Azul has announced the expansion of its global partner program following its success over the last year. This saw improvements to its partner program with the introduction of new sales and engineering certifications. Already, 300 individuals are newly certified or in the process of becoming certified. With a further 1,200 are registered for the program.
It has also increased its partner support team in Paris to better support partners across the continent, notably in France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Azul has also added new partners elsewhere. With 15 new strategic partnerships across Australia, the Middle East, South Africa and India.
The increase in partners has been due to the increased interest in alternatives to Oracle Java. Companies are seeking expertise aligned with the pricing and licensing of IT Asset Management services.
The growth in the partner channel has been noteworthy, however, it is the increased impact on revenues that is impressive. In the first half of Azul’s fiscal 2025, channel partners contributed 44% of the company’s new and upsell bookings. They were responsible for a 50% increase in inbound opportunities. The partner program has also helped drive a 13.5% improvement in pipeline conversion year-over-year in H1 2025. The inference is that these would not have been obtained without relationships built by partners.
Why this matters
Azul is aiming for further growth in its partner ecosystem. It aims to quadruple the number of certified sales professionals, migration advisory and delivery partners, and partner engineers. It believes that there is a huge opportunity as firms look to find cost-effective alternatives to Oracle Java discovery and inventory services.
Organisations like Newcastle City Council, which dropped Oracle for the Azul Java Platform, have seen the advantages of the Azul core platform and made the switch. As many organisations have realised recently, the price increases imposed by Oracle have increased demand for open-source Java platforms. Enterprises are turning to the Azul Platform Core which offers cost containment, vendor independence and long-term support. These options make an OpenJDK-based offering a compelling alternative.
The evidence from the recent Oracle Java Usage, Pricing & Migration Survey and Report backs the viewpoint that companies are looking to leave Oracle. Based on a survey of 600 global Java users it found that 86% of users leave Oracle Java because of cost, uncertainty and audit risk. 53% cited Oracle Java as being too expensive. 47% expressed a desire to use an open-source distribution like OpenJDK.
Firms joining the Azul partner network can take advantage of the momentum seeing Oracle Java users flock to open-source alternatives. The tiered partner ecosystem offers partners considerable benefits, including tiered discounts, technology, and marketing support.
With the assistance and training offered by Azul, partners can also expand their client services, advisory and Java application and infrastructure security managed services.
Simon Taylor, Vice President of Global Channel Sales at Azul, commented, “Going forward, we’re focused on bringing migration partners into our own service engagements. As well as collaborating with partners early in their advisory license engagements to provide pivotal recommendations, all through a more aggressive channel-centric sales model.
“Typically, it takes up to 5 years to convert from a direct – to channel approach. We’ve done this in two years because we recognised that resellers are keen to expand their differentiation into high-value service revenue streams due to pressure on traditional license margins. By empowering our partners with flexible terms, attractive margins, type specific rewards structures and comprehensive training, we are building an ecosystem that delivers exceptional value to Java users worldwide.”
Looking forward
In its fiscal 2025, Azul is targeting at 60% revenue contribution from partners as it scales its channel up. It will also focus on improving its partner operations. To ensure that as partners grow and need more support from Azul, they are ready for the expansion. It is also investigating new managed services SaaS offerings alongside cloud service providers such as AWS and Google.
Organisations that want to take advantage of the trend in Java platforms can go to www.azul.com/partners. Where there is comprehensive information about the partner program. They can also contact an Azul channel account manager in their region to take the opportunity forward.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean?
Where the Azul partner program seems different from other vendors is that it is not only talking about its expansion. But it is also seeing some results. This is good news for Azul. But it is also good news for existing partners and an exciting prospect for those yet to join.
The research that Azul cites certainly indicates that there is a huge opportunity out there. For those companies that already have Java expertise, this might seem like an opportunity they cannot miss. However, there will be a point of diminishing returns. Azul will have to be careful not to saturate the different markets its targets with too many partners. And partners will need to do their research to check there are enough potential customers to win over.