ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY
Cloudflare continues to expand its strategic partnerships across global service integrators, managed security service providers, resellers and distributors, such as with IBM Cloud, Kyndryl, Rakuten Mobile, GuidePoint Security and Presidio, among other leading organisations worldwide.
In 2025, Cloudflare’ s PowerUP Partner Programme was awarded by CRN, receiving the highest accolade of a five-star ranking for its Partner Programme and recognised among the top four cloud security vendors. We put additional questions to Tom Evans, Chief Partner Officer at Cloudflare, to gain further insight.
What inspired Cloudflare to introduce these new solution bundles for partners under the PowerUP Partner Programme?
For years, the industry has relied on a patchwork of point products to address connectivity and security – one vendor for WAF, another for VPN, another for DDoS mitigation. The result has been complexity, inefficiency and inconsistent protection, so Cloudflare saw an opportunity to rethink this model. Our partners told us they needed a more prescriptive, integrated approach – one that makes it easier to deliver end-to-end protection without the overhead of managing multiple vendors. These new bundles, built around our Externa and Interna solution families, represent our view of what modern security and connectivity architecture should look like. They simplify adoption, reduce total cost of ownership, and give partners a unified way to deliver more value to their customers.
Partners are at the core of Cloudflare’ s go-to-market strategy.
How will the new bundles help partners simplify security and connectivity for their customers?
Each bundle is designed to bring together the essential services customers need – already integrated, optimised and ready to scale. Externa bundles protect and connect public-facing infrastructure like websites, apps and APIs, while Interna bundles secure internal networks, users, and data through Zero Trust and SASE capabilities. This removes the guesswork for partners. Instead of assembling complex, multi-vendor stacks, they can deliver a single, platform-based solution that addresses all layers of connectivity and security. It’ s simplicity by design, allowing partners to focus on value and outcomes rather than product integration.
What makes this approach different from traditional multisolution models in the channel?
Traditional models often leave partners and customers with an expensive maze of tools that don’ t talk to each other. Our approach replaces that patchwork with a unified platform, one that’ s inherently designed to work together. The tiered structure provides a clear, scalable path for customers as their needs evolve. Partners can start small and expand easily, without re-architecting or reselling from scratch. It’ s not just packaging; it’ s Cloudflare’ s prescriptive vision for the future of secure, connected business operations – where everything from performance to protection is consolidated into one consistent experience.
How do these bundles support Cloudflare’ s broader strategy to accelerate partner growth and collaboration?
These bundles are core to our partnerfirst transformation. By aligning pricing, packaging and profitability with how partners sell and support customers, we’ re enabling them to grow faster and more sustainably. Bundle-based discounts give partners flexibility to design solutions that meet customer needs while improving their own margins. Because the solutions are integrated, partners can also deliver faster, deploy more consistently and reduce service complexity – all of which improve customer satisfaction and retention. Ultimately, this approach deepens collaboration: Cloudflare defines the architecture, and our partners bring it to life through managed, resell and consulting services that drive long-term growth on both sides.
What role does cybersecurity play in the design and value of these partner bundles?
Cybersecurity is at the heart of everything in these bundles. Every component – whether it’ s Zero Trust access, DDoS protection,
16 www. intelligenttechchannels. com