According to CRN, Netgear is launching a completely reimagined global partner program called the Netgear Drive Partner Success Program, marking what channel chief Thomas Schwab calls a “bold, new chapter” for the company. The program features a tiered structure with Ignite, Apex, and Apex MSP levels that reward partners based on training, certification, and service quality rather than sales volume or revenue. Under CEO CJ Prober and Schwab, who both joined in 2024, the company is aggressively targeting small to medium enterprises with a focus on simplicity, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Existing Netgear partners will transition to the new program by January 1, 2026, with a new partner portal providing access to technical information and sales resources. The move represents a strategic shift for Netgear to establish itself as an enterprise company rather than just a consumer brand.
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<h2 id="netgears-enterprise-identity-crisis”>The Enterprise Identity Crisis
Here’s the thing about Netgear – everyone knows them for consumer routers and home networking gear. But they’ve actually been playing in the SMB space for years, just without the marketing muscle to match. Now they’re trying to solve what partner Paul Duckett calls being one of the industry’s “best-kept secrets.” Basically, they have enterprise-grade products that compete with Cisco and others, but nobody takes them seriously as an enterprise vendor. That’s a tough perception to overcome when your brand is synonymous with Best Buy shelves.
Rewarding Service, Not Just Sales
The most interesting part of this new program? Revenue doesn’t factor into the tier structure at all. Think about that for a second. In a channel world obsessed with sales targets and volume discounts, Netgear is saying “we’ll reward you for being good at customer service, not just moving boxes.” Partners get bumped up tiers based on training completion, certification milestones, and MSP audits. They’re essentially betting that in today’s budget-conscious environment, customers care more about total cost of ownership than sticker price. And you know what? They’re probably right.
The SME Sweet Spot
Netgear isn’t trying to go head-to-head with Cisco in Fortune 500 accounts. They’re targeting that sweet spot of small to medium enterprises that have aging networks, tight budgets, and limited IT talent. These are companies that can’t afford a team of certified engineers just to manage their networking gear. As Duckett pointed out, if you need “an engineer that’s got five degrees just to be able to log into a device, it suddenly becomes stupidly expensive.” Netgear’s play is simplicity and value – equipment that works without requiring a PhD to operate.
Playing the Long Game
This feels like a smart, long-term play in a market where customers are increasingly skeptical of vendor lock-in and complexity. By building a partner ecosystem that’s rewarded for customer success rather than just initial sales, Netgear might actually create more loyal customers and partners. The question is whether they can execute. They’ve got the products, they’ve got the new leadership, and they’ve got the strategy. But breaking into enterprise markets takes time and serious commitment. If they stick with this for the long haul, they could become a real threat to the legacy players who’ve gotten comfortable with complexity and high prices.
