Okta unveils revamped channel programme, shifting most service delivery to partners

The identity security vendor unveiled a fully redesigned partner programme on Monday including new incentives and a move to shift the majority of its service delivery to the channel, channel chief Laura Padilla tells CRN exclusively

Okta unveiled a fully redesigned channel programme on Monday including the introduction of distinct tracks for different partner types and new incentives, along with a major move to shift most of its service delivery to partners, channel chief Laura Padilla tells CRN exclusively.

The updates in the new Okta Partner Accelerator programme are scheduled to go live in early 2027 and represent the largest partner programme overhaul for the identity security vendor in three years, according to Padilla.

The programme is being unveiled to partners in connection with the company’s Oktane 2026 conference, which is being held this week in Las Vegas.

The launch of the Okta Partner Accelerator will replace the previous, largely revenue-focused channel programme structure with a new approach that rewards partners more on outcomes, said Padilla, senior vice president of global partners and alliances at Okta.

A key goal is to have partners handle the vast majority of services delivery over time, she noted.

“From a services delivery point of view, most of our services will be done over time, as we evolve this, through partners,” Padilla says.

“We expect our [Okta] services organisation to become more of a specialised organisation - [subject matter experts] to support partners and around complex implementations - instead of us doing the services delivery ourselves.”

While Okta has already taken steps to shift responsibility for a greater proportion of services to partners, the vendor is now “evolving our services approach even more to support partners even more and make everything partner-led by default,” she says.

As one example pointing to the shift, Okta has already begun prompting its account executives to identify which services partner will be involved for every opportunity, Padilla tells CRN.

The aim is to bring partners into discussions around services deals from the get-go, instead of considering the work of services partners only after the software sale, she says.

New partner tracks

Under the new Okta Partner Accelerator structure, partners can participate in a sales track, a services track or a technology track, with the latter track meant for ISVs that integrate their products with Okta, according to the company.

Partners won’t need to choose just one track, Padilla notes.

Each track will contain three tiers, and overall, the new structure is meant to align rewards and expectations with the realities of what each type of partner actually does, she says.

The move also aims to allow Okta to enable a wider variety of partners such as boutique consultancy firms that perform AI assessments along with global systems integrators with established practices around security and identity, Padilla says.

“The programme is now going to be able to fit all those different types of partners, and really focus on building the skills and the competency and the outcomes that a services partner is looking for [on behalf of] customers,” she says.

Because Okta's prior programme was more transactional, “we were really missing partners helping us in this new world where customers are asking for expertise and guidance across the whole lifecycle,” Padilla says.

By contrast, “the programme that we're announcing is going to be much more outcome-based around what customers need - as well as aligning with the types of partners that we need to be able to drive those outcomes for our customers,” she said.

New incentives, enablement

As part of the refreshed programme, Okta is introducing new rewards including an incentive for landing brand-new customers along with a migration incentive for moving customers from competing platforms, according to the company.

On the services side, meanwhile, Okta is in the midst of developing new incentives around deployment, which will be aimed at helping partners to accelerate implementation and usage of Okta products for customers.

The result is “much more focus on outcome-based [approaches] for our customers, and now leaning in with bigger incentives for our partners,” Padilla says.

Okta is also investing in additional training, AI tools, enablement and marketing support for partners, she says.

Padilla, who was formerly head of global channel at Zoom during its pandemic-era growth surge, joined Okta as channel chief in January.

Consolidation opportunity

The launch of the new channel programme also comes as Okta continues to expand to offer a broader platform beyond its core offerings in identity security, with the vendor now providing capabilities in identity governance, privileged access and AI agent security.

Crucially, Okta’s newer products can require more assistance and expertise from partners than the vendor’s core offerings, according to the company.

“There are so many more products that require much more specialised implementation and design,” Padilla says.

And as customers increasingly seek to consolidate identity security tools onto a single platform, Okta is in an ideal position to meet those needs, she says.

“What they want is a platform they can consolidate all that into - that's a neutral platform - and then work on all the standards they need for security within that one platform,” Padilla says.

“And partners are going to be at the core of being able to do that.”

Partners key in recent deals

Okta partners played a role in each of the vendor’s 20 largest deals during its latest quarter - underscoring the massive opportunity for solution and service providers across both core identity security and emerging areas such as securing AI agents, Okta president and COO Eric Kelleher said in a recent interview with CRN.

Kelleher said the partner-engaged deals - which helped to drive expectations-beating results for the second quarter of Okta’s fiscal 2027, ended 31 July - included a major implementation of multiple technologies including AI agent security for a large enterprise customer.

The company’s key offering in the space is Okta for AI Agents, which became generally available in April and aims to provide streamlined integration of agentic identities into an organisation’s broader identity system.

The latest quarter’s “great success with partners” was bolstered by the fact that Okta is “seeing the AI pipeline begin to convert as well,” Kelleher said.

“What’s helping with that is, customers have urgency on this problem,” he said.

“They have agents that are deployed - and they know they’re exposed.”