Industry Voice: Zscaler’s 2026 UKI Focus: Platform Expansion, Specialisation, and Repeatable Partner Growth

UKI partners are heading into 2026 with customers pushing for faster modernisation, clearer security outcomes, and proof that Zero Trust can be deployed at scale while taking cost out. The channel opportunity is shifting toward platforms, specialisation, and repeatable services that increase deal size, improve velocity, and build more predictable recurring revenue. CRN spoke with Zscaler’s UKI channel leader, Jonny Crebbin, about where partner opportunity is emerging fastest and what actions partners should prioritise next.

Where do you see the biggest 2026 growth opportunities, and profit levers, for UK partners?

In 2026, we see the biggest growth coming from customers who want to reduce complexity, reduce vendors, and reduce cost, while gaining more certainty in a world that feels increasingly volatile. UK organisations are making decisions through a lens of resilience and risk sensitivity, which is why trust matters more than ever: they want partners who can deliver outcomes they can rely on.

We’re also seeing a clear shift away from legacy thinking around VPNs and firewalls. The perimeter model, and the hardware and overhead that comes with it, no longer fits how users, apps, and data operate. The partners who will win are the ones who can drive measurable outcomes and challenge customer assumptions, helping them move beyond “manage it all ourselves” toward a modern Zero Trust platform approach with services that remove operational burden.

Commercially, that translates into bigger initial scopes, stronger services attach, and repeatable expansion across the platform over time.

Which demand areas are partners leaning into most in the UK right now—and how can they position themselves for competitive advantage?

UK customers are being very clear: we want to grow, stay safe, and take market share…but we need to reduce costs without risking security. So the partners who are winning aren’t leading with features; they’re aligning to business outcomes and proving tangible ROI fast, and that ROI has to show up as real cost takeout, not theoretical value.

That starts with discipline. Partners need a strong discovery process inside the customer’s operations to pinpoint where the cost really lives: legacy infrastructure spend, operational overhead, tool sprawl, and the time it takes teams to keep aging approaches running. When partners can quantify that baseline and connect it to a clear modernisation plan, they earn the right to lead and to expand.

The competitive advantage comes from delivering outcomes quickly: reduce complexity, simplify operations, and take cost out while improving security posture. Customers will move fastest with partners who can show that impact early, then scale it across the platform.

How is Zscaler improving partner readiness to sell and deploy more complex Zero Trust projects?

We’re making readiness far more practical and use case driven. In 2026, partners don’t need more theory, they need a sharper playbook for real customer challenges and a clear view of how the technology solves them. That’s why we’re doubling down on Powerplays that connect the use case, the customer pain, the technical solution, and the path to value, so partners can execute with confidence in the field.

We’re also investing in deeper, shared technical motion through Sales Engineer (SE) Summits, where partners train alongside our teams, and executive partner summits that align on strategy, priorities, and how we win together in-market.

Finally, we’re building stronger two way feedback loops through technical communities and our Zscaler Partner Advisory Board. These will provide our partners a direct channel to tell us what they need, where deals get stuck, and how we can support them better to meet evolving customer demands, so enablement stays targeted, relevant, and actionable.

What will help UK partners accelerate deal velocity and build more predictable recurring revenue?

Predictable growth in the UK comes from combining clear program economics with a repeatable platform motion, and that’s where our FY26 partner program enhancements are focused. We’re simplifying how partners engage, strengthening the levers that reward the right behaviors (including rebates and specialization), and making it easier to build pipeline that converts and expands.

On velocity, we’re tightening the mechanics that slow deals down: stronger deal registration motions, earlier and cleaner co-sell alignment, and more consistent access to technical support—through PSE engagement and ACE-led expertise—so validation, POVs, and deployment planning don’t become blockers.

On recurring revenue, we’re driving a disciplined land–adopt–expand approach across the Zero Trust platform. Partners can attach additional use cases and capabilities over time with a clearer expansion path, while also building services-led differentiation—advisory, implementation, and managed services—that improves customer outcomes and increases lifetime value.

Customers often require multiple partners across the lifecycle. How is Zscaler enabling collaboration without channel conflict?

We’re being deliberate about who we partner with and how we bring partners together, because there are many routes to market and today’s customers want choice and freedom in how they buy, deploy, and operate. Transformation isn’t a single moment. It’s a lifecycle. And the right partner mix matters at every stage.

We also know from years of working with alliance partners that early collaboration is critical. When the right partners align early, on roles, outcomes, and the deployment path, the customer experience is smoother, execution is faster, and everyone wins. That’s how you deliver a truly world-class partner and customer experience, without confusion or conflict.

These aren’t new ideas for us. We already have proven motions in place that bring the ecosystem together in a structured way, so partners can contribute where they’re strongest and customers get an end-to-end experience that feels unified.

If you could provide one piece of feedback for UK partners, what would it be?

Invest in customer relationships and make them as deep and meaningful as possible. That starts by investing in your expertise so you show up as credible and relevant, not transactional. When you can walk into a customer and say, “We understand your business, we understand what you’re trying to achieve, and we know how to help you get there,” you build trust.

And once you have that trust, you earn the right to challenge the customer. Customers need to be challenged to drive real outcomes, especially when the easy path is to stay with what’s familiar. Do not underestimate the power and relevance of deep relationships. Many people do, and it’s one of the biggest differentiators partners can control.

This article is sponsored by Zscaler.