloads. This platform, purpose-built for versatility and scalability, presents an exciting opportunity for partners, enabling them to deliver value across various industries and company sizes.
How does Snowflake measure the success of its partners, and why is their success crucial for your organisation?
Tyler Prince: Snowflake aligns its partner success metrics with its own business objectives, focusing on acquiring new customers and driving consumption of its platform. Partner success is measured by their impact on driving customer projects, usage, and go-lives, directly correlating to revenue generation. Snowflake recognises that its success is intertwined with its partners’, making their growth imperative for sustainable business growth.
How does Snowflake support its partners in navigating complex compliance landscapes, especially with rising data privacy concerns and regulatory changes?
Tyler Prince: Snowflake collaborates closely with its partners in each market to understand regulatory frameworks and certifications. Based on joint opportunities, Snowflake invests in complying with and achieving relevant certifications, ensuring alignment with evolving compliance requirements. Snowflake’s commitment to data as its core business fosters trust among partners, enabling effective navigation of complex compliance landscapes. Snowflake’s commitment to empowering its partner ecosystem through strategic initiatives, investments in training, and collaborative programs underscores its dedication to mutual success and innovation in the data platform space.
