Akamai’s Channel-First Strategy: Driving Partner Success in 2025

Customers aren’t the only ones pursuing lasting relationships. Akamai is continually making improvements to refine, simplify, and strengthen our relationship with our channel partners. This year, we’re intensifying our channel-first strategy to ensure that partner success and profitability remain our focus. 

Here are just a few ways that we’re supporting our partners in 2025:

• Enhanced enablement and training — We are expanding certifications, workshops, and sales enablement to equip partners for success.

• Stronger marketing and demand generation — We are increasing co-marketing opportunities and joint campaigns to drive lead generation and growth.

• Simplified partner engagement — Our upgraded partner portal provides easier access to resources and tools.

• Expanded growth opportunities — We’ve strengthened initiatives like the Qualified Compute Partner (QCP) program and API security offerings to unlock new revenue streams.

This year is off to an incredible start for Akamai and our partners. We are honored to have been recognized with multiple prestigious industry awards, which highlight our leadership in technology and security while emphasizing the strength of our partnerships.

Our 5-Star rating in the 2025 CRN Partner Program Guide underscores our commitment to collaboration and success. CRN’s 5-star programs are those that “provide the most comprehensive lineups of incentives, resources, training, services and benefit,” according to the publication. This honor reflects our strength and dedication to enabling partner success with our channel-first approach.

In addition to the CRN Partner Program 5-star rating, we’re thrilled to share these other notable achievements:

• CRN’s 20 Coolest Web, Email, and Application Security Companies — This award acknowledges Akamai’s leadership in cybersecurity, including our focus on discovering shadow APIs, detecting API vulnerabilities, and extending Akamai Guardicore Segmentation to AWS.

• CRN’s Channel Chiefs Award — This commendation recognizes top executives who design and execute innovative channel strategies and foster strong partnerships to drive long-term success.

• 2025 Devies Award for Best Innovation in API Security — This award honors Akamai's cutting-edge advancements in API security, including our industry-leading solutions that protect against evolving threats, prevent data breaches, and enable businesses to confidently secure their growing API ecosystems.

These accolades reinforce our ongoing commitment to innovation, security, and partner empowerment in a complex digital landscape.

With Akamai, you can experience the power of partnership and discover a more efficient way to grow your business. We recognize the importance of profitability for our partners’ long-term success, and we’re focused on delivering big wins with:

• Better incentives and margins — Our competitive rebates and incentives can maximize your ROI.

• Recurring revenue opportunities — The expanding cloud, security, and managed service offerings can provide sustainable revenue.

• Industry-leading solutions — Akamai’s advanced technologies empower partners to win more deals, close faster, and scale quickly.

The year is just beginning, and we’re excited about the opportunities ahead. Our expanded resources, industry recognition, and market-leading solutions are the foundation for another successful year. 

Whether you’re already an Akamai partner or interested in exploring how we can work together, now is the perfect time to differentiate, grow, and succeed with us.