Databricks overhauls partner program with tight focus on customer value

As AI upends traditional migration delivery model, partners must rethink cost, delivery and outcomes.

Databricks has launched its new Velocity global partner program, shifting incentives from transactional deals to consumption-based rewards tied to customer value. Incentives are paid over time, aligned with ongoing customer usage and outcomes, not one-off contract closure.

Allyson Caruso, head of partnerships ANZ, Databricks said ANZ partners are embracing the program, with some planning to reinvest incentives into customer projects and new Databricks use cases.

The rejigged program is intended to align partners with Databricks’ philosophy of sustained growth, consumption and customer success rather than transactional selling.

“We don’t want to see a customer sign up to a Databricks investment and have something that’s shelfware…we want to drive success over time versus at a point in time,” Caruso told CRN Australia.

Currently, Databricks’ local footprint includes 250 partners in the ANZ region, including firms and global system integrators with a local presence. Caruso expects the program to continue evolving with incremental updates as the partner ecosystem grows.

“There are changes that need to happen on a regular basis, just to make sure that partners are focused around our go-to-market focus,” she said.

Partner input is important and Databricks hosts partner advisory boards at major events, regular surveys and partner forums that feed into global program updates.

With the program is globally standardised, Caruso acknowledges there still needs to be room for accommodating regional nuances for its local partners.

“We have the same strategic priorities globally and probably 80 per cent is driven from a global perspective, but then we have the 20 per cent nuance in how we go to market in the ANZ region,” she explained.

Leaning into partner challenges and opportunities with AI

Caruso is seeing the traditional SI pyramid, with junior folks handling the migrations and experts overseeing it, being disrupted by AI agents and automation.

For partners, the challenge is to shift their skills and expertise from migration-focused engagements to AI-led outcomes and use-case delivery.

“Traditionally, it’s been delivering technology initiatives, but now with AI, a lot of that will be fulfilled by agentic solutions,” she said.

As a result, partners must rethink cost models, skill sets and service design in an AI-first world.

As Databricks expands its AI capabilities, there’s an ongoing challenge to provide partners with constant enablement to keep pace and stay across new capabilities.

“We're getting updates on a daily basis of new product features and capability and we need to get these out to partners so they now, what Databricks is capable of doing because it’s changing so quickly,” she said.

While migration work remains critical, AI is also changing how migrations happen — making them faster and cheaper using automation. Increasingly, partners need to deliver technology, industry expertise and business outcomes.

AI is also opening the way to new offerings. For example, some partners are starting to build repeatable software assets, industry-specific solutions and productised offerings on top of Databricks AI.

“AI is making it easier for partners to innovate and deliver solutions quickly, reducing the need for extensive coding expertise,” she added.