Azul Elevates Strategic Leadership of Java Channel Program, Driving Higher-Value Partner Engagement and 30% Year-over-Year Growth

Channel program sees significant growth in deal value, partner quality and new and upsell bookings contribution

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Azul, the only company 100% focused on Java, today announced continued momentum in its global channel program, marked by a shift toward continued elevation of the program’s strategic leadership and tracking towards a strong 30% year-over-year growth in channel-sourced and channel-involved new and upsell bookings. The company has focused on partner profitability, program compliance and deal quality, resulting in measurable increases in revenue contribution, deal size, partner performance and services expansion.

Key Channel Highlights Over the Last Year

• Strong bookings contributions: In addition to tracking towards a 30% year-over-year growth in new and upsell bookings, Azul’s channel-involved business is currently 7% ahead of the plan for its current fiscal year and up 17% year-over-year on partner generated funnel, with one quarter remaining.
• Higher-value, better-qualified deals: The size of channel deals has increased by nearly 46%, driven by stricter early-stage deal qualification, improved visibility into customer environments and updated pricing.
• Surge in high-value partners: Azul expects 10 global partners to drive more than $1 million in new and upsell bookings and funnel each this year, a 50% increase over the prior year. This reflects the program’s evolution toward deeper, more strategic partner relationships.
• Major milestone potential: Azul is on track to secure its first-ever $3.5 million+ in new and upsell bookings from one partner, an unprecedented milestone for the program.

“Three years ago, we were the new entrant to commercial Java solutions being sold through the channel, building awareness and onboarding partners at speed,” said Simon Taylor, vice president of global channel sales at Azul. “Today we have strong awareness, are onboarding partners at speed, and have a clear understanding of the levers that accelerate ecosystem performance. As we continue to mature our program, our partners are consistently delivering high-value business and contributing meaningfully to our company’s growth. Our focus on partner profitability and program discipline is paying off.”

Program Milestones and Operational Highlights

• Compliance framework adoption: Azul has implemented a new global compliance model based on partner tiers (Platinum/Tier 1, Gold/Tier 2 and Silver/Tier 3) and specific subregional requirements. The program drives consistency across bookings, pipeline and training expectations and enables more predictable partner performance worldwide.
• Technical alliance commercialization: Azul is commercializing several strategic technical alliances, transitioning them from awareness partnerships into revenue-generating referral relationships. Recent examples include Chainguard, Cast AI, Moderne, and Payara (recently acquired by Azul), with additional alliance pipeline contribution expected in coming quarters.
• Systems integrator expansion: The company has broadened its base of global system integrators and regional service partners, including organizations providing JDK migration, WebLogic and JBoss migrations with Azul’s recent acquisition of Payara and cloud modernization and advisory services to support Azul’s customers across AWS and hybrid-cloud environments. Current partners include OpenValue, Silverleaf, SmartMigrator, IBM TLS, CrowdCode and OpsGuru to name a few.
• Managed services momentum: Following the launch of its IC Managed Services program this year, Azul has already completed its first managed services deal in North America and anticipates additional activity in EMEA and APAC.
• Accelerated training and certification: Since the rollout of Azul’s updated compliance and training materials released in October 2025, more than 30 partners have completed the new training in the first couple of months.

Visit Azul PartnerConnect to learn more.

About Azul

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Azul provides the Java platform for the modern cloud enterprise. Azul is the only company 100% focused on Java. Millions of Java developers, hundreds of millions of devices and the world’s most highly regarded businesses trust Azul to power their applications with exceptional capabilities, performance, security, value, and success. Azul customers include 36% of the Fortune 100, 50% of Forbes top 10 World’s Most Valuable Brands, 10 of the world’s top 10 banks, and leading brands like Avaya, Bazaarvoice, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, LG, Mastercard, Mizuho, Priceline, Salesforce, Software AG and Workday. Learn more at azul.com and follow us @azulsystems.