Azul Elevates Strategic Leadership of Java Channel Program, Driving Higher-Value Partner Engagement and 30% Year-over-Year Growth
Bangalore, January 2026 : Channel
program sees significant growth in deal value, partner quality and new and
upsell bookings contribution
Azul,
the only company 100% focused on Java, today announced continued momentum in
its global channel program, marked by a shift toward continued elevation of the
program’s strategic leadership and tracking towards a strong 30% year-over-year
growth in channel-sourced and channel-involved new and upsell bookings. The
company has focused on partner profitability, program compliance and deal
quality, resulting in measurable increases in revenue contribution, deal size,
partner performance and services expansion.
Key Channel Highlights Over the Last Year
• Strong
bookings contributions: In addition to tracking towards a 30% year-over-year
growth in new and upsell bookings, Azul’s channel-involved business is
currently 7% ahead of the plan for its current fiscal year and up 17%
year-over-year on partner generated funnel, with one quarter remaining.
• Higher-value,
better-qualified deals: The size of channel deals has increased by nearly 46%,
driven by stricter early-stage deal qualification, improved visibility into
customer environments and updated pricing.
• Surge
in high-value partners: Azul expects 10 global partners to drive more than $1
million in new and upsell bookings and funnel each this year, a 50% increase
over the prior year. This reflects the program’s evolution toward deeper, more
strategic partner relationships.
• Major
milestone potential: Azul is on track to secure its first-ever $3.5 million+ in
new and upsell bookings from one partner, an unprecedented milestone for the
program.
“Three years ago, we were the new entrant to commercial Java solutions being sold through the channel, building awareness and onboarding partners at speed,” said Simon Taylor, vice president of global channel sales at Azul. “Today we have strong awareness, are onboarding partners at speed, and have a clear understanding of the levers that accelerate ecosystem performance. As we continue to mature our program, our partners are consistently delivering high-value business and contributing meaningfully to our company’s growth. Our focus on partner profitability and program discipline is paying off.”
Program Milestones and Operational Highlights
• Compliance
framework adoption: Azul has implemented a new global compliance model based on
partner tiers (Platinum/Tier 1, Gold/Tier 2 and Silver/Tier 3) and specific
subregional requirements. The program drives consistency across bookings,
pipeline and training expectations and enables more predictable partner
performance worldwide.
• Technical
alliance commercialization: Azul is commercializing several strategic technical
alliances, transitioning them from awareness partnerships into
revenue-generating referral relationships. Recent examples include Chainguard,
Cast AI, Moderne, and Payara (recently acquired by Azul), with additional
alliance pipeline contribution expected in coming quarters.
• Systems
integrator expansion: The company has broadened its base of global system
integrators and regional service partners, including organizations providing
JDK migration, WebLogic and JBoss migrations with Azul’s recent acquisition of
Payara and cloud modernization and advisory services to support Azul’s
customers across AWS and hybrid-cloud environments. Current partners include
OpenValue, Silverleaf, SmartMigrator, IBM TLS, CrowdCode and OpsGuru to name a
few.
• Managed
services momentum: Following the launch of its IC Managed Services program this
year, Azul has already completed its first managed services deal in North
America and anticipates additional activity in EMEA and APAC.
• Accelerated
training and certification: Since the rollout of Azul’s updated compliance and
training materials released in October 2025, more than 30 partners have
completed the new training in the first couple of months.
Visit Azul PartnerConnect to learn more.
About Azul
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Azul provides
the Java platform for the modern cloud enterprise. Azul is the only company
100% focused on Java. Millions of Java developers, hundreds of millions of
devices and the world’s most highly regarded businesses trust Azul to power
their applications with exceptional capabilities, performance, security, value,
and success. Azul customers include 36% of the Fortune 100, 50% of Forbes top
10 World’s Most Valuable Brands, 10 of the world’s top 10 banks, and leading
brands like Avaya, Bazaarvoice, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, LG, Mastercard, Mizuho,
Priceline, Salesforce, Software AG and Workday. Learn more at azul.com and
follow us @azulsystems.
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