Together we made history at MuleSoft’s 2021 Partner Kickoff – PKO! Hosting our first-ever PKO was important to me because partners like you are at the heart of MuleSoft’s growth. In fact, in FY21, partners were involved in ~80% of MuleSoft’s projects. Given the importance of our partners, we wanted to make sure our ecosystem was first to hear about MuleSoft’s FY22 priorities and strategies so we could align early and drive success for our customers in the year ahead.
Below, I’ve shared the three focus areas for my team that I covered during the PKO keynote: MuleSoft’s industry-first direction, the importance of Catalyst and delivery excellence, and how we can collaborate on diversity and inclusion initiatives. To learn more about these themes, visit the PKO Hub. In the Hub, you’ll find recordings of our keynote and ancillary sessions and can listen to MuleSoft leaders share our 2021 plans.
#1: Work with us as we go industry first
Previously, our sales and channels team have been aligned by regions, covering territories of companies that were located in similar geographies. Now, our sales teams will be organized in operating units corresponding to main target sectors for us and our partners. This industry-first approach allows us to speak the language of our customers and dig deeper with our partners.
Many of you are already industry experts, and have plays and thought leadership for different industries. Now we will be much better positioned to work with you even more closely — developing deeper bonds between you and the sales teams.
So what are the best next steps for you to take advantage of this industry-first model?
- Get enabled. We have industry-specific on-demand sessions in the PKO Hub.
- Think about solutions. Work with your Partner Account Managers on industry-specific solutions you have which can help you differentiate.
- Work through your marketing strategy. Collaborate with your Partner Account Manager to understand which industries you are prioritizing and the content and plays you are already taking to market.
#2: Get enabled on Catalyst
Delivery excellence was a core theme throughout PKO — ensuring we make our customers and partners successful is top of mind for me. Delivery excellence is much more than helping our partners build technical delivery skills. We have to get three things right as part of our roadmap to be better together:
- Activate the partner-first motion where partners are leading the customer journey.
- Get enabled on both Anypoint Platform and our Catalyst methodology. Catalyst is crucial to customer success; in fact, we see on average a 182% customer revenue growth for new customers and 600% ARR growth every time we lead with Catalyst and advisory.
- Operate as a single programmatic team. We have done extensive work internally to align cross-functional teams like Services, Sales, and Customer Success to integrate partners into their playbooks.
My ask here: invest in Catalyst training. Check out the Partner Calendar to see enablement sessions happening in your region.
#3: Collaborate with us on joint diversity and inclusion initiatives
Equality is a core value, and we wanted to ensure it was a central focus at PKO. During our Equality Keynote, Michael Bush, CEO of Great Places to Work, spoke with Jo-ann dePaas Olsovsky, CIO, Salesforce and Molly Ford, VP, Global Equality Programs at Salesforce on the ways to drive greater diversity and inclusion in the workforce. You can find the actions they recommend in the PKO Hub.
Moreover, I want to work together with our partner community on diversity and inclusion initiatives. Please reach out to me and the team directly on your ideas, we would love to collaborate with you.
Watch PKO on-demand
With our Partner of the Year Awards, three regional kickoffs, nine live enablement sessions, two partner developer Meetups, and 19 breakout sessions, there was a lot of content covered during PKO!
Make sure to visit the PKO Hub to catch up on everything you need to grow with us this year and beyond. I look forward to working with you this year.
