Whether in employee meetings, on earnings calls, or just around the watercooler, Appian is abuzz with talk of partnerships lately--and for good reason. This summer, the partner channel has solidified itself as a top strategic priority for the company--and we are already starting to see the results to prove it.
The Summer of Partners kicked off early this year in sunny Miami, where we saw a record turnout from the partner community. Attendance figures boasted a 55% increase in the number of partner attendees at Appian World 2018. Here, we were able to showcase the increased investment in our partners and build excitement for the year to come.
After the party was over, it was time to get down to business. For the partners, school was not out for the summer. Product training requests increased 300% for our classroom sessions, and similarly, our online academy course enrollment and community usage tripled. To further serve our Partner audience, Appian also launched a new offering, Partner Sales Bootcamp, this summer. With a first class of 60 attendees, this will become a quarterly mainstay to help enable our worldwide channel to have success selling Appian.
All that hard work is paying off. Already this year, we have seen that partners are helping us add new customers. So far, they have influenced 68% of our new logos compared to 50% in the previous year. And figures like this have gotten some high-profile attention.
This August, the success of the partner channel earned a marquee spot on our Q2 earnings call. As part of his update to investors, our CEO Matt Calkins proudly touted how partners are impacting the business, telling the story of one key partnership that referred a $1 million deal to us with an employment services contractor for the British government. The customer purchased Appian to replace a home run system that administers occupational health assessments. We won this deal thanks to the strength of our relationship with this longtime partner.
What's next? There is no reason for all the fun to end now that summer is over. We expect the majority of the business we do to involve partners, and that breeds success for everyone. As partners continue to build go-to-market solutions in specific areas and invest in their delivery capabilities, we will see a profound impact on the reach of the business and the credibility and the capability to deliver customer success with Appian. In the words of Matt Calkins, "I don't think the partner operation has ever been in better shape than it is today."
There are two great Partner events coming up in conjunction with AppianEUROPE in London. Register now!
International Partner Forum | 8 October
Partner Sales Boot Camp | 10 October
Ben Vaccaro
Global Alliances + Strategic Industries
