When Exabeam launched its APEX Partner Program in July 2025, it was making a familiar promise. Security vendors routinely call themselves “channel-first”, and partners have learned to judge them on what happens after the launch event.
A year on, Exabeam has published its results. In the first half of 2026, channel-driven new-logo pipeline beat target by 138% globally, and expansion bookings reached 125% of plan. The channel is now the highest-volume sales source across the business.
“When we launched the Exabeam APEX Partner Program, we set out to build a channel-first program that would create meaningful growth opportunities for our partners,” said Craig Patterson, SVP of Global Channels & Marketing at Exabeam. “A year later, we have the results to back up that strategy.”
Where the growth is coming from
The numbers point to partners doing more than reselling. The 125% expansion figure suggests they are working inside existing customer accounts and finding new opportunities there, rather than only bringing in new logos. Exabeam has also funded more than 90 partner-led campaigns and events worldwide over the period.
The vendor has also deepened its relationship with Google through a co-engineered Google Security Operations integration, a new Google Cloud Marketplace route and joint go-to-market work. For partners, marketplace buying is becoming harder to ignore as customers look to spend committed cloud budgets.
An AI channel account manager
The less conventional part of the programme is Exabeam Sherpa, an AI-powered virtual channel account manager. It helps partner sales teams build expertise, find proof points and collateral, and prepare for customer meetings.
Channel enablement has long relied on online training modules, shared portals and webinars that partners rarely have time for. Ian Thomas, CEO of UK-based partner Saphire, says Sherpa works differently.
“It accelerates learning and helps our people show up in front of customers with greater expertise and confidence,” he said. “That consistency helps build trust from the beginning in a way traditional online training, shared repositories, and webinars simply can’t match.”
It is an early example of vendors using AI to scale the partner relationship itself, not just to put AI features into the product.
What partners say
Exabeam’s 2026 Voice of the Partner survey covered 115 partners across six regions and all three programme tiers. It found 82% satisfied or very satisfied. Among Pinnacle partners, the top tier, satisfaction reached 4.40 out of 5 and the Net Promoter Score was +61.9.
“The growth metrics tell one part of the story,” said CEO Pete Harteveld. “Rising satisfaction, advocacy, and confidence in our portfolio show that our investments are strengthening the partner experience as well.”
The programme has also picked up industry recognition this year, including a 5-Star rating in the CRN Partner Program Guide and a place for Patterson among CRN’s 50 Most Influential Channel Chiefs.
