The GitLab Partner Program enables partners — including systems integrators, cloud platform partners, independent software vendors, managed service providers, resellers, distributors and ecosystem partners — to maximize customer value through the GitLab platform and their value-added GitLab and DevOps services. Although we welcome all partners, our program is structured to provide additional rewards for partners that make a commitment and investments in a deeper GitLab relationship.
The purpose of this page is to provide the GitLab Sales team insights on the GitLab channel partner community and how to best work with our partners.
Additional related channel resources:
The Channel is a critical part of our overall go to market strategy and are a valuable extension of the GitLab team. Our channel partners help us scale sales, marketing and services engagement, and also help us reach new markets and decision makers. Additionally, our partners help us:
GitLab channel partners have established sales forces that help us multiply our sales coverage. Through that coverage and deep customer relationships, partners can identify new customer opportunities and new sales opportunities with existing customers, resulting in ARR growth. Through their service offerings and vendor partnerships, they can deliver more complete solutions than GitLab can alone, and drive customer adoption of GitLab. As a result, the GitLab channel will:
Primary monetization is through reselling GitLab licenses and services. Resellers can be a service partner too (often known as a Solution Provider).
Primary monetization is through the sale of a partner’s own GitLab and devops services. This can be a one-time implementation, ongoing support or advisory, managed services, or outsourcing. Services partners will resell GitLab services, deliver services on behalf of GitLab or deliver GitLab certified services. Services partners can be a reseller partner too (often known as a Solution Provider).
Learn more about our Alliance partners by visiting the Alliances Handbook page.
Select partners are by invitation only and are reserved for partners that make a greater investment in GitLab expertise, develop services practices around GitLab and are expected to drive greater GitLab product recurring revenues.
Open - Resellers, integrators and other sales and services partners join the program in the Open track. Open is for all Partners in DevOps space, or ItaaS and other adjacent spaces that are committed to investing in their DevOps practice buildout. Also the Open track is for Partners seeking to develop customers or just want to learn about Gitlab and participate in the Gitlab partner community. GitLab Open Partners may or may not be transacting partners, and can earn products discounts or referral fees.
To incentivize working with our Channel partners, 'Channel Neutral' means that we will not reduce $ value to individual sellers even if the Channel business reduces total iACV to GitLab (via discounts or rebates). More information can be found on the compensation page.
FY21 commissions will be channel neutral for all deals through partners (including Distributors, if applicable), which means standard partner discounts are credited back to the salesperson and must follow order processing procedures to correctly flag partner attribution. Total IACV on the deal after all discounts will count towards quota credit, but the channel neutral amount does not qualify for quota credit and only pays out for compensation at BCR. See Channel Neutral section referenced in the FY21 Commission Plan presentation
Partner Services also qualify for FY21 Professional Services Spiff (v2). So as partners help customers adopt and expand their GitLab deployments, they can earn a Services Attach rebate and the GitLab sales team can earn the Professional Services Spiff.
Developing successful relationships with channel partners in your region requires some effort, but has a great payback. Following are a few key tips that will help you develop relationships with GitLab channel partners and greatly increase your sales effectiveness.
Watch the August 2020 Level Up session Channel Partner Success for GitLab Sellers to learn tips on how to engage with our channel partners and maximize the value of your partner relationships.
In general Partners do not want to be told generally “how to sell” but they **do value _**tips and tricks about _selling GitLab (from your experience, what to watch out for, what are the effective sales motions, etc.).
Partners often will have their own best practices selling methodologies in place, so it is not recommended AEs expect Partners to embrace the entire R7 approach, nor build out an entire Command Plan. However Partners can be valuable for collecting and sharing key elements of both.
| Required component | Detail | Partner Co-selling Guidance |
| Logging call notes with (ii) in the title | Every verbal interaction with an account is logged. | Whether AE captures directly the notes from Partner co-selling engagement calls/emails, or Chan Mgr collects and documents them separately and shares with the AE, all call notes should be captured noting it’s ‘via the Partner’. |
| Rank/tier all of your accounts | Any customer with CARR higher than 0 or any prospect with an open opportunity needs to be tiered | Partner/Chan Mgr may uncover customer information that would impact a customer’s tiering. Anything they learn will be promptly shared with the AE. |
| Keep your next steps up to date | Next steps must be up to date every day | To lay the foundation for success, always capture Partner tasks in the opp with a due date agreed upon by the Partner (at least a goal date).
If a Partner task becomes overdue, The AE should reach out to the Partner & Channel Manager requesting an update. The Channel Manager becomes DRI to get an update from the Partner. </td> </tr> |
| Your opportunities have to be up to date | $ amount, opp name, type, stage & close dates must be accurate at all times | The Partner and/or Channel Manager will proactively share key learnings/updates on deals that may be useful for the AE’s potential forecast update. |
| Command plans for all deals over $5k amount or $10k IACV (SMB) or $10k amount or $20k IACV (Mid-Market) | Overview section must be completed for deals over $5k in SMB (AMOUNT, not IACV) or $10k in Mid-Market. Full for deals over $10k IACV in SMB or $20k in Mid-Market | The AE is still DRI for Command plan construction however, the Partner may be able to collect and share inputs to some of its elements. The template can be useful for this part of the co-selling motion.
Regarding close plan: If this is a deal reg, often the Partner has sold to the customer below and will have knowledge of how this works. </td> </tr> |
| Custom pitch deck built for all opps over $5k amount (SMB) or $10k amount (Mid-Market) | Requirements | As noted in other sections of R7 co-selling, Partners may be helpful collecting elements of the AE’s development of the customer pitch deck. |
| Capture key information | What is the customer’s understanding of what GitLab does should be captured in call notes. We also record why we won / lost a deal | As noted in other sections of R7 co-selling, Partners may be helpful collecting and sharing key information. AEs should capture any learnings in the opportunity noted as ‘via Partner’ |
