Pure Storage’s Geoff Greenlaw: Why data, not storage, will define channel success in 2026

The VP channel, EMEA & LatAm tells CRN how shifting customer priorities are reshaping the channel – and why partners that lead with value, platforms and expertise will pull ahead this year

For Pure Storage, 2025 was defined by a major architectural shift aimed at tackling some of the most pressing data challenges enterprises face in the AI era.

“The highlight of 2025 was our launch of the Pure Storage Enterprise Data Cloud, helping customers shift focus from managing their storage, to managing their data. This helps them address three major enterprise-wide challenges in the AI era,” Geoff Greenlaw, VP channel, EMEA & LatAm at Pure Storage, tells CRN.

He continues that the first challenge is visibility, with customers and partners increasingly wanting a clear, unified view of their data assets, both to improve decision-making and to reduce the operational burden of maintaining critical services.

The second is data silos, which continue to make governance, security and compliance complex and time-consuming for IT teams.

The third and final obstacle according to Greenlaw, is security and resilience, where fragmented data spread across multiple hardware platforms complicates threat detection, immutability and data integrity.

An enterprise data cloud architecture, he explains, addresses all three by unifying data across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments, underpinned by policy-based automation.

“All of this is driven by intelligent, policy-based automation that enforces governance and data resilience across the estate - reducing manual effort, eliminating errors, and ensuring consistent data control everywhere. This new approach also gives our partners a transformative platform to help customers address these growing, organisation-wide data challenges,” he says.

Making storage invisible in 2026

Turning to what comes next, Greenlaw says Pure Storage’s ambition for 2026 centres on simplifying data management to the point where storage fades into the background.

“In 2026 we want to help customers on their data management journey. Today’s enterprises need a unified architecture that empowers them to manage their data, not their storage.”

The end goal, he adds, is an experience where data is managed consistently regardless of where it resides – whether on-premises, in colocation facilities, public cloud or sovereign environments.

“Realisation of this vision should make storage feel invisible, whilst being policy-led, automated and consistent whether data lives on-premises, in colocation facilities, in the public cloud or in sovereign environments.”

By removing the need to manually juggle capacity and silos, organisations can instead focus on placing data where it delivers the right balance of performance, resilience and compliance.

“Time no longer needs to be spent shuffling capacity and fixing silos but deciding where data should live to get the right level of performance, resiliency, sovereignty, and resources for each workload – from core databases to AI projects. Delivering this approach means that customers can spend more time on the things that actually move their business forward.”

Value over price reshapes the channel

Greenlaw believes the channel landscape in 2026 will look markedly different as customers move beyond cost-led decisions.

“Over the last few years, the market has seen customers shifting from CAPEX (capital expenditure) to Opex (operational expenditure) models to reduce budget spikes, which was already reshaping buying models. In 2026, customers’ focus will no longer be on price but instead on the value they actually receive - and the competitive edge that partners can provide for them.”

He argues customers are becoming more discerning about what ‘as-a-service’ really means, distinguishing between simple recurring billing and services that deliver measurable outcomes.

“The market has matured beyond the excitement over ‘everything-as-a-service’ capabilities, and buyers are drawing a clear line between recurring billing and a genuinely added-value service.”

This shift also means customers are prioritising solutions that address broad business challenges – from cyber resilience and sustainability to AI-driven efficiency – rather than point products that add complexity.

“Because of this shift in customer thinking, the partners that can sell a platform approach that delivers simplicity, ease of management and unlocks the value of data, rather than those who sell a product, will prosper in 2026.”

Doubling down on partner enablement

To support that transition, Pure Storage plans to further invest in partner training and enablement next year.

“We want to further equip our channel partners to help customers unify and manage data wherever it’s needed, whether that’s on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environments, to transform data management and achieve full visibility of their data for improved decision-making capabilities.”

Greenlaw says expanding skills across existing partner networks is a priority, alongside rewarding long-term value creation.

“With a renewed focus on training and enablement, we hope to empower even more sellers within our existing network of trusted partners to help customers on their data management journeys. As always, we will reward partners who drive ongoing growth, renewals, and value expansion through the platform through the Evergreen subscription model.”

Data sovereignty, a board-level issue?

Regulation and geopolitics are pushing data sovereignty firmly into the spotlight, and Greenlaw believes this will create clear winners in the channel.

“As governments tighten regulations and geopolitical uncertainty persists, data sovereignty is now a key boardroom issue for organisations. Naturally, channel partners have an important part to play here.”

Customers increasingly want guarantees around where their data is stored, managed and governed, and Greenlaw says partners that build dedicated sovereignty expertise will be best placed to respond.

“The partners and resellers who thrive in 2026 will be those who invest in data sovereignty expertise, such as establishing dedicated consultancies or practices that can advise on data sovereignty strategies.”

He adds that flexibility will be critical, with customers seeking guidance across sovereign cloud, hybrid and multi-provider models.

“These forward-looking channel organisations will help customers navigate fast-evolving sovereignty and regulatory demands, and deliver flexible deployment models—whether sovereign cloud, hybrid, or multi-provider solutions.”