When Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) delivered especially strong earnings results today, CEO Scott Dietzen pointed to major momentum with channel partners.
Pure is one of the better known providers of all-flash array (AFA) storage. Rivals like NetApp and Nimble Storage each produced good results in their latest quarters. But Pure Storage's channel-led business looks especially strong. The company's revenues were $163.2 million in fiscal Q2 2017, up 92.8 percent vs. Q2 2016 -- or roughly $6 million to $10 million above Wall Street's expectations.
On the partner front, CEO Scott Dietzen pointed to a growing relationship with Cisco Systems -- where the two companies have a joint FlashStack solution. "We also continued to strengthen our relationships with our channel partners, who drove nearly 80% of new logo wins in the quarter," Dietzen wrote in a blog post. True believers include Applied Computer Solutions (ACS), which raved about Pure in the blog post.
Pure Storage Earnings Call: Dietzen on Channel Partners
More partner program momentum surfaced during the company's earnings call with Wall Street analysts. Among the sound bites worth mentioning:
- Pure's top 5 channel partners are driving triple-digit annual growth in their Pure businesses.
- "Our partner engagement is stronger than ever," Dietzen said. "More partner salespeople are transacting with Pure than ever before. And major global national integrators are increasing their commitments to Pure."
- On scaling the FlashBlade business: "So I think we need to avoid setting any specific guidance for FlashBlade...I would say the bigger factor though is the reach that we enjoyed, both through our own sales force as well as that through our partner network that can help grow this business even faster, right," Dietzen said. "In the early days, we were more constrained I think on go to market than we were on product. We don't have those constraints today, given the scale that we're operating the business."
Still, Pure Storage's long-term success isn't guaranteed. Net income was a $59.6 million loss for the quarter. Wall Street has been expecting continued losses as Pure Storage continues to scale its business.
